The Unveiled Rose

Once Willow had rested, we all gathered in the dining room for dinner.

Howard's mouth watered at the spread before him.

Noticing his hesitation, Zane was worried he would hold back. So, he brought some food to Howard's plate. Howard quickly said, "Oh, no, please. I can help myself."

"Don't be shy." Zane's tone was cool as usual.

I glanced at Zane. It was strange how he could seem so aloof on the outside yet be surprisingly thoughtful.

"Mommy!" After getting some food in her stomach, Willow was back to her usual bouncy self. "If I train super hard every day, can I become a legendary martial arts master, too?"

She had not even started training in martial arts or boxing and had already forgotten about becoming a boxer. Now, she had a new goal instead.

Not sure what she meant by a legendary martial arts master, I asked with a smile, "What do you mean?"

"Just like those martial arts masters in the movies!" she exclaimed. "They can fly through the air and take out bad guys with one punch!"

I did not want to crush her spirit, but I had to be honest. "That might be a bit tricky."

The sparkle in her eyes dimmed instantly. Disappointed, she tried to cheer herself up. "Well, I guess getting stronger is good, too."

Howard could not help but smile at her words. Kids could be so adorable.

After dinner, Howard got ready to leave. Though the mansion was in the city, everyone around here drove. So, there were not many cabs around the area.

Zane offered to have Richard take Howard home. Knowing he would have to walk quite a bit to catch a cab otherwise, Howard accepted his offer.

Back at Steven's house, Jessica handed Zachary a locket they bought earlier in the day. "Your daddy and I picked this out for you. Do you like it?" Zachary took the bag thoughtlessly and pulled out the box.

Jessica nudged Cody with her elbow, who then looked up. She glanced meaningfully between Steven and the box in Zachary's hands. She wanted Cody to convince Steven to take the locket from Zachary and give it to him instead. Cody caught on immediately. Staring at the box, he said sadly, "I'm so jealous of Zachary! Daddy would buy a locket for him, but I've never gotten anything like that from anyone since I was born."

He looked at Steven hopefully, and Jessica watched expectantly, too. They both assumed Steven would do what he had done before. They thought he would take Zachary's gift and hand it to Cody.

"I wanted to buy two." Ruffling Zachary's hair, Steven had seen this coming. He added, "But your mommy wouldn't let me."

Cody turned to Jessica, who quickly defended, "I was just thinking of your wallet. But now Cody wants one, too."

She added softly, "You can't play favorites, right?"

Steven asked with a pointed smile, "So, if I give it to Cody, doesn't that mean Zachary gets nothing?"

Jessica froze.

Steven looked down at Zachary. "I can't let my son go without just because you don't want me playing favorites, right?"

"I just assumed someone else would get these things for Zachary since he has a happy family," Jessica explained. "But Cody..."