chapter34
“Do you want me to help you?”
Romina was a little surprised: “Huh?”
Joaquin suddenly walked over to her, stopping right in front of
her.
He said he wanted to help her?
How was he going to help?
Just as Romina was wondering about this, the man bent down
slightly and scooped her up in his arms.
Romina’s heart leapt into her throat: “Mr. Bowman, isn’t this a
bit inappropriate?”
“What’s so inappropriate about it?” The man’s narrow eyes
lifted slightly at the corners. “Aren’t we about to get divorced?”
The implication was clear: since they were about to divorce,
nothing really mattered anymore.
Yet, even in such a situation, Romina’s heart was racing.
After all, he was Joaquin!
Jericho’s uncle.
She and Jericho weren’t divorced yet, so technically, she should
still call him ‘Uncle Joaquin.’
The man seemed to sense her nervousness and decided to get
things over with quickly.
He picked her up, swiftly crossed over the railing, and set her
down gently.
Romina had just been worrying, wondering if he would be able
to make it over.
To her surprise, it was effortless for Joaquin.
He set her down quickly, the height was just right, and she
landed lightly on the ground.
When she glanced back at him, a hint of gratitude flickered in
her eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Bowman.”
The man quickly withdrew his hand and pointed toward the
main door. “If you don’t go out now, your son is going to break
the door down.”
Only then did Romina notice that the knocking at the door was
growing more and more intense.
She didn’t have time to say anything more and quickly turned
around, heading toward the door.
Joaquin watched her departing figure, the corners of his lips
curving into a faint smile he could barely suppress.
When Romina opened the main door, she saw Kashton and
Lenora standing there together.
“Mom, I’ve been knocking for so long. Why did it take you so
long to open the door?”
Kashton looked at her with a hint of displeasure in his eyes.
At that moment, the door to the room next door was opened
from the inside.
“I drank too much last night and slept like a log…”
Romina had barely finished speaking when she met a pair of
shadowy eyes behind them.
When Joaquin met her gaze, the corners of his lips lifted in a
half-smile.
Lenora heard the commotion behind her and immediately
turned around.
When she saw Joaquin, she greeted him proactively. “Joaquin
is awake too.”
“Good morning, Lenora.”
Joaquin greeted her in a low, somber voice, then strode toward
the stairs.
“Where’s Dad? Isn’t he up yet? I’m going to be late for school.
Are you taking me today, or is Dad?”
“Your dad isn’t here. He went out last night.”
Hearing her child’s voice, Romina instinctively withdrew her
gaze, looking at him with a cold expression.
“What did you say? Jericho didn’t sleep here last night?”
Lenora was about to speak when another shocked voice cut her
off.
Romina looked up and met a pair of cold, piercing eyes.
At some point, Hayden had come down from the third floor
and was now standing at the end of the corridor.
He had already overheard their conversation.
Romina couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
She hadn’t expected Hayden to catch everything.
“He had something to do last night and went out.”
“That bastard…”
Hayden looked exasperated, slamming his cane heavily on the
floor.
His aged face was flushed with anger.
“Is Kash awake?”
At that moment, a deep voice suddenly came from downstairs.
It was Jericho.
He had probably come back to take the child to school.
Romina glanced at Hayden, seeing the old man turn angrily and
head downstairs.
It looked like this morning wouldn’t be peaceful either…
When Romina reached the dining table, she saw Hayden
angrily scolding Jericho. “Where were you last night? Why
didn’t you stay home and rest?”
Joaquin, meanwhile, was sitting beside Hayden, about to have
breakfast.
“I got a work call in the middle of the night, so I had to go take
care of it. I was busy until late, so I just rested over there…”
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold smile appeared on
Romina’s face.
So, to him, meeting Nadine counted as work?
Hayden’s face grew even more furious, his voice rising a notch.
“Is work more important than spending time with your wife?
No wonder Romi is demanding a divorce. If you treat her like
this, who wouldn’t want to leave you?”
“After she went upstairs last night, she locked me out and
wouldn’t let me in. Since I had work to do, I just left.”
As Jericho said this, he shot Romina an annoyed look, his eyes
full of anger.
