Chapter 72

Joseph's gaze was uncharacteristically distant for a moment, but who could outdo Melissa's act of feigning pity and preaching? Coming back to his senses, Joseph struck a fatal blow straight to Melissa's heart. "No wonder!" "Mama!" The sound of running footsteps from two little ones in the distance. They opened their arms excitedly as they ran towards Melissa. Joseph released Melissa's wrist, his face also lit up with a smile as he watched the two children running towards him. Upon seeing her little treasures, Melissa immediately knelt down, spreading her arms to welcome them—Alvin and Alvina—with the biggest, warmest hug. "Alvin, Alvina, were you two good at home this afternoon?" Melissa quickly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, asking in a voice as sweetly cheerful as a child. "We were very good. We even helped Grandma style her hair and apply the face mask." Alvin spoke first, his air of proud affectation was both endearing and comic, and it, in turn, eased Melissa's mood significantly. "Did my two little devils cause trouble for Great-Grandma again? Tell me the truth now." Melissa asked with an expression of feigned sternness. "No, mom misunderstood us, we're not little devils." Alvina hurriedly waved her hands, borrowing further into Melissa's arms for a cuddle. Melissa's wrist ached, making her hiss involuntarily. "Mama, what's wrong with your hand?" Alvina noticed something was wrong, she detached herself from her mom's arms, holding Melissa's face she asked. "Mama's fine. I think it's just strain from driving." Melissa quickly made up a reason, not wanting her young children to be worried about her. Alvin also detected something was off. He noticed that their mom's eyes were red, prompting him to ask "Mama, were you crying just now?" "No." Melissa quietly responded. Seeing the children's considerable concern, she felt somewhat touched deep within "It's probably because an eyelash got stuck in my eye..." Alvina scratched her little head, reposted with a tentative, "Is that so?" as she pursed her lips and muttered to herself. Alvin's mentality was more mature compared to Alvina's, seemingly picked up on something. He positioned himself in front of Joseph like a little man and confronted him. "Dad, did you bully Mom?" Since when did it happen, Alvin and Alvina started calling him Dad instead of Uncle, especially when they were not in a good mood, this gets even worse. Joseph was stunned by the question from a little boy who was half shorter than him. If he admitted yes, he would be seen as a villain in the eyes of the child; if he denied it, then he would appear to lack responsibility. "If you don’t say it, then it is." Alvin was sullenly with his hands on his hips, looking just like Joseph when he was angry. Even if Joseph looked down on Melissa, he couldn’t have a fight with a child. Moreover, his impression of Alvin and Alvina was pretty good. They brought a lot of joy to the Clarkson family since they arrived. "Alvin, dad was just reminding your mom not to always go out and make friends with some bad people..." Joseph was speaking and thinking, how to explain to the children, so that Alvin and Alvina could supervise their mother. By this time, soft and sweet Alvina also jumped up and said to Joseph In her shrill little voice. "Mom doesn't need your reminder. Mom is a good person. She won't be friends with bad people." "That's right! You, the fake dad, are the bad guy. Mom, let's go, let's go to Aunt Amy's house and never stay here anymore!" Alvin angrily took his mother’s hand and walked towards the door, Alvina snorted at Joseph and followed her mom and brother. "Wait. Alvin, Alvina, don't you want your Transformers and doll clothes?" Joseph walked quickly to Melissa and the two children and blocked their way. "We don’t want them. I am done playing with the Transformers." Alvin averted his little eyes, ignoring Joseph. Alvina also turned her head, irritated, "The doll clothes are too thick, I don't want to wear them." Seeing Alvin and Alvina’s determined attitudes, Joseph suddenly had no idea what to do. He could only ask Melissa for help. The prestigious president of the Clarkson Group actually fell to the point of being controlled by two children. "Melissa, tell them I didn't bully you." The aura around Joseph weakened considerably, and he could only try to maintain his image by issuing commands. "How could I lie to the children?" Melisa replied indifferently. Upon hearing this, the two darlings immediately tugged at their mother's hand and started moving towards the staircase. Seeing the situation turn grim, Joseph called out to stop the three of them from behind. "What can I do to make you stay?" Joseph finally asked. Melissa knew that Joseph was going to try and solve the issue with money again. But she, Melissa, was not going to fall for that. Holding the hands of the darlings, Melissa came to a stop at the top of the stairs, slowly turning around to face Joseph. Of course, Melissa couldn't possibly leave the Clarkson Mansion right now; she was merely deliberately applying pressure on Joseph. "Alvin, Alvina, what should we do to stay?" Melissa passed the question onto the two darlings, letting them name their terms. Like a professional negotiator, Alvin pursed his lips and said "Hmmm ... First, you have to be gentler with mom and never make her sad. Second, lend mom a hand, you can never bully her again, or we will walk away at once. Third, ..." With each condition Alvin mentioned, Joseph would nod his agreement. He couldn't afford to anger these kids again. Otherwise, his grandmother would starve herself just to give him a hard time. "Thirdly, you have to call mom 'darling', in order to appease her." Alvina thought a bit and quickly supplemented for her brother. Joseph could hardly believe his ears when he heard the third condition! Impossible. Calling Melissa, this woman, 'darling' was akin to telling him to die. Joseph's face turned green. "Fine, I agree." Joseph forced himself to sign this unequal treaty. His mind was buzzing as if it would explode in the next moment. In his life, he submits to nobody, except for Alvin and Alvina. Alvin and Alvina exchanged glances. They nodded at each other and said in unison. "Then we won't leave." Looking at Joseph's gloomy and indifferent face, Melissa still felt unsatisfied. He detested anyone mentioning his parents the most. Joseph was indeed full of himself. Always wisely imagining Melissa's daily whereabouts, every time he observed Melissa, it was with scrutiny and suspicion. "I have something else to say!" Melissa seriously declared, she emphasized two points very formally while looking at Joseph. "First, if you're not interested in me, don't try to restrict my freedom, and I don't need to explain anything to you. Second, never mention my parents with the attitude you had earlier."