Chapter 432 My Brothers Want Me To Keep A Lookout
The five kids stared at Arissa while shaking their heads. Then, they responded in unison, “Nothing much.”
Arissa did not buy their laconic replies. She sat on the bed and eye-balled the kids, starting from the eldest to the youngest. She repeated this multiple times, which made the children felt guilty.
“I’m pretty sure you’re hiding some secrets from me.”
Although she did not spend as much time with Gavin, she knew the other four whom she raised like the back of her palm.
She could sense that something fishy was going on with just one glance at them.
Zachary’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly came up with a plan to avoid Arissa’s interrogation.
“Mommy, do you like Mr. Graham?”
Arissa did not expect such a question from her son.
Feeling uneasy, she withdrew her gaze and rubbed her nose subconsciously. “Well, I don’t hate him, but I don’t like him either.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
Jasper looked at her, puzzled.
“Well, sometimes I hate him. Other times, I think he’s not bad,” she added while fixing her gaze at the children.
“Mommy, we’re asking if you have any feelings for Mr. Graham.”
Jesse climbed over and rested her chin on Arissa’s shoulders. Her rounded eyes stared at her mother intently.
Arissa pinched her daughter’s nose dotingly.
“Do you all like him then?”
The five of them pursed their lips and answered delightfully, “We like him if Mommy likes him.”
Arissa was amused by their answers.
“Cheeky monkeys!”
She lectured them with a smile, “He’s your daddy. No matter how he interacts with me or whether he is friendly, it shouldn’t affect your fondness toward him. He does love you lot very much, doesn’t he?”
Putting the kids as her priority, Arissa hoped that the children would grow to be more intimate with Benjamin as it would definitely benefit their development.
Personally, she wished that the kids would love her more than how much they liked Benjamin.
Zachary scoffed and said, “We can’t really feel it since he always treats us like this…”
As he spoke, he mimicked Benjamin’s serious expression, to which Arissa found so entertaining that she laughed out loud.
Oliver even started impersonating Benjamin and copied his father’s tone of voice, saying, “Gavin, bring your brother out.”
Pftt!
Arissa pinched her son’s cheek.
“Don’t impersonate your daddy.”
“I’m just showing you what he’s actually like, Mommy,” Oliver rebutted.
Jesse looked at her brothers and stood up for Benjamin. “Honestly, Mr. Graham isn’t that fierce. He did smile at me!”
Instantly, everyone turned their heads to the girl.
“Sweetheart, when did Daddy smile at you?” Arissa was curious.
“It just happened today when my brothers wanted me to keep a lookout…”
Realizing that she had let her tongue slip, Jesse quickly covered her mouth with her hand and showed her four brothers an apologetic expression.
Faced with Arissa’s suspicious glare, the four boys shuddered.
“What were you guys doing that you needed your sister to keep a lookout for you?” She narrowed her eyes.
The four boys swallowed in fright, not knowing what to say.
“Mommy, we…” Jasper took a peek at Arissa’s expression and muttered.
“We’re trying to find out where our missing brother is, but we’re afraid that we’d be found out.”
“That’s all? Are you sure you weren’t up to something bad?” Arissa questioned further.
The four kids shook their heads vigorously. “Of course not!”
Considering their serious expressions, Arissa believed them.
“Well, as long as it’s not anything bad, you can go ahead and investigate. But don’t create any trouble. Have I made myself clear?”
The children were so surprised that their mother had agreed to it so easily.
“Don’t worry, Mommy. We won’t do bad things,” assured Gavin who felt bad about hiding it from Arissa.
Sorry, Mommy, we didn’t mean to lie to you. We just didn’t want you to be sad.
Arissa stroked her children’s hair and prompted, “It’s getting late, time for bed.”
The five little ones looked at her and rushed over to give her a big hug.
“Good night, Mommy!”
Chuckling, Arissa tightened her embrace.
“Good night, my sweethearts!”
After tucking the kids in bed, Arissa left the room and gave Benjamin a call.
The phone rang for a very long time, but no one picked it up.
