Shortly after, they arrived at Villa No. 8 of The Imperial.
âWow, only big families would have so much cured meat!â
Whenever Stanley came to visit during this time each year, heâd lament about the amount of cured meat in Sophiaâs houseâthey could practically eat it as rice.
Anna had also arrived; it was her second visit, but she hadnât expected Sophia to make so much cured meat at home.
She felt an unusual sense of familiarity in this place as she looked up at the bright red meat that hung above her. Then, she closed her eyes and smelled the air as her mind was filled with this unknown familiarity.
What a strange feelingâ¦
She opened her eyes. With a composed demeanor, she smiled and asked, âWhy does your family make so much cured meat?â
Cooper replied, âWhen my wife was alive, cured meat was her favorite.â
After that, he looked up at the hung cured meat and smiled, looking as if he had seen the person who lived in his memory through the cured meat in front of him.
Anna turned to look at Cooper. There was a soft glow that outlined the side of his face, making him look like a gentle soul.
She knew that Cooper had been widowed for many years and was still nostalgic about his late wife.
There is rarely such an infatuation in this worldâ¦.
As the group walked in the door, Michael felt a throbbing headache.
Theyâre all here for the free food!
The last time Anna came to Cooperâs house, she hadnât had the time to look around. This time, she decided to take a good look.
âHave you always lived here?â she asked Cooper.
Copper replied, âYes, Iâve been living with my daughter and son-in-law.â
Cooper took Anna around the house and even brought her to visit her favorite Villa No. 1. Meanwhile, in order to stall the Yard brothers from disturbing them, Carmen was making small talk with them.
âThis is my own royal cup. It has my name on it.â She took out her own cups, plates and bottles and shared them with Callum and Cade.
Callum also took out his own âroyalâ cup enthusiastically. âThis is my royal cup. Look, it has my name on it too.â
âYour cup is so ugly!â Carmen pouted and said discontentedly.
Suddenly, she caught sight of something and rushed over like a little beast.
âDaddy, donât hug Al! Al is a naughty boy!â
It turned out that Michael was carrying Albert. Even though he was Alexâs son, he was nothing similar to his father. As soon as they reached home, Albert ran after Michael and asked Daddy Taylor for a hug.
Michael had just carried him before he was discovered by Carmen.
Michael frowned. Why werenât you this protective earlier on when it was 50 bucks for a hug? Where has the gusto to betray me for 50 bucks gone?
âAl is our guest, so let him stay for a little longer,â answered Michael.
Meanwhile, Albert cowered fearfully in Michaelâs arms as his big round eyes stared at Carmen; it reminded him of the fear he felt when he was beaten to the ground by Carmen.
He used to be a three-year-old child that did some inappropriate things, but he had changed for the better. Iâm a good boy now, and Daddy Taylor likes to hug good boys.
Carmen burst into tears all of a sudden, so Michael hastily put Albert down to coax her.
But when he put Albert down, the latter also burst into tears.
Hearing the cries of both children, Harryâs daughterâPoppyâalso started crying. This triggered Maisie and Audrey as they cried; even Celineâs daughter, who had just fallen asleep, woke up crying.
The children were crying, the dogs and cats were howling, and even the big rooster was roaring outside the door.
The living room felt like it was going to explode.
Quinton rolled his eyes. Damn, itâs noisy!
The kids cried so loud that they almost blew the roof off. Seeing this, the parents rushed over to console their kids.
While Sophia comforted Carmen, she realized that Carmen wouldnât let Albert hug Michael even if the latter wanted to pay for it. Albert tried to ask for a hug again and the two kids started to cryâit seemed as though they wanted to compare who could cry louder.
âAlright, come to me.â Linus reached out to hug Albert. Although Linusâ reputation was not as famous as Michaelâs, the show had come to the house and showed a few scenes with his face. The Internet loved him so much that the third season of âWhere Are We Going, Dad?â had been asking him to come on the show with Carmen, but he refused. He didnât mind hugging Albert.
Unexpectedly, Carmen rushed over again as she wailed loudly and said, âAlbert is not allowed to hug you, uncle!â
Linus quickly withdrew his hands. Soon, Cooper and Anna came back from their walk to find that the house was in chaos. Cooper quickly rushed over and carried the crying Albert.
When she noticed that Carmen was about to cry again, Sophia took out her phone and pretended to take a picture of Carmen. âIf you cry again, Iâll post a picture of your face without makeup on Twitter!â
Carmen immediately stopped crying and looked over at Sophiaâs phone. âWhere is it?â
Sophia threatened her and said, âYou canât bully Al! If you bully him again, I wonât delete the picture!â
Carmen was forced to agree as she pouted with tears flowing from her eyes.
As Sophia carried her away, the rest of the crying children were also comforted by their own parents.
Soon, the world was finally quiet; the adults were rubbing their ears to soothe their eardrums.
Raising a child is like raising a group of ducklingsâany time they get upset, they will start quacking togetherâ¦
After the chaos finally died down, Sophia separated Albert and Carmen from each other. Albert was left alone, but he was satisfied that he had Cooper carrying him.
Cooper seemed to enjoy carrying Albert. He actually liked all of the children in the Mitchell Family; no matter how they were born or who their parents were, they were still a part of the Mitchell Family and represented the hope of the familyâs future. The nature of a human being had always been good in the beginning, and Albert was still such a young boy.
Albert sat in Cooperâs arms and didnât want to leave. His small hands clung tightly on Cooperâs shoulder as he glanced at him with his wide eyes. Albert giggled happily when Cooper held his little hands to touch the husky, and the man watched the young boy with a tender smile.
Anna shook her head. âIâve never met someone like you.â
Someone who is able to treat his enemyâs son with such kindness.
Cooper rubbed Albertâs head and said, âThey are all children from the Mitchell Family, theyâre all the sameâ¦â
To Cooper, children of the Mitchell Family like Sophia and Linus ranked first; the ones who had unknown origins always came in second.
Derek kept checking his phone and even called the kindergarten several times, but there was no news of the Mitchell Family picking Albert up.
Whatâs going on?
Even though the Mitchell Family had fallen from its former glory, Alex was still a billionaire and the president of Mitchellâs Technology. Albert is his only son, so why is no one picking him up?
Derek felt uneasy and just wanted to quickly send Albert back to Alex after dinner.