Mrs. Wilson was so happy that the corners of her eyes crinkled into a smile. “What amazing news! Come, come. Let’s go downstairs for dinner, then we can cut the cake after that. The children have been whining about eating cake.”
“Let’s go. We don’t want to keep the kids waiting now, do we?” With that, Shane led Natalie down the stairs.
Mrs. Wilson prepared a scrumptious meal.
The two children enjoyed the food and were satisfied by the end of their meal.
After that, Natalie brought over the cake, lit the candles, and asked Mrs. Wilson to switch off the lights.
The dining room was shrouded in darkness, with only the candle flames illuminating everyone’s faces.
Under the prompting of Natalie and the two children, Shane made two birthday wishes, then asked Mrs. Wilson to cut the cake that the children had been so excited for.
Natalie glanced at the children who were leaning forward to look at Mrs. Wilson cutting into the cake before asking, “What did you wish for, Darling?”
Shane also gazed at them lovingly as he answered, “It’s a secret.”
Natalie pouted slightly in response. “Fine. Don’t tell me.”
Shane’s lips curved into a small smile. “You’ll find out one day.”
“Sure. Then I’ll wait for that day to come.” Natalie replicated his smile.
Shane accepted the piece of cake handed to him by Mrs. Wilson and placed it in front of Natalie. “You’re traveling overseas tomorrow, right?”
“Yes. I’m taking the afternoon flight, so you’ll have to take care of the two kids.” Natalie’s eyes filled with reluctance.
She really did not want to leave her children.
But for her dream and career, she had to.
“Don’t worry. I’ll bring them over there to visit you during the weekends.” Shane squeezed her hand gently.
Natalie laughed in response. “There’s no need for that. Won’t it be tiring to go back and forth every week? Just come visit once a month will do, but…”
“But what?” Shane tilted his head slightly.
Natalie’s face fell. “I hope you’ll tell Dr. Baker to renovate the house quickly and have Ms. Graham move in. I don’t feel comfortable leaving the two children with her.”
“Alright.” Shane nodded in agreement.
Natalie leaned across the space to plant a chaste kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Darling.”
Shane was obviously dissatisfied with merely a kiss on the cheek because he tapped on his mouth for another one.
Natalie felt amused upon seeing that. “Stop it. The kids are here. Here, eat some cake.”
With that, she forked up some cake and fed it to him.
Although Shane wasn’t a fan of sweet things, since she was personally feeding it to him, he opened his mouth and ate it anyway.
Then, he raised his hand, indicating that one bite was enough. “That’s enough for me. Have some yourself.”
Knowing that he did not like dessert, Natalie did not insist and began eating her own piece of cake.
Shane brought a cup of coffee to his lips, sipping on it while watching her eat.
Even though this birthday was simple and not as grand as when his parents and grandfather were around, he felt especially warm with his wife and children by his side.
That night, he did not dare to touch Natalie because she was pregnant. Thus, he merely hugged her to sleep.
But even then, he was too afraid to move. He did not even dare to turn in bed for fear of crushing her belly.
As a result, one side of his body was numb when he woke up the next morning.
Natalie laughed in amusement and gave him a massage. After quite some time, his discomfort was finally alleviated.
“I’ll see you off at the airport later in the afternoon,” Shane said to Natalie when he dropped her off at the office.
After Natalie nodded in assent, Shane put the car into drive.
Natalie watched his car drive away before turning to head into the company building.
Time flew by, and afternoon arrived sooner than expected. Joyce came to fetch Natalie and Sally to the airport on time.
When they arrived at the airport, the others from the Design Association were already there.
As Natalie was representing the country in the competition, the Design Association naturally came to offer their support.
Natalie spoke to Mr. Horner for a while before the latter had to leave.
After all, being the branch president of the Design Association kept him busy more often than not.
“Nat, isn’t Mr. Shane here yet?” Joyce asked while looking around the waiting hall.
