After Rogan had left the room, Carla probed the room herself. She found nothing out of place, and prepared to shower and sleep.
At that moment, Lucas knocked on her door. "Carla, can I come in?"
Carla pulled on a cardigan and opened the door. "Lucas, is something wrong?"
"I just wanted to check up on you. I hope the explosion didn't scare you too much, " Lucas said, his voice tinged with concern. "Paul has already investigated the incident. It was just a mere traffic accident; nothing to be worried about. However, I'll still get the guards to increase their watch on the perimeters just to be safe."
"Thanks for taking the trouble to do all that, " Carla said. "Good night, then. You should rest well."
"I…" Lucas hesitated. He seemed reluctant to leave.
"What's wrong?" Carla narrowed her eyes at him.
"I…" Lucas sounded nervous. "Well, there's a bar in the manor. I wanted to invite you for a drink."
"Now?" Carla frowned. "After what happened earlier today, it's best for us not to go out so late."
"Huh?" Lucas looked confused. "What do you mean by ‘late'? It's just a little past nine o'clock."
"Let's go another day, okay?" Carla said simply. "You should sleepy early. Good night."
She did not wait for Lucas to reply and closed the door on his face after saying that.
Lucas stood on the other side of the door, feeling very disappointed. He had thought that they would spend more time with each other once they arrived at the manor.
However, Carla had not allowed him any chance to be alone with her. Every time he tried to approach her, she would find some excuse to avoid him. He had finally mustered up the courage to ask her out directly and she had still turned him down.
He had no other choice but to continue waiting on her patiently.
Lucas sighed to himself and turned to leave.
Inside her room, Carla was stunned speechless by Lucas' invitation earlier. That man really has no sense of danger! He does not care about safety at all! He dares to ask me to go to a bar with him at a time when we should all be on high alert!
However, this was Lucas' personality. His life had been smooth sailing ever since he was a child, and he had never experienced any terrible crisis. It was only natural that he would develop such a gentle and trusting personality, and a lack of a sense of danger.
Carla shook her head to herself and put him out of her mind. She was still worried about the children. She left her room and went to check up on them.
Freda had scheduled four of her men to watch over each of the children in shifts, even when they were asleep. Luckily, the children loved the excitement and did not mind the bodyguards' presence around them.
Only Randy, the most perceptive of all the children, asked Carla, "Mommy, was the explosion this afternoon a sneak attack on us?"
"It was a car accident, " Carla explained gently. "Mommy's just taking extra precaution now to be safe. Don't worry about it. Go to sleep now. Sweet dreams."
"Okay, " Randy said sleepily and dropped the subject. "You should sleep early too, Mommy. Venus and the others are all tired from playing today and they're already sleeping soundly."
"They must have a lot of fun sleeping in the same room." Carla smiled as she thought of them playing together happily before bed, "Venus really likes playing with them."
"I'm not much fun. Venus was probably bored to death with just me around. Now that she has three girls to play with, she is much, much happier, " Randy said with a laugh.
"Haha! What about you? Are you bored?" Carla asked with a smile.
"I'm not. I spend my time reading or surfing the internet or painting… There's so much to do!" Randy replied. "On the other hand, Mommy, you must focus on your treatment!"
"I will." Carla pulled Randy in for a hug. "Time for bed. Mommy wants to go to sleep too."
"Good night, Mommy!"
"Good night, Randy."
Carla walked back to her room. She caught sight of Lucas drinking alone in the bar downstairs. She frowned to herself but did not say anything.
Guilt pricked at her heart. She clearly had no feelings for him. Yet, she had said yes to his proposal and let herself enjoy his affection.
His days consisted of playing with the children and making her happy. He did not do much for himself at all. Could he be pressuring himself too much?
Suddenly, the loud noise of car engines interrupted her thoughts. Carla walked over to the window and peered outside. It was a convoy of seven cars ferrying the Laurent family.
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