Sweet Twins Indulge in Daddy's Love

"Alright! Sounds good to me!" Nadia excitedly raised her hand, initiating a high five with Bobby.

Charles and Nancy shared a knowing look, amused at their children. They shrugged their shoulders as if in surrender. It seemed like they didn't have a choice but to participate in the game.

The four of them played until the children were tired. It was already midnight when Bobby and Nadia finally conceded that it was time to sleep.

Nancy and Charles tucked the kids in bed, who dozed off in no time.

"Ready to get some sleep now, Charles?" Nancy said weakly as she rubbed her eyes and walked towards their room sluggishly.

"You bet I am." Charles yawned, barely able to keep his eyes open.

He couldn't get himself to think about the notebook anymore. He was too drowsy that getting into bed was all he could fix his thoughts on.

Everything he and Nancy had to discuss about the notebook would have to wait until tomorrow.

Come morning, Nancy was awakened by the loud and playful voices of Bobby and Nadia.

"Get up, mommy and daddy! It's morning already!"

The kids rushed into their room and climbed straight unto the bed.

A little irked, Nancy scratched her head. "Children, please keep it down and let mommy sleep for a few more minutes," she pleaded.

"But mommy, look outside. The sun has risen! That means it's time to get up!" Nadia reasoned out as she cupped Nancy's face.

"I don't know where you kids get so much energy from. As for mommy, I got so little sleep last night. Be good children and let mommy sleep some more."

"But mommy, why are you still sleepy? Didn't we sleep at the same time last night? How come Nadia and I don't feel like sleeping anymore?" Bobby asked, curious as always. Nancy's head felt like it was about to explode. The kids had been asking a lot of difficult questions lately. In situations like this, she couldn't help but wish that they weren't too smart.

She pulled the quilt to cover her face and said, "Go wake up daddy and ask him to play. Mommy needs to get a little more sleep!"

Realizing that their mommy really wasn't getting out of bed anytime soon, Bobby and Nadia tried their luck with Charles. Nadia pinched their father's nose while Bobby tried to pull his eyes open. "Daddy, wake up! What did you do after we slept last night? Did you continue to play with mommy?"

Charles frowned and turned over. "No, mommy and daddy slept right away. Can you let daddy sleep some more, too?"

"No, daddy. You have to get up and play with us. Don't just play with mommy!" Bobby said as he grabbed and twisted Charles' ear.

Succumbing to the children's endless pleading, Charles sat up and rubbed his temple. "Children, your mommy and I didn't play some more last night. We were very tired so went to bed right after you two did." "Okay. But daddy, how about now? Can we play?" Bobby asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Charles rubbed his hands between his eyebrows and tried to pacify the children, "Okay, how about this? We will all play together tonight if you will be good kids and behave."

"Okay, daddy. We will do as you say. But we will count on you and mommy to play with us tonight!" Nadia said in a serious tone.

Charles sighed. "Alright, let's not disturb mommy and let her rest a bit more. Come, let's go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast!" He rolled over and got out of bed.

"Alright, kids. Let's go and cook some breakfast! What do you want to eat?" Charles asked the children as they motioned out of the room.

Excitedly, Nadia and Bobby jumped out of bed and ran towards the kitchen.

Nancy, now feeling a little more rested, woke up to the voices of the children. "Get up, mommy! It's time for breakfast!"

"Alright." With disheveled hair, Nancy got up lazily.

She reached for her phone and clicked it open. Seeing the time on the screen made her instantly jump out of bed.

"Why didn't you wake me up? I'm late for work. I have to check the wards today. I'll just have breakfast at the hospital." She hurriedly walked out of the bedroom.

Puzzled, Nadia and Bobby looked at her strangely. "Mommy, you said you needed to sleep a little longer."

Then it came back to her that she did say that. "Okay, kids. Eat your breakfast. Your daddy will drive you to school later. Mommy has to go to work." Nancy ran to the bathroom like a gust of wind. "Daddy, mommy said she wouldn't join us for breakfast!

"Nadia ran into the kitchen. Tears started to form in her eyes. Charles got on his knees and tried to console their daughter.

Charles thought of Nancy being tired and lacking sleep, so he took over preparing breakfast. He knew that she needed to go to work, but he hoped that she would at least have breakfast with the children. Feeling a little disappointed, he tried to convince her to have breakfast at home. "Nancy, why don't you have a quick breakfast with us before heading to work?"

"I'm sorry, I really can't. I'm in a hurry," Nancy declined as she washed her face.

"You can't skip breakfast; your stomach will hurt. You know it's been aching lately."

Nancy darted out of the room before Charles even got to finish his sentence. In a moment, she was by the front door.

Charles ran after her with a cup of coffee and a sandwich in his hands, hoping she could at least bring some to work. But Nancy grabbed her bag and left without even looking at him.

"Wow, this woman is very workaholic. She doesn't even know how to rest," Charles said helplessly.

"Mommy is so pitiful. She didn't even have time to eat breakfast!" Nadia said sadly.

"No, Nadia. Mommy is not pitiful; she is adorable. Women who work hard are very cute!" said Bobby, talking like an adult.

"Okay, if that's cute, then she is being a little too cute!" Helplessly, Charles nudged the children. "Enough, kids. Hurry and eat your breakfast. We have to leave for school soon." "Okay, I'm so hungry!" Nadia exclaimed as she ran towards the dining room.

"Nadia is a foodie, isn't she, daddy?" Bobby jokingly said.

"Both of you are!" Charles teased, looking at the breakfast he had been busy preparing the whole morning.

After having their breakfast, the two kids went back to their rooms to grab their schoolbags.

Charles walked into the bedroom to grab a few things when he happened to catch a glimpse of the notebook on top of the cabinet.

He was astounded. 'Did Nancy forget to take it with her?'

Charles took the notebook but also put it back immediately.

He decided to figure out where this notebook came from and how Nancy got a hold of it.

He was certain that it was not a record of Nancy's solicited red envelopes from patients. It had to belong to someone else!

He had a strong hunch about who owned the notebook, but he couldn't rely on that alone. He needed sufficient evidence, and he was determined to investigate.

By this time, Nancy had arrived at the hospital.

"Director Nancy, Boyd is ready for discharge today!" Erin came over and informed her.

"When was the bandage removed?" Nancy asked.

"This morning," Erin responded.

"Well, it's time for him to leave the hospital. Most of the patients are children anyway so it will better for him to recover at home." As soon as Nancy finished her words, she saw Boyd in a wheelchair, being carted off the ward by his wife.

"Hello, Director Nancy," Boyd greeted her, now looking better. "Thank you for taking care of me for the past few weeks," he said apologetically with a ruddy face.

"Don't worry about it. You should rest for one or two months before you get back to work!" Nancy smiled at him.

"Thank you, Director Nancy. I used to... I hope you have forgiven me for my bad temper!" Boyd clutched his clothes anxiously. "I don't know what happened. I was very irritable at that time. That was embarrassing. I'm really sorry!"