Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law-Chapter 711: Bet (1)_1

"Then I'll just eat you up."

"I won't let you go back to your room. You should sleep with Billy."

"That won't do." Hansen Ruiz immediately started to protest. He would suffer from insomnia if he went a night without holding his wife.

"Go out and watch those two little ones. They'll start fighting again in a moment."

Hansen Ruiz pouted, muttering, "Ever since Jimmy Horne arrived, you've had to take care of an extra kid and have no time for me. I've told you before to just let the nannies do the cooking. Look at this! The lady of the house is cooking while the nannies are outside watching TV and playing."

"Both little ones love my cooking, so what can I do? I bet Julia often cooks in the Horne Family too; she's spoiled Billy's palate. And the nannies are outside watching the children, mind you, so don't say they're just playing," Rachel corrected Hansen Ruiz's complaint.

Hansen Ruiz still pouted but then quickly stole a kiss on Rachel's cheek and said with satisfaction, "That's because my wife is a great cook."

"Julia's skills are even better," Rachel said, her smile even sweeter after his kiss.

"What does that have to do with me?" Hansen Ruiz said dismissively. Even if the CEO's wife cooked like a five-star chef, it was no concern of his.

Rachel laughed and chose not to continue the conversation.

Just then, the sound of approaching cars grew louder, eventually stopping outside their villa.

"Mommy, Mommy!"

Moments later, Camila Ruiz ran in excitedly. "There are lots of uncles outside, and so many cars!"

"Sir, Madam, a Mr. Reyes has arrived," a nanny said, walking in from outside and going straight to the kitchen to inform Hansen Ruiz and Rachel Bailey. "He says he's here to pick up his son, Young Master Jimmy."

Rachel Bailey's hand froze mid-stir-fry. Spatula in hand, she turned to Hansen Ruiz, her expression worried. "What should we do?" Noah Reyes had found them. This meant he knew Jimmy was at their home. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Hansen Ruiz stroked his chin, smiling. "That guy is pretty quick, finding this place so soon."

"Should we notify Julia and the others? Adele isn't back until tomorrow. If Noah Reyes takes Jimmy away now, Adele will definitely blame us for not protecting him properly." Rachel was worried about failing her good friend's trust.

"You call Julia; Glades should be with her. I'll go out and meet Noah Reyes." Although he'd clashed with Noah Reyes before, Hansen still relished the prospect of facing him again; having a formidable opponent made life more exciting.

With that said, Hansen Ruiz walked out of the kitchen, a smile on his face.

Outside the villa, Noah Reyes stood with his men at the gate, several cars parked behind them, creating quite an imposing scene.

Camila Ruiz and Jimmy Horne had heard the commotion and run out from the house, the nannies following nervously. The nannies had never seen such a grand display: a dozen men, all dressed in black, their tense faces making it clear they weren't friendly.

"Uncle!" As soon as Jimmy Horne saw Noah Reyes at the head of the group, he ran to the gate, excitedly calling out to him.

Hearing his son call him "Uncle" again, Noah's heart tightened and ached, but more than anything, he felt a surge of affection. Even if his son still didn't believe he was "Dad" and didn't recognize him, the fact that his son didn't dislike him—unlike the hostile confrontations often depicted in TV shows or novels—made him very happy. After all, he was the one at fault.

"Billy," Noah said, his stern face finally breaking into a smile when he saw his son. It was the first smile he had shown in nearly ten days, a warm expression full of tenderness for Jimmy Horne. He liked to call his son by his nickname, Billy. To him, it meant 'never regret'.

"Uncle, why are you here?" Jimmy Horne reached to open the gate, but Camila Ruiz stopped him.

"Billy Horne, don't open the gate! How do you know if he's a good guy or a bad guy? We have to wait for a grown-up to come and make sure they know him and that he's friendly before we can open it." Camila Ruiz was not yet four years old, about three months younger than Jimmy Horne, but being a girl, she was naturally more cautious.

"He's Uncle. He's the one I told you I want to be my godfather." Jimmy Horne looked at Camila Ruiz, who was blocking him from opening the gate. For the first time, he explained patiently, a hint of pride in his voice. What bothered him most around Camila was that he only had a Mommy, while she had both a Daddy and a Mommy.

"Young Master Jimmy, the master will be out soon. Please don't open the gate yet," the nanny also advised.

Jimmy Horne looked at Noah, then at Camila, then at the nanny, and finally back at Noah. "Uncle, I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "I can't open the gate for you."

Noah smiled and crouched down, bringing his tall frame level with his son. He reached his large hand through the latticed gate, gently placing it on his son's shoulder. "It's okay," he said with another smile. "'Dad' won't blame you." It was good for his son to have a sense of caution, even if he felt a pang of disappointment.

"Uncle, you haven't talked to my mommy about being my 'Dad' yet, so you're just Uncle, not 'Dad'," Jimmy Horne said, his small face creasing into a slight frown. He thought it was wrong for Noah to call himself 'Dad' without permission.

He gently pushed Noah's hand away from his shoulder, his expression troubled. Mommy told him not to see this Uncle again. If she found out they'd met, would she cry? He didn't want to see Mommy cry; it made him feel awful. Mommy was the person he was closest to. His biggest wish was to grow up quickly so he could protect her. Then she wouldn't always need his eldest maternal uncle's protection.

At the thought of his mother's tears, Jimmy Horne instinctively took several steps back. Though he didn't turn and run into the house, his retreat pained Noah deeply. It was an act of distancing; his son was pulling away from him.

"Billy, what's wrong?" Noah asked, his smile still gentle.

Jimmy Horne didn't speak, only looked at Noah.

"Billy, this uncle looks a lot like you," Camila Ruiz suddenly said.

Jimmy Horne shot her a look, saying with annoyance, "I was starting to think you were blind." Uncle has been here for ages, and silly Camila is only just noticing we look alike!

"You're the one who's blind! Your mouth is like a dog's—it can't spit out ivory!" Camila immediately retorted.

"How old are you? You're only three months younger than me, so how can you be so dumb? Don't you even get something so basic? Have you ever seen a dog spit out ivory? Dogs spit out dog teeth! So stupid!"

"You're the one who's stupid—you're a pig! Just last night, you ran into my room and swiped all my favorite snacks!" Camila immediately started arguing with Jimmy Horne, leaving Noah and his men standing by ignored.