The morning sun was particularly beautiful. Elijah left the house after breakfast. Freya stayed home to take care of their two children. Elowen seized the opportunity to talk to her daughter.
“Freya,” she hesitated.
“Mom, just say what you want to say.”
Elowen was hesitant because she wanted to take care of Freya’s emotions and didn’t want to hurt her self-esteem.
“Although it may be a bit late to plan a wedding now, you need to prepare.” Elowen finally said.
Freya played with her eldest son while responding, “Elijah said he would handle everything. I don’t need to do anything.”
Elowen sighed and said directly, “You still have to be a beautiful bride, right? It’s fine for you to cover up when you go out normally, but in the long run…”
Freya reached up and touched the scar on her face, her gaze dropping.
Elowen continued, “Although Elijah doesn’t mind your appearance now, it’s still not ideal.”
“If he turns out to be a heartless and unfaithful person, even if I were beautiful and enchanting, there will come a day when he gets tired of me.”
Elowen held onto her daughter’s hand. “You’re right, looks aren’t everything. Will you be working or staying at home in the future? If you stay at home, it’s not a big deal, but if you work with these scars…”
Freya took those words to heart. Although she had two young children now, and Elowen and Linda were there to help, she didn’t want to give up her career.
“I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow,” she said.
Elowen nodded. “I’m just looking out for you.”
“I know,” Freya replied. She understood her mother’s concerns.
The baby in the bed suddenly started crying. Freya put down her eldest son and went to pick up the baby. It turned out that he had soiled his diaper, which was why he was crying. Elowen went to fetch warm water. Freya removed the cotton diaper and placed it aside, gently cleaning the baby’s bottom. Once he felt comfortable, he stopped crying. After tidying up, Elowen went to wash the diaper while Freya prepared the formula. During this time, the youngest child started crying again. As Freya turned with the bottle in her hand, she saw Kai biting the baby’s foot.
Freya picked up her son and soothed him, then looked at Kai. “Why would you bite your brother?”
Kai said, “He’s not wearing socks.”
Huh?
Freya didn’t understand. Her gaze fell down, and only then did she notice that one of the baby’s feet had a sock, while the other one didn’t.
“He keeps moving,” Kai said in a soft voice.
Freya understood and asked, “Are you trying to put socks on your brother?”
Kai kept nodding.
“Your brother is still young, he doesn’t understand anything yet.”
Kai blinked his eyes, seeming to understand but not quite. Freya patted his head. “From now on, you’ll have to protect your younger brother, okay?”
Kai grinned.
Freya picked up Kai and sat him on her other leg, handing him the bottle. “Would you like to feed him?”
Kai found it fun and eagerly agreed. With both hands, he held the bottle and fed his baby brother. The infant fell asleep before finishing the milk. There was still some left. Freya tried to put it down, but Kai took it and drank the remaining milk. When Kai was a baby, he also drank formula milk. So he liked the taste.
Freya gently laid the sleeping baby down and picked up her eldest son. Neither of these children were breastfed as babies, and they had a tough time growing up, about which Freya felt guilty.
“Mommy,” Kai obediently asked her, “Is he your child too?”
Freya answered, wondering why he suddenly asked this question, “Yes, of course. But why do you ask, Kai?”
Kai twirled his mischievous eyes. “Grandma told me, she said both me and my younger brother crawled out from your belly.”
…
It was 8:30 in the evening.
Freya finished her shower and stood in front of the mirror, examining the scar on her neck. When she heard the doorbell, she adjusted her collar before turning around.