D City finally woke up to a pleasant morning after a few consecutive days of chilliness. Clarissa woke up and looked out of the window, delighted by what came into view. The exceptionally clear blue sky indicated that it would be a day of fine weather. It was really a perfect day to plan for an outing. Almost instantly, she made up her mind to grab the golden opportunity and take Damian out.
There were many places of interest in D City. Clarissa took some time to browse through the reviews on recommended destinations online with her phone and shortlisted a few places that they could visit. After packing some necessary items for their outing, she proceeded to wake her son up.
People tended to be idle and sleep more during winter. Damian was not an exception. When Clarissa patted him lightly on the back to wake him up, he turned to his side and mumbled reluctantly. Even though he looked adorable like a hibernating baby bear, she had to wake him up from his dreamland.
Clarissa knew the most efficient way to wake her son up. She leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear, “Darling… sleepyhead, wake up now. Do you want a yummy donut? I have bought a big one for you.”
Miraculously, Damian moved and sat up in an instant. Even though his eyes were still closed, he started to mumble, “Donut! I want to eat the yummy donut!”
Pfft! Clarissa could not help but feel amused and chuckled.
She quickly took out her phone and set it to video mode to capture his funny moment. My goodness! What a little glutton! He’s even licking his lips in his dream! The next moment, she burst into laughter.
Upon hearing Clarissa’s laughter, Damian finally opened his eyes. Rubbing his groggy eyes, his mind was fully occupied by the delicious donut!
“Donut! Donut! I’m coming!” he yelled excitedly and was about to climb out of the bed.
Clarissa immediately put aside her phone and pulled him into her arms. “You’ve woken up, right? Come, let’s wash up before you eat your donut.”
He turned to wrap his arms around her and called her coquettishly. Stroking his fine hair lovingly, her heart was warmed by his sweet voice.
After a quick wash-up, Clarissa and Damian went down for breakfast. Damian was given a donut as promised earlier by her. After savoring his favorite donut, he went up again obediently to brush his teeth and dressed up before they stepped out.
Matthew did not allow Clarissa to bring Damian out just by herself. Other than the driver, he advised her to bring along Julia and another nanny who was specially hired to look after Damian. For Clarissa, he might be a bit overprotective of Damian.
Nevertheless, she could not reject as he insisted to do so in order to secure their safety. As a loving father, it was just natural for him to cater to his beloved son’s wellbeing by all means. Thus, Clarissa understood that she had no right to go against his will.
Their first destination was the museum in D City. Once they stepped into the museum, Damian was mesmerized by the massive dinosaur skeleton displayed in the center of the hall. His eyes glistened with excitement as it was his very first close encounter with the skeleton of the mysterious prehistoric animal. His curiosity was piqued when he looked at the ancient artifacts of the prehistoric stone age, and Clarissa briefed him on the history of human development.
Later, his eyes lit up again when his mother pointed out to him that the world consisted of different regions as shown on a giant globe. It was sort of a unique educational trip which had enlightened Damian and spurred his interest to explore the amazing world.
As a mother, Clarissa wished that her son would gradually grow up and become more mature through self-development. At the same time, she hoped that he would continue to have an ongoing passion for the unlimited exploration and discovery in the world which was full of uncertainties.
At noon, they headed for lunch at a popular restaurant nearby. Clarissa ordered a few types of food as recommended by the waiter. She did not leave out Damian’s favorite fried chicken.
Damian applauded the moment his fried chicken was served. He munched the drumstick, licked his thumbs, and kept complimenting, “Mommy, this fried chicken is really finger-lickin’ good!” Clarissa shook her head and was speechless at his humorous way of enjoying his fried chicken.
Look at this drama king, who is a typical food lover! He can really exaggerate when it comes to food! He can actually help to advertise for the restaurant! She took the video of Damian enjoying his fried chicken and sent it to Matthew at once.
Other than the fried chicken, Damian tried other types of food eagerly as well. After a while, he was already full and let out a burp. While waiting for the others to finish their meal, he took a small piece of brownie and started toying with it.
Clarissa knitted her brows and advised him patiently, “Damian, I have told you before that food is not a toy, right? You’re not supposed to waste the brownie by treating it as your toy. Just finish it first!”
Damian put on a fawning smile and handed Clarissa the small piece of brownie which was already a bit out of shape.
“Mommy, I give it to you!”
“You naughty boy, I won’t help you to finish it. Since you’re the one who took it, you have to swallow it. If not, bring this home and you will have it as your dinner tonight!” Clarissa put on a stern look and warned him.
Upon hearing her words, Damian pouted his lips in displeasure and put the small piece of brownie directly in her plate. After that, he got off from his dining chair and started to trot around the dining table.
Ah! The little glutton is done with his meal. It’s finally my turn to enjoy my meal now! Since Julia and the nanny could help to keep an eye on Damian, Clarissa just let him move around freely. She had not really taken any mouthful of the food as she was busy serving Damian a while ago. Thus, she quickly grabbed the chance to fill her stomach first.
A while later, Damian started to feel bored in the private room and dashed out. Both Julia and the nanny ran out hastily to catch up with him. Clarissa glanced at them and continued eating.
Her phone buzzed abruptly. It was a call from Matthew.
“We’re having a meal now, and almost done. We’ll be back in a while, so you don’t have to come. Do you want to talk to your mischievous son? He had just run out of the room a while ago. Don’t worry, Mrs. Lawson and the nanny are following him closely. He won’t get lost…”
Matthew was actually thinking of having a video call with Damian. As Damian was not with her at the moment, he requested, “Since you’re already out, just bring him to my office later.”
“We’re not going,” Clarissa blurted out and rejected without hesitation.
Sensing that she was a bit blunt by blurting out the words, she explained at once, “We have spent a few hours out today and I’m afraid Damian is tired. He will surely need a nap later. Apart from that, I’m protecting him from the humiliation that I encountered at then. I’m sure you understand how I feel. I won’t let Damian experience the miserable moment that I’ve gone through. Matthew, I’m serious about it. If the same thing happens to our son, I would surely confront them and fight them to the end!”
There was even an unmissable firmness in Clarissa’s tone, which implied that she was serious with her words. As a mother, she would not let anyone inflict any harm on her child.
No doubt Matthew was the love of her life, yet Damian would always be her top priority. Moreover, he was still young. She would not think twice to sacrifice anything in order to protect him.
Matthew remained silent momentarily and consoled Clarissa, “Clare, I understand how you feel. Don’t worry, I will ensure that it won’t happen again. I won’t let anyone hurt you and our son.”
Clarissa held her phone and did not say anything.
Matthew heaved a sigh and added gently, “Alright, you go back for a rest with Damian first. After you reach home, just give me a call any time before he has his nap.”
“Alright, I get it. It’s only half-day, yet you are already missing him. If I’m not mistaken, you had never missed me like how you miss him now.” There was unmistakable jealousy in her tone.
In an instant, Matthew’s low and charismatic chuckle could be heard from the other end of the line. It was as if he was tickling her sensitive ear with a feather.
“Clare, it sounds like you’re jealous of our son!”
“Pfft! Fortunately, our child is a son. If we had a daughter, you would surely forget about me as your mind would be fully occupied by her.”
“Of course I won’t!” He smiled and emphasized, “It doesn’t matter if we have a son or daughter. You will be my top priority forever. You’re the one who brings them to this world. Anyway, are you willing to have another daughter? If you are willing, I will surely put more effort into achieving it.”
“It’s too early to talk about that now. Damian is still young.” Clarissa blushed, but his words seemed to trigger her in a way. If we have another child, I’ll really want a girl.
Matthew teased her, “Alright, not in a rush. We can put in the effort first and think about it at the same time.”
“Enough of that. I’m almost done with my lunch and will head home after this. Talk to you again later,” she hung up at once.
When she was about to get up and look for her son, the nanny rushed into the room and yelled incoherently, “Mrs. Tyson, can you go and have a look…”
Before she could finish her words, Clarissa’s face turned pale at once. She darted out of the room like a bolt of lightning.
The moment she was out of the room, she saw Mrs. Lawson holding Damian in her arms. Nevertheless, Damian looked a little pale and he was staring off into space. Meanwhile, the driver, Nick, was blocking in front of them, as if he was arguing with someone.
A middle-aged woman who was dressed in luxury clothes and jewelry was rebuking them with harsh words.
Oblivious to the woman’s strident words, Clarissa rushed toward Julia and took Damian from her immediately to check on his condition.
“Damian, are you alright?” she asked anxiously.
Julia replied at once, “Mrs. Tyson, he’s fine. He was just scared.”
Clarissa was relieved to know that Damian was fine. She embraced him tightly and patted gently on his back to coax him.
Her gentleness and comforting words had calm Damian down. After a while, he finally let out of his emotions and burst into tears. Julia’s heart ached at the sight of tears that rolled down his cheeks.
Clarissa continued to comfort him, “Damian, don’t cry. I’m here. Don’t be afraid.”
“Mommy…I’m scared.” Damian sobbed.
“Damian, don’t be afraid. You’re a brave boy and there’s nothing to be feared of.”
“Mommy…” Damian was apparently trying his best to take Clarissa’s advice. Twitching his lips, he tried to restrain himself from sobbing.
The woman was still chiding non-stop after knowing that Clarissa was Damian’s mother. Pointing straight at Clarissa, she mocked, “Stop pretending that you don’t know anything! Your son is really a troublemaker. It must be due to your negligence in educating him! Just admit that he has no manners! Stop giving excuses by saying that he is still young…”
Probably intimidated by Clarissa’s nonchalance, she was at least not cussing, although she was still lambasting her.
Turning a deaf ear to the woman’s criticism, Clarissa coaxed her son in her embrace and asked Julia about what had happened a while ago after Damian ran out of the room.
According to Julia, she reminded Damian not to run around or he might knock into the waiters and caused their inconveniences. On the other hand, Damian was being cooperative by taking her advice. Tucking both his hands into the pockets, he looked around inquisitively as he walked slowly, not forgetting to greet anyone who walked past him with a smile. Everyone was impressed by his pair of big round eyes and courtesy.
Later, a boy, who was playing with his toy car caught Damian’s eye. Since he was a typical car lover, he could not resist shifting his gaze away from the boy’s toy car. Thus, he stood aside and drooled over it quietly.
Both Mrs. Lawson and the nanny just stood aside and watched silently. Clarissa had told them that it was fine to let Damian have freedom under normal circumstances unless they spotted anything awry.
Nonetheless, the hot-tempered boy was displeased with Damian for gazing at his toy car. He glared at Damian and hissed, “What are you looking at? This is my car! If you look at it again, I won’t let you off easily!”
Meanwhile, the boy’s parents were engaged in their conversation and did not even spare them any glance.
Damian smiled as he told the boy, “Hi, I also have this toy car. I just look at it, and I won’t disturb you.”
Damian was telling the truth. He owned a lot of toys at home, and he was just merely taking a look at the boy’s toy car.
Upon hearing Damian’s words, the arrogant boy grimaced and stomped. The next moment, he dashed toward Damian and pushed him hard, causing him to slump on the floor.
Julia moved forward at once to help Damian up with the nanny. She frowned at the boy’s parents and asked in great displeasure, “Have you seen what your son has done? How can he push someone like that?”
Before the couple could say anything, the boy threw tantrum and shrieked, “Mommy, Daddy, they bully me! He wants to snatch my toy car!”
The couple, who were protective of their son, just grimaced and bombarded them with harsh words blindly. They were apparently unreasonable parents who had spoiled their son. Instead of pacifying their domineering son, they made a big fuss out of such a petty matter. As a result, Damian was scared stiff because of the sudden commotion.
