The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show-Chapter 53 - 54: Cousin, Who Is This Beauty?

After handling things online, Naomi Kenway turned around to find that Ian Shaw had dismantled the toy car.

"Annie..." A hint of surprise was in her voice.

Ian Shaw was a sensitive child. Thinking he’d done something wrong, he clenched his little fists. "I’m sorry, Mommy. I shouldn’t have destroyed the toy car. I just... I just wanted to see what it looked like inside."

Children always have such a strong sense of curiosity and a desire to explore.

Naomi Kenway smiled and ruffled his hair. "Why so nervous? Of course Mommy won’t blame you. You did a great job, Annie. Mommy has always believed that the first step to success is curiosity. If you keep that desire to explore the world, your life will become more and more interesting."

"Besides, you’re very impressive, Annie..."

Naomi Kenway picked up the toy car and examined it. This model was different from a normal toy. Its design was incredibly realistic, and now that it was dismantled, she could see it was full of tiny, intricate components. Naomi recalled that it had been a birthday gift from Ethan Shaw, one that Annie absolutely adored.

"A car this complicated... I don’t think Mommy could even figure out how to take it apart."

Naomi Kenway’s words had a completely different effect on Ian Shaw. He was ecstatic and began sharing all the amazing things he’d discovered inside the car with her.

What Ian Shaw was saying wasn’t childish at all. In fact, he used so many technical terms that Naomi Kenway had trouble following along.

’No wonder my son is going to be a scientific genius. He already is one!’

Snapping out of her thoughts, Naomi Kenway praised him generously, "You’re so amazing, Annie!"

Ian Shaw gave a shy smile. With a few deft movements, he reassembled the scattered parts until the car looked just as it had before.

Naomi Kenway watched, mesmerized, and showered Annie with a few more compliments.

Ian Shaw’s big, round eyes curved into smiling crescents. He suddenly put the toy car into its storage box and let out a yawn.

Naomi Kenway asked, "Are you getting sleepy, sweetie?"

Their flight had landed at four in the morning, so Annie probably hadn’t gotten much sleep. Naomi Kenway’s heart ached at the thought.

Ian Shaw nodded, then shook his head. He suddenly slung the little dinosaur backpack from the sofa over his shoulders. "Mommy, where’s my water bottle?"

Before Naomi Kenway could answer, his eyes darted to the side. He trotted over to the table and grabbed his water bottle—a little green one, also printed with an adorably ferocious dinosaur.

"Mommy, it’s time for my tutoring class."

With that, he walked toward the entryway to put on his little leather shoes. The driver was already waiting outside.

"Wait." Naomi Kenway quickly scooped him up. "Sweetie, aren’t you tired? Why don’t you get some sleep?"

"But... Annie has class."

"You barely got any sleep. We can postpone the tutoring class. Come on, Mommy will take you to bed."

Naomi Kenway carried Ian Shaw up to the second floor. Ian’s bedroom had been completely redone. Naomi had designed it herself; she didn’t have much of a talent for it, but she knew what he liked. The room’s color scheme, decorations, and stuffed animals had all been chosen by Naomi according to Ian’s personal tastes.

After placing Ian Shaw in bed, Naomi Kenway tucked the covers around him.

Ian Shaw suddenly grabbed Naomi Kenway’s hand. "Mommy, can you tell Annie a story?"

"I thought you were sleepy, Annie. You still want to hear a story?"

"Last time, Ray said the story of The Three Little Pigs his mom tells is really interesting. Annie wants to hear it, too."

As he gazed at her with his big, pleading eyes, Naomi Kenway found it impossible to refuse.

"Alright, Mommy will tell it to you."

Naomi Kenway couldn’t remember how "The Three Little Pigs" went, so she had to pull out her phone and look it up on the spot.

’I had no idea my son liked fairy tales so much,’ Naomi Kenway thought. ’Next time I go to the mall, I’ll have to buy a few more storybooks so I can read him a different one every day.’

Naomi Kenway’s voice was soft and gentle, with a naturally lulling quality.

But Ian Shaw only grew more awake. Cuddling his Strawberry Bear, he turned on his side to watch Naomi Kenway, his eyes filled with deep affection.

’Mommy’s stories are so fun.’

’When I get back to kindergarten, I’m going to tell Ray and Nathan that my mommy read me a story. It was "The Three Little Pigs," too.’

’Annie’s mommy loves him, too.’

After she finished "The Three Little Pigs," Naomi Kenway saw that Ian Shaw still wasn’t asleep, so she found another story and began to read.

About half an hour later, Ian Shaw’s eyes finally closed, his soft, even breaths ghosting across the pillow.

Naomi Kenway put her phone away and tiptoed out of Ian Shaw’s bedroom.

She hadn’t noticed before, but now she saw two missed calls on her phone. Both were from her heartless, treacherous father.

A few text messages had also come in:

Jackson Kensington: Why aren’t you answering your phone?

Jackson Kensington: The company plans to invest in new energy, but we’re having cash flow problems. I need you to talk to Ethan Shaw.

Jackson Kensington: If Ethan Shaw won’t listen, use Annie to threaten him. He can’t just abandon his own child!

Naomi Kenway’s memories of her father were painfully vivid. While married to her mother, he was constantly unfaithful, keeping many mistresses and even fathering an illegitimate daughter who was a year older than Naomi herself. He had angered her mother to the point of hospitalization many times, and then, less than a month after her mother died, he had eagerly married his mistress.

Naomi Kenway clenched her fists. Even now, just thinking about it made a fire of rage burn in her chest.

Ever since her mother died of a heart attack six months ago, Jackson Kensington had completely taken over the Kenway Group. He had no skills apart from womanizing, and he’d run the massive conglomerate into a complete mess. The Kenway Family had nearly fallen out of the upper echelons of society.

Jackson Kensington doted on his illegitimate daughter. He usually paid Naomi no mind, only remembering he had this other daughter when he had cash flow problems.

She had let him play her like a fiddle before, but that wouldn’t happen again.

Naomi Kenway blocked his number immediately. Just looking at messages from scum like him made her eyes hurt.

*

InfiniTech Group.

"Cousin, what are you so engrossed in?" Luke Lowell asked, leaning over for a look.

Ethan Shaw put his phone away, casting a cool glance at him.

Despite the fleeting glimpse, Luke Lowell had clearly seen the two figures on the screen: one large, one small. He recognized the small one—his little nephew, Annie. But who was the adult?

Luke Lowell was dressed in a leather jacket and leather boots, a diamond stud glittering in his ear. A look of stunned admiration appeared on his handsome face, and he was just shy of letting out a wolf whistle. "Who’s the bombshell? How about you introduce us, cousin? My mom’s been nagging me to find a girlfriend!"

Ethan Shaw’s face darkened, and the gentle smile he usually wore vanished.

This gave Luke Lowell quite a scare. Everyone said his cousin was a "smiling tiger"—fearsome enough in his own right—but a smiling tiger that wasn’t smiling was even more terrifying. Luke knew how to read a room, and he could instantly tell something was wrong with Ethan Shaw’s expression. ’Why does he look like someone just tried to steal his most prized possession?’

’It couldn’t be...’

"Cousin, don’t tell me that’s a mistress you’re keeping on the side?" Luke Lowell asked, shocked. Even though he wasn’t a fan of Naomi Kenway’s behavior, cheating was a hard line for him.

"That’s Naomi Kenway."