Randy, Josh, and Venus talked on and on, trying to persuade Carla to return to Northridge.
Carla could not bring herself to turn them down, but she knew it was not a good idea to go back now. She was afraid she would fall for Zayn again. She would be in for huge trouble if that happened.
She was fine with how things were at the moment. She kept her distance and they were on good terms.
"Do you guys know this is where Grandpa used to live?" Carla told the children, trying to change the topic.
"Mommy and Mrs. Borah used to live here as well. We took a lot of photos together. Do y'all want to have a look?"
"Yes!" Carla managed to spark the children's interest. "We want to see it, Mommy."
"Great, but we'll do that later. I need to run some errands now. Why not y'all play with Alpha, Beta, and Gamma first? I'll show you guys the photos in a bit."
"But…" The children stopped, looking at Zayn.
"Daddy said y'all can stay for the weekend and leave tomorrow night, " Carla assured the children.
"Yay!" The three kids leaped in joy when they knew they could stay over.
A cheerful smile broke out on Carla's face as she looked at the children. "I'm going to visit Dr. Feroma now. You guys stay at home first, okay?"
"Yes, Mommy!"
The kids ran back merrily to the courtyard to play.
Carla heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the children. She asked Rogan to stay back to watch the kids while Freda and her got ready to leave.
"We can go in my car, " Zayn suggested, "I bet Dr. Feroma doesn't like too many cars at his place."
"Sure, " Carla agreed and hopped on with Freda.
Freda sat down beside Benard, who was in the driver's seat, while Carla and Zayn sat at the back.
The four set out with the rest of the guards at home to keep an eye on the children.
It was an enjoyable drive. There were lush trees along the way, blocking out the sun. Sprinkles of sunlight made their way through the leaves, falling on the road like specks of golden dust, forming a pleasant sight.
The journey continued without many conversations.
Benard would steal a peek at Freda on and off as he drove. Unlike Bugara, Benard was reserved and introverted.
Although Benard and Freda clearly had feelings for one another, none of them took the first step.
As for Zayn and Carla, neither was trying to strike a conversation.
Ring!
A call on Benard's phone broke the silence.
Benard connected his phone to his hands-free device and picked up the call.
"Benard?"
A woman's voice rang softly from the other end.
"Um… Yes?"
Benard shot Freda a nervous look.
Freda looked away with conspicuous dismay on her face.
"Nella here. Is Mr. Giblo there?"
Benard was instantly relieved to hear the lady was looking for Zayn and not him, but he quickly caught on and looked anxiously at Zayn in the rearview mirror.
Zayn gestured at him and Benard nodded. "Is there anything I can do for you, Ms. Gold?"
"I'm in Aymo City, " Nella replied, "I have some questions to ask him but I didn't get a chance to. He had already left by the time I woke up."
Carla felt uneasy listening to Nella. What she said was very suggestive.
Carla pretended as if she could not care less, but deep in her heart, a storm was already brewing.
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