Elise didn’t look at him, instead taking another biscuit handed over by Robin. "Robin, you eat some too. But biscuits can give you a sore throat if you have too many, so don’t eat too many at once, okay?"

"Uh-huh!" Robin popped a biscuit into his own mouth and sat down obediently right next to her.

Elise then asked him, "Today is Monday. Why didn’t you go to kindergarten?"

Robin paused for a second, then raised his head, thought about it, and said, "Daddy told me to stay home and keep Mommy company. He said it’s fine to skip kindergarten for a few days."

Hearing this, Elise glanced over at Dylan.

Dylan cleared his throat and explained, "Fleur called this morning. She feels terrible because she thinks Robin staying here will make things too tiring for you, so she wanted to come over and thank you in person."

"There’s really no need for an in-person thank you," Elise said flatly. "I have errands to run and need to go out this afternoon, so if she wants to come over, let her come."

Dylan was slightly caught off guard by her answer. He had assumed Elise would reject the idea and hadn’t expected her to agree so readily.

Looking at Dylan, Elise easily read his thoughts from his reaction. She reiterated firmly, "Just remember what I said last night. If she can’t manage her behavior, I don’t think there’s any need for her to visit again before Robin recovers his memory."

Dylan pursed his lips. "I’ve already spoken with Fleur. She realizes her mistakes and will do exactly as you said."

Elise didn’t say anything more. Everything had been made crystal clear, but whether it would actually work out depended entirely on Fleur.

***

Fleur arrived at eleven-thirty, accompanied by Melissa. Her hands were full of high-end nutritional supplements, all brought by Fleur as gifts for Elise.

When they arrived, Elise was up in the second-floor sunroom teaching Robin how to paint. Hearing the commotion downstairs, her paintbrush paused mid-stroke.

She then turned her gaze to Robin. "Robin, do you remember that movie we watched last night?"

Robin was entirely focused on coloring his little painted penguin, his eyes glued to the paper. "I remember! Look, Mommy, I even painted the little penguin and its mommy!"

Elise glanced at the rather abstract drawing in front of him and let out a helpless smile. So it was a penguin—she had honestly thought he was drawing a panda.

She stroked Robin’s head and praised him against her conscience, "Robin, your painting is wonderful. But you know, I think your experience is actually quite similar to this little penguin’s."

Hearing this, Robin looked up at Elise in absolute surprise. "Mommy, I’m a human and it’s an animal. How could we be similar?"

"I mean your situation is very similar to the penguin’s story."

The smile froze on Robin’s little face.

Elise looked at him, her voice incredibly gentle. "But look, even though the little penguin mistook a few others for its mother at first, weren’t those mothers still very good to it? They even helped it find its birth mother together. In the end, the little penguin didn’t just find its birth mother—it ended up with a few extra godmoms too, right?"

Robin pursed his little lips tightly, his eyes—which looked exactly like Dylan’s—staring straight at Elise.

He understood what she meant. In reality, he already knew. He knew that the strange woman was his real mother because he had eavesdropped on their conversations before. He also knew that his daddy wasn’t actually his biological father. His birth father had gone to heaven, so after he was born, he had been raised by his current daddy.

But he didn’t want to change mommies, and he didn’t want to change daddies either. He wished they could just go on living together like this forever.

Robin gripped his paintbrush tightly in his little hand and looked down. "Mommy, do you want me to accept her?"

Elise wasn’t surprised by his reaction. In fact, from the moment Robin had run away to find her, she had known that the boy understood Fleur was his real mother. He just couldn’t accept it all at once and was desperately trying to grasp onto a shred of security from a familiar face.

Elise wrapped her hand around his small fist. "I know you feel wronged. If it were me and someone forced me to call a strange lady ’Mommy,’ I would feel incredibly hurt and upset too."

"Really?" Robin looked up at Elise, blinking. "So, I’m not in the wrong, right?"

"Of course you aren’t. You couldn’t choose your birth, and you couldn’t choose who raised you either." Elise looked into his eyes. "We adults aren’t always right; we make mistakes too. So when Daddy scolded you, I think he was completely wrong. But he realizes his mistake now. Look, he didn’t even go to work today just so he could stay and spend time with you. He only scolded you before because he was in too much of a rush, but his love for you has never changed."

"But she just feels so unfamiliar," Robin pouted. "When I look at her, I can’t connect her to the concept of a mother at all. I still prefer you as my mommy. Even... even if you aren’t my real one, I still like you best!"

Elise smiled. "Then how about you become my godson, just like Lily?"

"Is a godmom like the godmoms in the penguin movie?"

"Exactly."

"Okay!" Robin nodded eagerly. "Then from now on, you’re my godmom, and Lily is my godsister!"

"Mm. I love both you and CeLilye very much. Even after the baby in my belly is born, I will still treat you exactly the same way I do now. So you don’t have to worry that I won’t care about you anymore just because you accept your birth mother. No matter whose child you are, to me, you will always be my amazing Robin."

Elise’s words finally gave Robin a profound sense of reassurance. Under her gentle soothing and guidance, he finally agreed to try and get along with Fleur.

***

When Elise brought Robin down to the dining room, Fleur was just coming out of the kitchen holding a plate of honey-mustard shrimp balls. She was wearing an apron with her sleeves rolled up, looking every bit the picture of a devoted, domestic housewife.

Lifting her eyes to see Elise and Robin, Fleur smiled and greeted them warmly,

"Elise, Robin, you’re down! Perfect, lunch is almost ready. I just have to whip up a quick stir-fried pork liver and some hot-and-sour kidney slices. Pregnant women should eat organ meats to replenish iron. These are all dishes I learned to make during my own pregnancy. You must try my cooking in a bit, Elise!"

Chattering away with a bright smile, she turned back toward the kitchen, her bustling figure looking so deeply at home that one would never guess she was a guest visiting someone else’s house for the first time.

Elise watched silently, completely unsurprised by the stark contrast between Fleur’s current state and her previous behavior.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Elise turned around and met Dylan’s gaze.

She asked, "Did you know she was going to make those dishes?"

"Fleur said you look too thin. As someone who has been through it, she knows best what’s suitable for a pregnant woman to eat, so she wanted to personally fry up two dishes for you to try at lunch." Dylan paused, sensing something amiss in Elise’s expression. "What’s wrong?"

"Dylan, we’ve been married for five years," Elise’s lips curved into a cold, mocking smirk. "Have you ever once seen me eat offal?"

Hearing this, Dylan froze.