When I Was A Wallflower

Chapter 374

Chapter 374 Being Cold to Him

"Mr. Walsh. Miss Dillon. Where are you both here?" Chandler was surprised when he saw them.

Toby dusted the footprints off his white shirt while Chandler carried the child in his arms like he had done it a million times. It was hard to believe he wasn't married.

"Oh, my. Did the child do that to your shirt?" Chandler looked uneasy at the sight.

"It's okay." Toby waved his hands nonchalantly and smiled brightly. "Why are you here, though?"

Even though Chandler was adopted by the Alston Family, he was barely acquainted with Toby. So, they only knew of each other at the most and had never talked to one another besides the basic pleasantries required.

"I'm here to help take care of the children." Chandler smiled softly. "I'm free anyways, and the kids are cute."

Toby didn't respond and gave a silent nod instead. It was unclear what he truly thought about Chandler's reason.

Chandler carried the child with one arm and lightly patted his head with another before sighing lightly, "These children are lucky to have Leo adopt them. If not, they'll be an orphan for life. I'm an orphan. I know how tough it is. So, I wanted to do something to lessen the trauma of their parents abandoning them."

He was so emotional that Toby felt rather uncomfortable and awkwardly coughed into his fist in response.

On the other hand, Amelie wasn't one to butt in other people's problems. So, she stayed quiet.

Then, Chandler's gaze landed on her. "Leo will celebrate their birthdays all on one day. It's in two days. Would you like to come, Miss Dillon?"

Amelie guessed his intention and just smiled with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry. I'll be busy."

After her rejection, she noticed the child in Chandler's arms staring at her and felt terrible. So, she offered, "I'll get them birthday gifts, though."

"Oh, sure." He gave a quick smile as if he was very disappointed but tried not to show it.

Finally, he nodded gratefully. "I thank you on their behalf."

"Don't worry about it." Then, Amelie and Toby left.

Chandler looked at them, walking away while standing at the door before carrying the child inside.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Amelie questioned after they were some distance away.

Toby was slightly taken aback. "Huh?"

He immediately caught on and shook his head. "I didn't expect Leo's children to be here. However, it was Chandler who introduced the coffee place to me."

"I've no idea how he knew that I often go to the private kitchen we went to earlier and strongly recommended the coffee from this place." Toby pointed at the coffee shop sign that was right up ahead.

Amelie looked up and saw the sign as her eyes narrowed slightly.

"You think there's something off with Chandler?" he asked.

She didn't reply and only curved the corner of her lips in reply.

Indeed, she didn't like Chandler. But it wasn't right to accuse him without any evidence. Besides, she and Chandler's interests didn't clash.

After she had enjoyed a cup of coffee with Toby, she went to the mall alone. She was going to buy the children birthday gifts as she promised.

Since they were all still quite young and she didn't know what they liked. In the end, she got them all a big plush toy that they could play with.

Amelie picked the classic teddy bear for the boys while the girls all got the famous Eevee.

After she had made up her mind, she realized that she didn't know how many of the children were there. So, after some thought, she called Chandler, and he promptly told her the answer.

"Thank you, Miss Dillon. It's so kind of you to buy them gifts," he said sincerely. "I can see that you really like children."

Amelie didn't reply as she felt that Chandler had more to say.

As expected, he continued, "I still hope that you will reconsider. Leo's not a playboy. He has been abstinent these few years."

"Those rumors about him sleeping around aren't true. You know that he holds a high position. Those people spread the rumors because they wanted to use this as a chance to get closer to him. He didn't care enough to clarify. So…" Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

"I'll courier the gifts to you, Mr. Chandler," Amelie interrupted him as she wasn't interested in this conversation.

Chandler let out a sigh before acknowledging her statement.

"Oh, right. Please don't tell Mr. Alston about me sending the gifts," she requested, as she didn't want to cause a stir.

"Don't worry. I won't," he promised.

…

A few days passed, and it was the day of the children's birthday celebration.

Leo's car was quietly parked outside the house at night, and Eugene came jumping out of the car a moment later.

Eugene opened the trunk and took out the cake and birthday gifts specially prepared for the children that his wife helped pick out.

After he gathered everything, he strode to the side of the car and pulled open the door before announcing in a low voice, "We're here, Mr. Alston."

The serious man who had been working with his head lowered in the car hummed through his sealed lips as an acknowledgment.

Then, he closed the laptop on his knee and placed it aside before stretching his leg to exit the car.

Leo glanced at the mountain of gifts outside the car before entering the house.

"Leo." Chandler came running out, rubbing his hands together while wearing an apron.

"Everything's ready," he informed.

However, Leo frowned when he saw Chandler. It was apparent that he was displeased.

"Um. I came to help because I saw how busy Miss Potts was." Chandler scratched his head and explained nervously, seemingly afraid of Leo.

On the other hand, Leo turned his head and silently shot daggers at Eugene.

The livid expression on his forbidding face frightened Eugene, and he almost dropped his things.

"Tell Miss Potts to hire more people the next time she needs help!" Leo ordered Eugene and didn't reply to Chandler.

"Yes, Mr. Alston," Eugene answered.

Then, Leo continued to walk into the house.

Chandler watched as Leo left with woeful eyes before going up to Eugene. "Here. Let me."

"It's alright." Eugene avoided his hands. He had to stay away from people his boss didn't like.

Chandler's eyes dimmed as he saw how Eugene rejected his help like he was the plague.

By the time the two men entered the living room, Leo was already seated on the sofa leaning lazily into it with his legs crossed and a hand placed on his knee.

Around him, a few babies were crawling while a couple of them were staggering as they tried to walk.

The house was filled with cushions. So, they weren't afraid of the babies falling over and hurting themselves.

The babies seemed to be very curious about Leo as they gathered around him. One of them even placed their hand on his knee and stared at him. Some were nibbling on their little hands and dribbling, while others were nudging at his ankles.

Leila and the nannies were standing to the side while Leila kept her gaze going back and forth between the children and Leo.

When she noticed how Leo's stern face was slightly relaxed, she felt a touch of relief as she knew that he genuinely liked the children.

This seemed to be the only positive thing she had seen in Leo these past few years.

On the other hand, Chandler, who had just entered, also looked in Leo's direction.

Even though Leo didn't say anything, his actions intentionally became more delicate when he caressed the children's faces.

He didn't even care when the babies grabbed onto the legs of his pants and nibbled on them, leaving a trail of saliva.

"Mr. Alston is so patient with the children," Leila softly murmured to herself with a sigh.

It was rare to see Leo care about anything in the past few years.

It was only now that Leo looked connected to the world. Although he was as cold as usual, his eyes didn't seem as apathetic and even held a trace of warmth.

Chandler acted like he didn't hear what Leila said and walked to Leo's side. "Leo, I don't understand why you hate me. I have no ill intentions. I just want to help."