Chapter 88 Feeling Troubled

Charlotte felt troubled. She had planned to give Sofia a pair of friendship rings, but Caelan had already given her a similar gift. This made Charlotte's idea redundant. Needing a new gift idea, she pondered alternatives. Caelan tried to reassure her, "Don't overthink it. I believe Sofia will cherish anything you give." Charlotte was uncertain about what to give, as Sofia seemed to lack nothing. She wanted her gift to be both meaningful and useful. The idea of giving rings came to Charlotte when they dined out last time; Sofia mentioned her dislike for her current ring. She resolved to find another gift soon. As the evening sky darkened outside, Caelan said, "How about I treat you to dinner tonight, Charlotte? You've helped me so much; it's only right I show my gratitude with a meal." Luke stood up and put on his suit jacket, "No need. We have to pick up the kids from school. By the time we get home, Denise should have dinner ready." Caelan inquired, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Luke looked puzzled, "Tell you what?" Caelan explained, "About the kids going to school. I wanted to give them a gift for the start of their school year." Luke responded, "We've been too busy these past few days to mention it. It's our first time sending them off to school, and we hadn't anticipated the amount of preparation involved." On the afternoon before the preschool's opening day, Grace, the principal of Imperial Kids Academy, sent a last-minute list of required items for the children to the parents. As a result, Luke had to rush to a nearby supermarket to buy everything himself. Luke and Charlotte found joy in their new routine of sending the children to preschool, going to work, and picking them up in the evening. "I'll cook dinner tonight. Let's not trouble Denise," suggested Caelan. Charlotte was skeptical, "Can you actually cook?" Caelan did not seem like someone adept in the kitchen. He defended himself, "Of course! I travel a lot for work and often cook for myself. My culinary skills are quite decent. You'll see tonight." Seeing his enthusiasm, Charlotte agreed, "Alright, then. Maybe you can pick up Sofia after work. We'll go get the kids now." After bidding farewell to Luke and Charlotte, Caelan headed straight to the supermarket. He did not forget to ask Sofia to come directly to Luke's house after her work is done. When Luke and Charlotte appeared at the preschool, the gazes that surrounded them were, as always, tinged with envy. Their children, Lilya and Andy, greeted them with overjoyed expressions. As the family of four walked out of the preschool under everyone's watchful eyes, Grace, amidst the crowd of parents, praised the cohesiveness of Luke's family. This apparent display of commendation from Grace caused a stir among the other parents waiting in the hall. Their faces darkened with a mix of envy and guilt, yet they remained silent toward her. Gaining admission to this prestigious preschool was already a challenge for them; offending the headmaster was out of the question. After getting into the car, Lilya asked, "Mommy, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Charlotte turned to her daughter, "Are you already hungry again?" Lilya nodded, "I am a bit. I ate a lot at lunch in school, but I guess the afternoon play drained my energy." "Tonight, Caelan is cooking at our house. You'll get to try his dishes," Charlotte said. Lilya, recalling Caelan as the person who often told her jokes, was skeptical, "Can he really cook? Maybe we should just stick with Denise's cooking. I really like what she makes." Luke, glancing at his daughter through the rearview mirror, said, "You haven't tried Caelan's cooking before, have you?" "No," she replied. "Then let's give it a try tonight. It's important to try new things; that's how we grow," said Luke. Lilya pondered for a moment, eventually agreeing with her father's logic, "Okay. I'm willing to give it a try." From the time they picked up the children, occasional sounds of rumbling stomachs filled the car. Initially, Charlotte thought it was Lilya's hunger. But when they reached home and she lifted Andy out of the car, she realized he was famished, too. After entering the house with the children, Charlotte quickly fetched a pudding for each of them, "Have some of this for now." Andy rarely expressed his needs. So when his mother handed him his share of pudding, he thanked her and quietly began eating on the sofa. After noticing that her children seemed hungry for the second consecutive day, Charlotte decided to call their preschool teacher. "Hello, I'm Andy and Lilya's mother. I'm concerned about their hunger after school. Are the lunch portions small, or is there another reason?" The teacher, caught off guard by the call, shared what she had observed. "A child in our class is supposed to go home for lunch, but her parents didn't pick her up for two days. Our school prepares meals based on the number of children, and she isn't included in the count. So, as teachers, we can only share our meals with her. Andy and Lilya might be worried about this classmate not getting enough to eat, so they've been sharing their lunches with her. That's why they're hungry after school." Understanding the situation, Charlotte was not upset, "I see. Tomorrow, I'll pack extra food for them or prepare a lunchbox to share with that child." The teacher expressed her gratitude, "That would be a great help. We will also try to communicate with the child's parents to either pick her up for lunch or pay the school meal fee. Thank you so much, Mrs. Allen." Charlotte replied frankly, "It's no big deal; I just want my children to have enough to eat. However, please address this with the parent. Leaving a child without enough food is concerning."