Chapter 25

“Then, go on,” Becky challenged Freen with both arms crossed against her chest. Her eyebrow lifting slightly as she stared at Freen with complete confidence. She already fully convinced that the moment Freen touched Fahnareeh, their daughter would start kicking and screaming even louder than before.

Freen looked at Becky for a few seconds before slowly exhaling.

Without another word, Freen walked toward Fahnareeh.

Panic instantly spread across Fahnareeh small face as she quickly turned around and desperately tried to pull the door open with all her strength despite knowing very well that she was too small to do it.

“I want to go out! I don’t want injection!,” Fahnareeh cried loudly, her tiny fingers fumbling against the door handle.

Freen carefully but swiftly lifted Fahnareeh into her arms.

Fahnareeh immediately rebelled the second her feet left the ground.

“Let me go! I don’t want to!,” she yelled as hard as she could while tears streamed heavily down her cheeks, her small fists repeatedly hitting Freen’s chest while both her legs kicked around wildly without control.

Freen tightened her hold slightly to make sure the child would not accidentally fall from all the struggling.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Freen coaxed softly despite getting kicked several times by Fahnareeh.

“Daddy is liar!,” Fahnareeh shouted through her sobs before crying even harder.

Becky finally walked toward them after watching the scene unfold for several seconds, although there was already exhaustion written all over her face as if she had expected this exact drama from the beginning.

“Fahnareeh Beena Suphaphorn Armstrong!,” Becky called firmly.

The full-name warning instantly made Fahnareeh pause her kicking for one second.

“It doesn’t hurt. You saw for yourself how your brothers did it before,” Becky continued.

“I don’t want! I’m scared!,” Fahnareeh cried loudly and shouted. She still struggling in Freen’s arms.

“Nareeh, don’t shout to your mommy,” Freen said firmly this time, her tone no longer playful.

Fahnareeh immediately held back her crying slightly after hearing Freen’s voice change.

“I… I’m sorry mommy…,” she apologized weakly between hiccups.

Becky’s expression softened a little before she nodded slowly.

“It hurts for a moment, Nareeh,” Becky said while gently patting her daughter’s back in an attempt to calm her trembling body.

“What mommy said is right, Nareeh,” Freen added softly. “It only hurts for a moment. Everything will be alright after that.”

“No,” Fahnareeh refused stubbornly while shaking her head repeatedly.

“Later, daddy will buy you lots of toys if you get a prick without rebelling,” Freen suddenly offered.

Becky immediately turned toward Freen sharply.

“Freen, don’t you dare persuade her like that,” Becky said seriously. “She must do this without getting prizes. Not everything she faces needs a reward.”

Freen looked slightly guilty.

“But…”

“If you cannot handle her, give her to me.”

Without waiting for Freen’s response, Becky carefully took Fahnareeh from Freen’s arms.

“Mommy! I don’t want!,” Fahnareeh shouted loudly while clutching Becky tightly.

“It’s not hurt, Nareeh,” Fosbein tried persuading his younger sister from nearby, his little face full of concern.

“Do you want this dinosaur?,” Fastian suddenly asked while holding up a toy dinosaur he had found on Doctor Sea’s table, trying his best to distract Fahnareeh.

Unfortunately, Fahnareeh ignored everyone completely.

Her crying only continued louder and louder until her face slowly turned red from exhaustion.

Becky sighed quietly after noticing how tense her daughter had become.

“Mommy will give you a few minutes to calm down,” Becky said softly.

Fahnareeh sniffled several times before finally becoming quiet for a moment, although tears still continuously rolled down her cheeks.

Seeing her daughter calming down slightly, Becky brought her toward the chair in front of Doctor Sea.

The moment Becky brought her sat down, Fahnareeh body immediately started trembling again.

“We’ll just sit, Nareeh,” Becky reassured her gently while pulling her close. “The doctor won’t prick you without mommy’s permission.”

Fahnareeh buried her face against Becky’s chest while crying softly.

Becky then wrapped both arms tightly around her daughter, allowing the little girl to lean safely against her body.

After making sure Fahnareeh was fully distracted inside her embrace, Becky slowly lifted her gaze toward Doctor Sea and gave a small signal.

Doctor Sea immediately understood.

Within seconds, the needle pricked Fahnareeh. Fahnareeh ‘s entire body tensed instantly from the sudden sting.

“Aack..,”

Fahnareeh fingers clutched Becky’s clothes tightly while tears spilled down again.

But before she could fully process what happened, it was already over.

Becky slowly loosened her embrace afterward while Freen stepped forward and gently lifted Fahnareeh into her arms again.

“Liar!,” Fahnareeh accused immediately with a betrayed expression.

Becky rolled her eyes tiredly and sighed deeply.She had already expected this exact reaction from her dramatic daughter.

“It’s already done, Nareeh,” Freen said while softly rubbing Fahnareeh’s back. “Now, we can get out from here.”

Becky leaned closer and kissed Fahnareeh’s cheek gently.

“I’m sorry, okay?”

“No.”

“Mommy is sorry,” said Becky again.

Fahnareeh continued pouting for several seconds before finally nodding slowly despite still looking offended.

Meanwhile, Freen turned toward Doctor Sea.

“Sorry for making the doctor prick them take a long time,” Freen apologized politely. “We’re going now.”

Doctor Sea smiled lightly.

Not long afterward, the family finally left the clinic together.

The moment they arrived at the Timezone game area inside the mall, the atmosphere changed.

“WOAHHH!!! There are a lot of games here!,” Fastian shouted excitedly before instantly running inside.

The same thing happened with Fosbein and Fahnareeh, whose sadness disappeared almost magically the second they saw rows and rows of colorful arcade games.

Becky watched the triplets running around excitedly before slowly frowning. She felt something is fishy.
From the moment they entered the mall until arriving at the arcade area, they had not seen a single customer besides themselves.

“Freen,” Becky called suspiciously. “Is this mall open yet? Why is it only us?”

Freen casually pointed toward several workers standing nearby.

“They are with us.”

“I mean customers.”

“I rented this place for two hours,” Freen answered calmly. “After two hours, everyone can use this mall again.”

Becky stared at her in disbelief.
“Why did you do that? I know you can do anything in this world with your money but this is too much.”

Freen looked toward the triplets who were already running excitedly between the machines.

“We can’t take care of them properly in a crowded environment like this,” Freen explained calmly. “Children their age become too excited when they see their favorite games and toys. Even if we already warned them to stay where we can see them, they’ll forget everything once they start playing.”

Becky looked at the triplets quietly.
Deep down, she knew Freen was right.

“Our children…”

The words slipped out naturally from Becky’s mouth before she realized it.

“Our children?!” Freen quickly interrupted her with a teasing grin before suddenly wrapping one arm around Becky’s waist and pulling her slightly closer.

Becky instantly pushed against Freen’s shoulder.

“Behave yourself. This is a public place.”

“Ohhh,” Freen dragged the word playfully. “If it’s not a public place, can we do it like this?”

Becky immediately shoved Freen away harder.

“I haven’t forgiven you. I’m good with you because of the triplets.”

Freen’s teasing smile softened slightly.

“I will chase you until you return to me.”

“Freen,” Becky said quietly. “I have forgiven you. But returning to you? No. Just… thank you.”

For a brief second, something painful flashed across Freen’s eyes.

But before either of them could continue talking to each other. Fastian called them both.

“Daddy! Mommy! Let’s play football!,” Fastian shouted loudly while waving both arms excitedly from the small indoor football area.

Freen and Becky immediately walked toward the triplets.

Fastian already stood proudly in the middle of the field while trying to divide their teams.

“Daddy and mommy are in my team!,” Fastian announced confidently.

“Hey! How can this be?!,” Fosbein protested immediately while crossing her arms. “You take daddy and mommy into your team. This is not fair!”

“It’s fair enough,” Fastian defended himself while raising his injured hand dramatically. “Look at my hand. I cannot use my hand later.”

“Isn’t football played with feet?!” Fahnareeh frowned.

“Nareeh,” Fastian sighed dramatically, “stop using your brain for a while.”

Fahnareeh gasped in offense.

Before another fight could begin, Fosbein quickly stepped in.

“Let me divide the team,” she declared seriously like a tiny referee. “Mommy will be in my team. Daddy and Nareeh will be in your team.”

“I don’t want Nareeh in my team,” Fastian complained immediately. “She can’t play football.”

Without hesitation, Fahnareeh kicked Fastian’s leg.”You better become spectator instead,” she snapped angrily. “How can sick people play?!”

“Enough,” Becky interrupted quickly before the argument escalated further.
She separated the triplets with visible exhaustion on her face. “Just follow the teams that Rox divided.”

“But mommy..” Fastian wanted to protest but immediately stopped talking after Becky shot him a sharp glare. He instantly fell silent.

“Let’s go play!,” Fosbein shouted excitedly.

“Before that,” Becky suddenly said while looking at the triplets seriously, “Mommy wants to give you three some advice.”

The triplets immediately turned toward her.

“Tian, don’t run around chasing the ball without worrying about your hand. Your hand isn’t healed yet. Rox and Nareeh, don’t push Tian too hard when you want to take the ball from him. Understand?”

The triplets nodded obediently.

“What about daddy?” Fahnareeh suddenly asked curiously. “Does daddy not have some advice?”

Becky glanced toward Freen briefly before answering calmly
“She knows what to do and what not to do.”

The moment Becky finished speaking, the triplets immediately take their position.

Freen stood beside Becky with both hands inside her pockets. She watching the children with eyes softer than she usually allowed anyone to see especially Becky.

“Why are you here? You’re not on this team,” said Becky and pushed Freen’s body towards Nareeh.

“I know,” Freen then stood next to Fahnareeh.

Fastian immediately grabbed the foot
ball first.”I’m striker!” he shouted proudly before attempting to dribble the ball dramatically across the field.

Two seconds later, Fastian almost lost balance because he forgot about his injured hand and tried to use his body too aggressively while kicking the ball.

“Fastian,” Becky shouted in a worried tone. She had just been advising him a few minutes ago and now this happened.

Freen reacted even faster, she quickly stepping forward to steady Fastian before he could fall face first onto the floor.

“I’m okay!,” Fastian insisted stubbornly while trying to pull himself away to grab the ball.

“Did mommy not warn you just now?,” Becky said seriously as she crouched down in front of him. “How can you be so clumsy like this? If you want to kick the ball, no need to be hurry.”

Fastian lowered his head guiltily.

Fahnareeh crossed her arms. “I told you already. Sick people should become spectators.”

“I’m not sick,” Fastian muttered.

“You are injured,” Fosbein corrected her immediately.

“It’s the same meaning,” said Fahnareeh who didn’t want to lose.

“You cried because of one tiny prick earlier,” Fastian glared at her.

“That was different!” Fahnareeh’s face instantly turned red.

“How is it different?”

“It just is!”

Before another argument could explode between them, Freen suddenly picked the ball up with one foot smoothly before kicking it lightly toward Fastian.

“Game starts now,” Freen announced calmly.

Becky suddenly stole the ball from Fastian before dribbling away.

“Mommy cheated!,” said Fastian.

“I did not,” Becky answered without even turning around.

Freen stared at Becky for a few seconds before laughing.

That laugh made Becky’s chest tighten unexpectedly because it had been so long since she heard Freen laugh like that. A laugh that wasn’t fake and the laugh which was only show to her a few years ago.

Becky tried to ignore what she was feeling right now. She focused on the ball she stole from her son.

The triplets quickly split into their teams properly afterward.

Fosbein stayed beside Becky proudly while Fastian and Fahnareeh stood beside Freen.

“Daddy,” Fahnareeh whispered suspiciously while staring at Becky seriously, “Can we still win?”

Freen bent down slightly beside her daughter.

“We absolutely can,” said Freen. “Let’s destroy them!” Freen ordered Fahnareeh and Fastian forward.

“Don’t teach my children violence,” Becky said flatly from the opposite side.

“Our children,” Freen corrected again on purpose.

Becky shot her a glare immediately.

Freen only grinned wider.

The game finally began properly.
Fastian tried chasing the ball carefully this time, although every few seconds he still forgot about his injured hand because of how competitive he was.

Meanwhile, Fosbein played surprisingly well for a child her age. He managing to steal the ball multiple times while proudly shouting, “See?! I’m the best!”

Fahnareeh, however, spent more time yelling at everyone than actually playing.

“Tian! Pass the ball!,”

“Daddy! Mommy is stealing again!” Fahnareeh stomped her feet.

“Phi Rox, that’s unfair!” shouted Fastian.

“No kicking my leg!”

Their loud voice filled the entire area.

At one point, the ball rolled too far away from them and headed toward one of the arcade machines. Fastian immediately ran after it follow by Freen.

Freen suddenly lifted Fastian onto her shoulder effortlessly.Fastian gasped excitedly.”Daddy!” shouted Fastian with a big smile on face.

“Let Daddy pick it,” Freen said while walking towards the ball. She kicked it towards Becky.

“Mommy, I’m tired,” said Fahnareeh and hugged Becky’s leg.

“Let’s go have a lunch. After day,We’re going home.”