You More Than Anything In The World

Seeing as he wouldn't be able to help out, Benjamin turned around and went back to his sons instead. To his chagrin, the five kids too, locked their bathroom door from the inside.

What's the meaning of this? Why are they all guarding against me like I'm some sort of criminal?

He thought to himself with a frown.

Arissa soon finished bathing her daughter and was helping her get dressed.

“Mommy, do you think Mr. Graham is still mad at us?”

Arissa gave her a little pinch on the cheek.

“Are you afraid of him being mad?”

Jesse looked her in the eye as she whispered, “He looks really scary when he's mad. It's like his entire face just turns all dark and gloomy! Even my brothers don't look that scary when they're mad!”

Arissa chuckled. “That's just how your daddy is like, Sweetheart. He rarely smiles since he's been uptight for too long. It's only natural for someone who's always strict and stern to look scarier when they're angry. Even so, he really loves you all. I'm sure you've felt his love, right?”

Even Arissa herself would get scared of Benjamin whenever he was angry, so she could see why the kids would fear him too.

She affectionately ran her hands through Jesse's hair as she combed her hair into a cool-looking hairstyle, all while chuckling at how boyish she looked.

Jesse tilted her head as she said, “Mr. Graham loves my brothers.”

Arissa froze upon hearing that. Hmm? Is she still upset that Benjamin was cold to her before?

“That's because he didn't know you were his child at the time. Now that he knows, he's been showering you with love and affection too, hasn't he?”

Jesse nodded after giving it some thought. “Mr. Graham is indeed treating me a lot better now, but he sometimes looks at me really weird! It's almost like I did something wrong again!”

Children were particularly sensitive toward such things, so Jesse could definitely feel it if someone didn't like her.

Arissa let out a chuckle as she knew exactly why Benjamin had behaved that way.

“That's because he still thinks you're a boy, so he expects you to act like your brothers. For example, he believes boys shouldn't be liking the color pink. That's why he gave you strange looks when he found out you like pink,” she explained.

The look of sadness in Jesse's eyes had disappeared after she heard that. “Oh... How long do we have to keep this secret from him, Mommy? What if Mr. Graham thinks I'm weird?”

Arissa gave her an affectionate tap on the nose as she said, “He won't. He probably just won't like it very much, that's all. We'll tell him when I feel like it, okay? Now, go on and play with your brothers! I'm going to take a shower!”

“Okay!” Jesse nodded and ran off.

Arissa waited till she had left her line of sight before returning to the bathroom.

Since her brothers weren't in the bedroom, Jesse decided to go look for them in the bathroom outside. However, she had only taken a few steps down the corridor when she saw Benjamin working in the living room.

Still feeling a little afraid of him, Jesse tried to sneak past him on her tiptoes.

Of course, Benjamin noticed her creeping figure through the corner of his eye.

He furrowed his brows when he looked up and saw her cautiously trying to sneak past him, but quickly eased his frown when he realized it would scare the kids.