CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Nate had finally finished the dishes. He left the kitchen and observed his family in silence.

They were oddly calm.

The pups were drawing their ideas while Lara was reading a textbook. There was still time before the entrance tests, but it could never be too early to start preparing.

Scarlet was the first to finish her drawing. Ice cream was not that difficult to draw, and she coloured just enough to make it clear it was chocolate. Once done that, she left the paper on the table and strolled to Nate.

Jaden, on the contrary, was so focused that it was scary. He was remembering the details of their holiday at the sea, and he drawing as many as he could remember. He wanted his mommy to be proud of him, and he also felt inspiring by seeing her focus so much on her homework.

He worked even harder on drawing summer. He could also draw spring, winter, and autumn! But his mommy told Scarlet to do her homework only when the teacher said so...

«Hmm...» he hummed, thinking about that matter. He was expecting the teacher to give them that other homework too!

But, doing it now would have meant having no commitments later. Which also mean that he couldn't draw with his mommy.

In the end, he should just focus on making the drawing he already had to do. He would have done it better, if anything.

Meanwhile, Nate picked up Scarlet and walked to the sofa. He felt tired after washing that mountain of dishes, but he dared not complain.

«Have you done your homework?» he inquired.

«Yes, daddy. I drew ice cream.»

«Really?» Nate chuckled. Somehow, he wasn't surprised. «What else do you like about summer?»

«Walking in the park with daddy!»

«Don't you say!» he replied. She was looking at him with her eyes wide open, doing her best to look cuter.

For what reason, Nate didn't know. It was not like he would deny her anything if she wasn't cute.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

«And eating ice cream with daddy. Oh, also the steak at the restaurant.»

«The steak?»

«Yes, the one we ate together before.»

«When we just met,» Nate said. He had brought his family to a restaurant with private rooms, and Lara was happy that her kids wouldn't attract attention. «Do you want to go there again?»

«Not now,» Scarlet said. «Mommy's roast is better.»

«Not now,» Nate confirmed, chuckling lightly. They had finished eating half an hour before!

«But I want some cake,» Scarlet whispered at his ear.

«You shouldn't eat sweet in the evening,» Nate replied.

«But daddy, I am hungry!»

«I see... Let's make a salad,» he sighed.

«No... No salad. I'm hungry for cake.»

«We don't have cake.»

Scarlet pouted her lips, unhappy. She leaned on Nate's chest and closed her eyes, deciding to sleep to forget the hunger. If her mommy wasn't doing her homework, she would have burst out crying, using her the tantrum to convince Nate to give her cake.

«You don't love me, daddy,» she complained.

It was the only silent way she could think of to get to what she needed.

«Why do you say so?»

«Because you don't give me food. You leave me hungry,» she moaned, her eyes filling with tears.

Nate's heart skipped a beat. His daughter was not a harmless pup; she was a demon.

«Listen to me, Scarlet,» he said, holding her shoulders and making her look him in the eye. «Don't say something like this ever again! I do love you, and not giving you cake is for your own good. Don't think of this as a punishment... I want you to be healthy, and eating cake in the evening is not healthy! Your teeth might hurt with too much sugar, and you need meat and vegetables to grow up.»

«G-grow up?» she whined.

«And don't say you don't want to grow up, now!»

«I do,» Scarlet said. «I want to become tall like you and pretty like aunty Sam.»

«Aunty Sam?»

«Yes. I want pretty clothes like her. So I need to eat a lot and grow up... Grandma told me.»

«That... That's true,» Nate muttered, confused.

His little girl wanted to grow up? What a surprise.

«By the way, do you miss your aunty Sam?»

«I don't know,» Scarlet replied.

«I do, I do!» Jaden exclaimed from the table. He left the drawing - almost finished - and reached his dad and sister. «When are we going to meet her? I want to play with aunty!»

«Soon,» Nate said, while the idea popped up in his mind.

Why telling the pups he was going to bring their mommy away when there were other things he had to inform them about. For example...

«You can spend the weekend with your aunty. What do you think?»

The twins beamed, happy. Scarlet hugged Nate while Jaden jumped in place a couple of times, clapping his hands. He loved seeing his aunty Sam, what good luck they were going to meet so soon!

«But before, you have to promise you will be good and listen to your aunty and uncle... If you cause trouble...»

«U-uncle?» they said, forgetting everything else Nate said and focusing on that one word. «What uncle? We have our aunty only.»

«Oh, well, whatever,» he muttered. He didn't need to put a good word about Cannella with the pups.

What for? If he got the harsh treatment, he surely deserved it.

«There is a tall man next to her,» Nate said.

Lara glanced at them with a small grin. The matter with the twins was settled, and they could leave for their holiday. Surprisingly, Nate had found a way without causing much drama.

She even chuckled when he introduced the new uncle to them. A tall, black man trying to monopolise their aunty. It was funny how Nate had the heart to use that situation like that. Had he learnt nothing from the time the pups were growling against him? Discover stories at empire