The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Leopold was bracing himself to answer the call when, at the very last second, the phone call ended. Instinctively, he let out a sigh of relief, exactly as he wished.

But before his smile could even begin to form, Griffin's phone started ringing.

"Huh? Vivienne's calling me." Griffin said, about to answer the call before Leopold could even attempt to stop her, Vivienne's voice was already coming through the phone.

"Leopold, why didn't you answer the phone? Are you not at home?" Leopold guiltily glanced at Griffin, who quickly covered for him, "Oh, he's here. Did you call him just now? He didn't manage to pick up in time." "Oh? I thought he was avoiding my calls!" Vivienne knew Leopold all too well.

"Swear to God, Vivienne, why wouldn't I want to answer your call? I was just about to call you back when you called her. Just missed it, that's all." Worried Vivienne would blLeopold, he launched into a rap, talking so fast that even Griffin was taken aback.

Vivienne, not wanting to delve deeper, glanced at the overly excited Juliette and felt a headache coming on, "How do you usually get them to sleep?" "What?" Leopold was baffled.

"I mean these two kids, Juliette has been playing for hours and still doesn't seem tired." Leopold, || Vivienne, do you hear what you're saying? You're their mom! And you're asking me, the godfather, how I put them to sleep? Leopold's mouth twitched in bewilderment, "I usually just play with them until they're tired and fall asleep." Vivienne, "..." If only it were that easy, these kids wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

In the midst of this, Juliette stepped onto the small sofa at the foot of the bed, "Isaiah, go over there, and wait till I do a backflip to snuff out that candle!" Isaiah, putting his book down, couldn't understand why his sister always had such bizarre ideas, but what could he do but comply? Quickly, he moved to his assigned spot, and Juliette, seeing this, stepped back a few paces. She raised her chin at Isaiah, "Just you wait and see, brother. I'm about to pull off a triple spin kick. It's gonna be epic!" This familiar reckless tone made Vivienne recall the person on the other end of the phone, and Leopold dared not breathe a word, fearing Juliette's antics.

Juliette: Then I'll just find another godfather.

Hearing the all-too-familiar tone, Vivienne couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, realizing how her child had ended up this way. Clearly, Leopold's influence was undeniable.

"Leopold?" The rising intonation made Leopold's spine chill, foreseeing his grim future.

"It's not what you think, Vivienne, hearout." "You're itching to go to Fariana Isle, aren't you?" "No, that's not it! Vivienne, I have a wife here, you can't be so cruel as to sendaway, Vivienne!" Leopold's howls made Vivienne pull the phone away slightly in discomfort.

Griffin couldn't help but laugh at Leopold's words, "Vivienne, stop scaring him." Vivienne raised an eyebrow, "Alright, I'll leave you two lovebirds to it. Try having a kid soon, Leopold, and make sure you're up to the task!" Before Leopold could defend himself, Vivienne had already hung up.

"What do you mean I'm not up to it? I'm more than capable!" Leopold protested, his face turning red as Griffin continued to laugh. "Sure, sure, I know." Griffin's tone was soothing, almost like she was talking to a child, which only made Leopold's face turn even darker.

Before Griffin knew what was et happening, she felt the world spin around her, and by the tshe realized it, Leopold had pinned her down on the bed. Content belongs to en.kikistoriesWith the light behind him, Griffin couldn't clearly see the expression on Leopold's face as he looked down at her, no longer smiling, "Don't you know by now? Want to experience it again tonight?" Content belongs to en.kikistoriesSoon, the room's temperature rose rapidly, enveloped in a bubble of romance.

Vivienne, hanging up the phone, helplessly watched the kids. Juliette was about to dash out for a flip, but her move was interrupted mid-action.

She was hoisted into the air.

"Isaiah, don't stop me. I have to snuff out that candle, or I won't give up!" Juliette said, swinging her fists at the candle.

Isaiah, mentioned by nand sitting on the couch, looked up, "Do you think I can lift you that high?" Isaiah gave Juliette a look that said 'you're on your own' and went back to his book.

Only then did Juliette realize she was almost three times her height off the ground.

In an instant, alarm bells went off in her mind, and a sideways glance confirmed her fears: Vivienne's expressionless face was right there.

"What were you trying to do?" Juliette chuckled nervously, "I wasn't doing anything, mommy. You must be mistaken?" Vivienne narrowed her eyes and leaned in closer to Juliette, "Thinking of skipping school tomorrow?" Juliette gave a sheepish laugh, "No!" "Tfor bed!" Vivienne commanded coldly.

She really wanted to be a gentle mother! But alas, gentleness didn't work on these two.

Juliette and Isaiah promptly lay down in bed, proper as can be.

After Vivienne finished tidying up the room and left, Juliette finally let out a sigh of relief. "Now that's the mom I know!" Isaiah just stared, speechless.

He was pretty sure his sister had a thing for playing the martyr!