Chapter 223: Chapter 223: Settling Down

Ian Shaw had already gone to school; apparently, Ethan Shaw had taken him. Naomi Kenway woke up rather late today, so she missed them.

Many children were already on summer break, but kindergartens let out a bit later, so Ian Shaw was still in school.

Just as Naomi Kenway returned to the living room, the phone started ringing.

Seeing the area code on her phone’s screen, Naomi Kenway answered immediately.

“Fairy Sister!” First came Six’s excited voice.

Then came Joelle Lynch’s steady voice, though she also sounded very excited. “Little Sis Kenway, thank you so much. My postpartum confinement is over. The divorce isn’t going smoothly—Phoenix Holloway even threatened to kill herself—but my mind is made up. I don’t want anything to do with them ever again. This divorce… I absolutely have to go through with it!” Her voice was firm with resolve.

“Where are you now?” Naomi Kenway asked.

“We’re at my parents’ house now, but…” Her voice cracked, thick with unshed tears.

Naomi Kenway understood her predicament and offered comfort. “Getting away from the Jacobs Family is a good thing. Don’t be sad. A much brighter future is waiting for you.”

Joelle Lynch agreed between sobs.

“I’m arranging for a helicopter to pick you up,” Naomi Kenway said. “It’ll be fast—it should be there in about an hour. Start packing your things now.”

“Okay,” Joelle Lynch replied firmly from the other end of the line.

*

At one in the afternoon, Joelle Lynch and Six arrived in Veridia. Naomi Kenway first took them to a restaurant for lunch and then brought them to an apartment she had prepared in advance.

Six threw her arms around Naomi Kenway’s waist, trembling with excitement. “Fairy Sister, thank you! You really are a fairy…” As she spoke, she burst into tears. “I’m going to study really, really hard, and when I grow up, I’ll definitely repay you!”

Naomi Kenway smiled and gently ruffled the girl’s hair.

Joelle Lynch looked around the apartment while holding her baby, a look of apprehension on her face. “This… this is such a nice apartment. I really… How could we possibly deserve this?”

“It’s just an ordinary two-bedroom apartment. It’s quite close to the job I found for you, so it’ll be convenient to get around with the children. I’ve already arranged for a school for Six—she can start in September. As for Six’s leg… I’ll have my family doctor come over later to take a look. I hope there’s still a chance for her to recover.”

Tears streamed down Joelle Lynch’s face. She insisted on pulling Six down with her to bow deeply three times. “After everything you’ve done… we feel so terrible imposing on you…”

“Please, don’t do that,” Naomi Kenway said. “How about this? Consider it a rental. You can pay me once you start working.”

Joelle Lynch nodded tearfully. She knew Naomi Kenway didn’t need the rent; everything she was doing was purely to help her.

“For the rest of my life, I’ll work myself to the bone to repay you…”

Naomi Kenway gazed at Joelle Lynch, remembering how she looked back at the Jacobs family home, where she was treated so cruelly. Back then, Joelle’s face had been sallow, her features clouded with helplessness and sorrow.

Now that she was free, her complexion hadn’t changed, but her entire demeanor was different. She was full of life and vigor, brimming with a fighting spirit.

A smile unconsciously touched Naomi Kenway’s lips.

Joelle Lynch looked up just in time to see Naomi Kenway staring at her, a distant look in her eyes, as if she were seeing someone else.

An indescribable pang of sympathy went through Joelle Lynch’s heart. She knew Naomi Kenway was thinking about her mother.

Naomi Kenway snapped out of her reverie and smiled. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. After helping you, I feel as if a burden has been lifted from my own shoulders…”

“We both have to live our lives with optimism,” Joelle Lynch said.

Before Naomi Kenway had confided in her, Joelle Lynch could never have imagined that the seemingly invincible woman before her carried scars from her childhood.

“Alright,” Naomi Kenway said.

Joelle Lynch gently wrapped her arms around Naomi Kenway, patting her back soothingly. “I remember you said I’m a lot like your mother. I don’t know if you meant my appearance or my temperament, but either way, I feel very fortunate. Little Sis Kenway, I hope you can always be happy and no longer be troubled by the past…”

’Naomi Kenway is such a wonderful person,’ Joelle Lynch thought. ’Someone as good as her deserves the happiest of endings.’

*

As evening approached, Naomi Kenway arranged with Ethan Shaw to go pick up their son together.

Teacher Hilton led Ian out. Holding a folded paper rose, Ian rushed straight into Naomi Kenway’s arms and presented it to her. “Mommy, flower!”

Standing off to the side, Ethan Shaw raised an eyebrow. “And where’s mine?”

Ian Shaw blinked his big eyes, looking completely innocent. “Mommy likes roses, and Ian only made one…”

“So Daddy doesn’t get one, then?”

Teacher Hilton chuckled, covering her mouth. “We had arts and crafts today, and roses are very difficult to fold. Out of more than twenty children, only Ian and another little girl named Jinjin managed to make one successfully. Ian is so talented with his hands! It’s the first time I’ve seen him concentrate so hard. He said he wanted to make the most beautiful rose in the world for his mommy because she loves roses more than anything. He spent twenty minutes on it, and his final paper rose turned out even better than our demonstration model!”

Teacher Hilton’s expression was full of wonder as she spoke.

Naomi Kenway looked at the intricate paper rose in her hand, surprised and overjoyed. She showered Ian Shaw with praise.

Blushing bright red from all the praise, Ian buried his face in Naomi Kenway’s clothes.

This surprised Teacher Hilton even more. At kindergarten, Ian always seemed so mature and aloof, as if nothing around him held his interest.

But now, with his parents, he revealed this adorable side. A look of gratification appeared in Teacher Hilton’s eyes.

She knew that parental companionship was the most important part of a child’s development.

As was her custom, Teacher Hilton began to report on Ian’s day at kindergarten. She exclaimed in amazement, “Ian’s behavior was excellent today! For example, during the daily classical poetry recitation—something he normally has no interest in—he actually followed the routine and recited the entire poem. He was very cooperative.”

Naomi Kenway didn’t seem surprised, but Ethan Shaw lowered his gaze, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a little girl’s bright voice sounded from nearby.

“Auntie Jan, I want a hamburger! And ice cream, too!”

Jeanette Kensington was holding the little girl’s hand. She was the daughter of a friend who’d had a last-minute emergency and asked Jeanette to pick her up from school.

“Alright, but if you want to go to KFC, you have to ask if Uncle Caleb wants to come with us, too.”

“Caleb… Caleb…”

When he didn’t answer, Jeanette Kensington couldn’t help but feel annoyed. She turned her head and found Caleb Bishop staring blankly in one direction.

Jeanette Kensington followed his gaze and saw—to her dismay—Naomi Kenway and her family. Alarm bells screamed in her head, and her loathing for Naomi intensified.

“Caleb, what are you looking at?!”

Caleb Bishop turned his head and apologized sincerely. “Sorry, Jan. I just saw someone I know.”

Jeanette Kensington was so furious her chest heaved, and her eyes grew red-rimmed. “Was she that interesting to look at?”

“No. I was just curious.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep