Chapter 1715 The Proposal (Part Three)
"I'm not tired. It's a pleasure to take care of my kid. But I may need a good bath." Just like Edward, Rain too was a germophobe. He paid excessive attention to personal hygiene.
"Okay, go then." Annie avoided meeting his passionate gaze. She was overwhelmed by his enthusiasm tonight.
Rain lowered his head and planted a gentle kiss on Joyce's forehead, before turning around and leaving the room.
After he left, Annie glanced around the room with curiosity. The room had pink sheets, pink curtains and pink furniture. Everything was pink. It was the kind of room that appeared in the fantasies of every little girl who wished she was a princess.
Annie was struck by tangled feelings when she thought about starting their new life. Whether or not their life would be happy - Annie didn't know yet. But she should at least give it a try, not just for her sake but for the kids.
Rain finished with his shower and walked in Joyce's room, seeing that Annie had already fallen asleep by Joyce's side. Annie had been exhausted. She had been running around with the kids all day, and at night, Joyce had fallen ill. Annie's energy was consumed up. Fatigue got the better of her and she dozed off.
Rain picked her up in his arms silently and tucked her in beside Joyce. He sat on the chair beside the bed. Tom had said that Joyce would need extra attention during the night. Rain didn't dare go to sleep, fearing that Joyce might get feverish once again.
Next morning, Annie blinked open her eyes, feeling that something was amiss. Yes, it was the room that Joyce had stayed in last night. But where was Joyce? She was not beside her. Besides, why was she lying in bed? She didn't remember having gone to bed last night. "Joyce! Joyce!" Annie got up and walked out of the room without even wearing her shoes.
As she walked toward the stairs, she heard joyful laughter coming from the dining room. The sound was familiar to her. It was indeed Joyce.
Doubtful, Annie walked down the stairs. Joyce was sitting on Rain's lap and eating porridge. He was feeding her with a spoon. She looked better after a good night's sleep.
"Mommy!" Joyce blurted out in excitement. Her eyes had moved toward Annie as she came down.
Rain raised his head. He frowned at the sight of Annie's bare feet and put Joyce in her chair, walking toward his fiancée.
"Why didn't you wear your shoes? Don't you feel cold walking barefoot?" He lifted Annie up without hesitation. She was startled by his sudden action and yelped, wrapping her arms around his neck instinctively.
"Haha! Mommy, you are an adult. You don't need Daddy to hold you." Joyce clapped her hands merrily, making fun of her mother.
"Rain, put me down. Joyce is looking at us!" Annie's face was flushed. Joyce was rather mischievous, and that made her all the more embarrassed.
"Now you're embarrassed. Remember to put on your shoes next time. It's winter now, not summer." Rain put her down on a chair. He bent down and touched her feet with his hands. Her feet were freezing.
"I'm okay," Annie said meekly. The more Rain cared for her, the more she blushed. She couldn't help but hold her feet back.
"Don't move. I'll warm your feet right up." Rain wrapped his hands around her feet. He was much like Edward when it came to love. When he didn't love a person, he could ignore her completely. But once he truly fell for someone, he lavished all his love on the object of his affection. He was ready to make Annie feel like she was the luckiest woman in the world.
"No, no. They are dirty." She had walked barefoot on the floor and was sure that her feet had dust on them. They would only make his hands dirty.
"Don't worry about that. The floor is very clean. If you think your feet are dirty, it means that the cleaners were slacking around." Rain raised his eyebrows at her, smiling cunningly. He was curious as to how she would escape him now.
"Oh!" Annie stuck out her tongue in embarrassment. Of course. She had not considered that the maids had cleaned up.
"Mommy, where is Huey?" Feeling ignored, Joyce immediately butted in, attracting their attention.
"Huey is at home. You had a high fever yesterday, so he stayed at home." Annie moved her feet back toward herself. She was not accustomed to being intimate with Rain in front of the kids.
"Don't worry, Joyce. I have called up Huey. I told him that I would pick him up later." Noticing that Annie had shuffled her feet back, Rain stopped pestering her. They were not as cold as before now. He had warmed them up enough.
"Really? Yay! That's wonderful. Mommy, does that mean that we would always be here from now on?" In comparison to the place they lived before, Joyce preferred to stay here. Not only was the mansion huge, but there were so many toys here that she could play with. Her room was beautiful too, right out of a fairy tale.
"Yes." Annie had been keeping her head down all this time, like she was a newly-wed. She felt bashful and dodged Rain's ardent eyes that were pinned on her. He was smirking at her wickedly.
Rain didn't want to force her to face him. He wanted to see when she would stop being so shy.
"Well, I have to brush my teeth. I'm going to wash up," Annie blurted out nervously, standing up. Before she could step on the floor, however, Rain gripped her arm. "Put on the shoes first," Rain said as he stood up with her and picked up a pair of cotton-padded shoes from somewhere.
"Thanks." Annie put on the shoes and pushed past his shoulder without turning around to look at him. She felt it would be dangerous if she stayed here for a second longer.
"Daddy, what's wrong with Mommy?" Joyce asked, her expression curious.
"Nothing. Your Mommy is just being shy." Rain grinned, no longer looking like a playboy. Instead, he had transformed into a loving family man.This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.
"Oh! I see. Huh. Mommy is shy!" Joyce giggled, her shoulders hunched. Her mouth was covered by her hand in an attempt to be silent.
"Don't say it to her face. She would blush and get embarrassed." Rain was just learning how to get along with his daughter. He hoped that Joyce would accept him as her father in a short time. He recalled how Joyce had said once that she liked Fred more than him. Rain was determined to double up his efforts to win Joyce's heart.
After breakfast, Rain went to Annie's house. Joyce had not completely recovered and Annie had to stay back to look after her. Rain needed to pick up some essentials for them from Annie's house. As for the rest of the stuff, Rain planned to move it all to his house some days later.