Hayden had clearly witnessed Valeria grabbing William’s ear. She was caught off guard and pretended to rub his ear a few times as she then politely greeted, “Dad! You’re here for a stroll too!”
“Yes! What happened to William?” Hayden questioned but was well aware of the truth.
“I’m rubbing his ear as a mosquito has bitten him.” Valeria continued her actions which had made his ears turned achingly red.
Hayden knew everything but decided to keep it to himself and said, “It seems… hmm, there are indeed a lot of mosquitoes in this weather.”
He then gradually walked past the couple with his hands behind his back. Valeria made a funny face towards William and continued rubbing his ear several times, “Honey, your ears are already red. I’ll help you to put some ointment on when we get back home.”
William had a stern face and said, “How daring of you to pinch my ear when my father and Lucas are here. Are you trying to embarrass me? Hmm?”
She glanced at him cautiously as she had never seen him being so rigid before and asked, “Are you pissed off?”
He ignored her and furiously left while she quickly followed behind him. She then grabbed his hand and pleaded, “Hubby, I didn’t do it on purpose as I didn’t know that they would be here. I’m sorry!”
“Are you sure an apology would ease my anger?” William questioned with an adamant face.
“What should I do to make you feel better? I’ll let you pinch me back,” Valeria continued to plead as he locked his gaze on her, “You can pinch me for a few times.”
His expression did not change and he replied, “No!”
“What would you like me to do then?”
He kept things to himself and said, “I’m upset and not in a good mood!”
Valeria tried to get on his good side and offered, “How about I give you a kiss as my apology to you?”
“No thanks!”
“You’re such a petty man. Why would you behave like this when you just got pinched for a few times?” She did not continue her mumble as she saw William glaring at her. She then added, “I won’t pinch your ear ever again, okay?”
He was still feeling unhappy and questioned, “Let’s talk about it in the future. But what should you do to make it up for me as you have embarrassed me?”
“Please calm down! I’ll give you lots of kisses! Don’t be upset!” She hugged and kissed him lovingly and William was finally satisfied as a smile blossomed out from his face.
He held her head and his lips were brushing against hers before the couple kissed passionately for a while. He gasped while hugging her in his arms and suggested, “Damn, that was intense! Let’s head back!”
“Don’t you want to continue strolling?”
“Nope, let’s exercise in bed instead,” William replied.
“No, we still have to wait for three more months!” Valeria refused.
“My health would be compromised if we keep delaying things.” He put on an agony face and continued, “You have to help me out.”
Valeria rolled her eyes at him and said, “What am I supposed to do? I can’t come up with anything!”
“Who else could help me with it apart from you as my wife?” William questioned righteously.
“Alright, I’ll think of something for you when we get back home later,” Valeria casually comforted him. He then let out a smirk and said, “Okay. I would teach you a lesson if you go back on your words!”
Valeria was not afraid of his threat as she knew that he would not dare to lay a finger on her considering she currently had two babies in her belly.
The couple strolled around the garden and eventually returned to the living room. Hayden was also there and he smiled while looking at the couple and urged, “Follow me.”
They then followed Hayden to the study room and he opened up the safe box. A few boxes were carefully taken out of the safe.
“What are these?” William asked.
“Your mother had left something behind. The jewelry shall be given to Valeria while I would still be keeping some stuff with me. You can then have them as memorial gifts when I am no longer here in the future.”
This was the first time that Hayden had brought up the topic of Matilda to William. Hayden had a depressed look on his face, whereas William was feeling uncomfortable about it.
William had no memory regarding his mother at all as no one from the Howard Family had ever mentioned Matilda to him.
He only got to know about her through unofficial rumors and third-party information. He was out of words when he saw the despairing look on Hayden’s face.
William always had the ability to enlighten the atmosphere and mood, but he was currently behaving unusually quiet.
Valeria first glanced at Hayden before taking a peek at William and realized the situation was relatively awkward. She then made the first move and asked, “Dad, I have yet to see how does William’s mother looks like. Can I have a look at a picture of her?”
“Sure!” Hayden took a box out from the safe and handed it to William instead of Valeria. “These are all the photos of your mother. You have not seen her before… Today comes the chance for you to have a look.”
William did nothing while Valeria took the box before opening it. A picture of Matilda smiling cheerfully was seen upon the unboxing.
Hayden’s eyes turned red and watery as he saw the picture of his wife who had passed away.
Matilda was younger than William and Valeria when she got married to Hayden as she was just about twenty years old at that time.
It was the best age for a woman to be alive in her twenties but she chose to leave her parents behind and married Hayden without a doubt.
He had children but his first wife at that time was unfortunately dead. However, he was not in love with his former wife as it was an arranged marriage by both of their parents.
Hayden experienced love at first sight when he saw Matilda and it was a feeling that was out of this world. He wanted to adore and love her for the rest of his life but all plans were ruined by a heartbreaking incident.
She eventually passed away and their promise as husband and wife had all turned to ashes.
He closed his eyes while reminiscing about the scene where his loving wife was laying on the hospital bed with a face as pale as a ghost. He tried to suppress his sadness as he did not want to break down under the watch of his son and his daughter-in-law.
He was a tough man throughout his life and did not want to break into tears as he deemed that it was a sign of weakness.
He got up and left the study room without looking back at the couple. Valeria stared at his shadow and froze for a moment before saying, “Honey, dad was about to cry!”
“I saw it too!” William nodded in agreement.
“Well… he has been mourning for her all the time, right?”
“Yes!” William reached out his hand and took out a photo of Matilda from the box. She was a gorgeous woman and William had a face that consisted of both his parents’ features equally. William was feeling complicated upon looking at the picture of his mother.
She was the one who gave birth to him and brought him into this world. However, she passed away long before they had the chance to meet and spend time with each other.
Valeria reached out her hand and took out another photo of Matilda from the box. “Your mother is so gorgeous! Unfortunately, she had suffered a cursed life as an exceptionally beautiful woman as God wanted her back as He must be jealous of her looks!”
“It might be!” William replied calmly.
“Honey, are you feeling blue?” Valeria locked her gaze at him.
“No, I’m not.” William shook his head and continued, “I’ve never seen her before but I was treated badly by my father because of her. If I am being honest, there is a sense of hatred towards her deep down in me.”