After coming out of the water, the three boys went up to Adrian and greeted him.

Cassidy didn't quite expect that her husband would bend on his knees and engage in a casual conversation with them. Knowing how unfriendly he could get, she thought that he would not even smile in front of the children. The boys themselves seem comfortable talking with him.

​​

He also appears so intimidating most of the time that even adults can't just talk with him casually.

"Though Uncle Adrian looks stricter than Dad, he has a good relationship with us. He takes care of us in his own way, and though it's not really obvious, he is easy to get along with sometimes," Damien chimed in from beside her, walking back to her as soon as he finished greeting his uncle.

"Really...? Then, I wonder why Hugo was hesitant to deny that he's some kind of a bad guy," Cassidy commented, somewhat looking a little dubious.

"Simply because Uncle always looks intimidating. Hugo won't understand it at his age - about how there are many layers to people that can obstruct others from seeing who they truly are, that is."

At that, she can't help but look at him with a surprised yet enlightened expression.

She thought that it's unusual to see someone sharing the same thinking as her and voicing it out loud like this. It's indeed undeniable that people don't have only one layer on them. Facades are easy to create, so there can be tons of them.

It's not just about physical appearances alone, but it also includes those demeanors and behaviors that people keep using as fronts to hide their true characters.

"You know, Damien. For your age, you can be quite a poet. You're a smart young man for realizing such things..." Cassidy commended while patting him on the head and smiling approvingly.

"I used to think that you're just pretending to be mature, but now, I realized that you indeed are."

Damien blushes at her compliment - not because he was recognized, but for the reason that he knows it's genuine.

He always gets praised by others, so this is not unusual. In fact, it happens so many times that he's able to learn how to read people's thoughts, especially sophisticated ones, by taking note of their hollow-hearted tones and expressions. It's one of the many occasions that he feels underestimated only because he's younger.

But since his aunt said this one sincerely, he was glad and a bit proud for once -

And because it's her who said it, he felt genuinely appreciated.

At this point, Damien is certain that Cassidy is going to be a very special family member to him and his brothers. She's the easiest adult to talk to, and she listens. Perhaps, she already is special at this very moment, which is why he can open up to her and say things he usually can't tell anybody.

"Say, Aunt... I have a question..." he then asked a bit reluctantly, turning serious all of the sudden.

"May I ask it even though I think it can be intrusive of me?"

"You can ask me anything, Damien..." she trailed off, a little taken aback by how he changed his tone again.

"What's up?"

"I noticed earlier when we're talking about that... whole 'bossman' thingy. It's just that... I-I felt like... I felt that you didn't see Uncle the same way you did before."

"Oh, ummmm... It's not intrusive of you at all. In fact, you're not the first one who asked about that."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah... Now, if what you're trying to question is how I truly feel about him at this point, what I'm certain of is that it's no longer like before when I still have my memories."

Damien takes a moment to let those words sink in before he finds himself sighing silently in relief.

The thing is, he doesn't want to see Cassidy heartbroken anymore.

He knew how lots of women would chase after Adrian, and he even witnessed one of them doing something out of bounds and inappropriate. As much as he wanted to tell her about Sophie, considering that she most probably couldn't recall her since she lost her memories and everything, he felt like it's not his place to do so.

For now, all Damien can do is make sure that Cassidy isn't going to cry anymore because of their loveless marriage - but if it comes to the point when he'll be needing to tell the truth, he'll do his hardest to brace himself for it and help her as much as he can.

"Cassidy," Adrian called out as he and his two nephews approached them.

"Oh, hey there! I thought you're gonna go to work. Why're you here?" Cassidy replied while she turned to look at him.

"Hadn't I told you that I was gonna take a break for today and the next days? More importantly, you could've just messaged me about your little outing here instead of your bodyguards."

"I thought you had no time to read it. But anyway, it's clear to me now that you had. So, please, no scolding?"

"I wasn't trying to scold you."

"Fine, then get rid of that frown. My nephews and I are here to have fun."

"Wait, are you really going to swim all day?"

"Why? Got a problem?"

While their aunt and uncle are having this exchange, Damien and his brothers only watch in silence, wondering if this is really how they normally talk with each other.

They already had a rough idea of how their relationship changed, but they didn't expect that what's supposed to be a normal conversation would come out like a banter. Nevertheless, they can tell that their uncle seems to care for their aunt despite his trademark stern tone.

Back then, he wouldn't even initiate an exchange with her, and she's always the one who had to talk with him first.

"Well, considering that you guys hadn't brought anything else but some towels and changes of clothes, I think that there's indeed going to be a problem," Adrian pointed out as he turned his head and glanced at their belongings near the palm tree.

"What do you mean?" Cassidy asked with a brow lifted.

"If you're gonna be here all day, you're gonna get hungry at one point. Lunch will be in a few hours, you know."

"That's alright. We'll just go back to the mansion."

"No, you don't have to. I'll just call some people. Let's set up a picnic here."

While Cassidy and Damien feel their eyes widen a little in astonishment, Joshua and Hugo start cheering in delight and excitement.

Certainly, Adrian isn't one to do this kind of favors. Not only did he put aside his precious work, but he's also willing to be of service to them. It's already rare to see him in vacation mode, much more when he starts planning a last-minute banquet all of the sudden.

"Barbecue...! I want barbecue, Uncle!" Joshua enthused with wide, sparkly eyes.

"Me too! Oh, and can we also have some sweets? I want cookies and ice cream!" Hugo chirped ecstatically while tugging his uncle's pants.

"Alright. I'll have them bring those in..." Adrian answered with a smile as he patted their heads.

"What about you, Damien? Want some from your favorite restaurant? I think I saw one of its branches nearby when I went out yesterday."

"O-Oh, yes. Thank you, Uncle... Though I'll be fine with just anything," Damien answered bashfully, not expecting that he would remember the restaurant that he was fond of.

"You should be more like your brothers when it comes to these things, you know..." Cassidy suddenly mumbled to him while grinning, making him look back at her in surprise.

"You need to take advantage of this. Bossman is rarely generous and tamed! And because it's really, really rare, you can actually make him do whatever you want him to!"

"Errrr... What are you talking about, Aunt?"

"For one, he can let you spend a million everyday!"

"Huh?! I-I don't think that's necessary-"

"Cassidy, why are you advertising that as if I'm looking for someone to sponsor?" Adrian muttered with an offended tone out of nowhere, catching the two off guard.

Though Cassidy was mumbling the whole time, he still managed to hear her bragging and telling Damien what they talked about spending millions last night.

In the end, she actually didn't understand what he's trying to imply when he said that she could spend his money however she wanted to. She totally thought that as long as he's in a good mood, he'd be willing to do what anyone told him to - just anyone at all.

In reality, though, he would only do something like that if it's her.

"Anyway, what do you want to eat for lunch?" Adrian sighed while scratching his head, deciding to end it there and drop the topic.

"Oh me? I'm alright with anything~" Cassidy cooed, already delighted that he's treating their nephews like this.

"No, really, what do you want?"

"I can just eat what the kids will eat. Barbecue's fine with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Hmmmmm... Oh, wait! I do want one thing!"

Seeing how Cassidy suddenly came up with an idea and perked up at it, for some reason, Adrian could sense that what she wanted had nothing to do with what she'd want to eat.