"Mom has prepared breakfast for you. Go eat in the kitchen."

When Sophie heard Natalie say this, her eyes flickered and she couldn't help but find it strange.

'Why eat in the kitchen?' She wondered, but didn't say anything about it.

However, despite her trying not to think about it, this stayed in her mind and when she noticed Natalie's somewhat uneasy, but also relieved gazes toward the kitchen, she narrowed her eyes.

Now, she wasn't a five year old who couldn't figure out just what was going on. And the realization of what was happening made her feel deeply uncomfortable.

At the same time, she looked at Natalie in a new light.

She had yet to decide what to do, become Max's woman or not, but she was already feeling so conflicted and uncomfortable at the thought of him being with others, even if it was her sister or mother.

Natalie, however, was already his woman and he was hers. Though she could tell she wasn't completely alright with it, she was still allowing him to be their mother.

She opened her mouth to ask about it, but after hesitating for a moment, she did not.

As all these thoughts occupied her mind, each second felt like a long time.

Swoosh!

After a while, before she knew it, she had already stood up and began heading toward the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Natalie hurriedly asked her.

"I… To the kitchen, to drink some water." Sophie said, her steps not pausing even though her mind screamed at her not to go.

Right then…

"Seph, bring me some water too!"

Natalie called out, her voice louder than necessary. Clearly, she wanted to alert them that she was coming.

Her steps paused. Biting her lower lip in frustration and guilt, she was about to turn around, no longer wanting to go there and be a nuisance to them when…

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of several gunshots echoed, startling her.

Natalie jumped off the couch, feeling uneasy.

…

In the kitchen, Max was just about to just thrust inside Emily and claim her as his when the sudden gunshots stopped him in his tracks.

Muah~

Reluctance washed over him, but he finally pulled away from her, breaking the kiss.

A string of glistening saliva stretched from their lips, keeping them connected for a few moments.

Both the mother and son looked at each other, each seeing desire and reluctance in each other's eyes. Max also saw the relief and worry in hers.

Smiling mischievously, he caressed her cheek and said, "We'll continue this when I come back, so don't feel too disappointed."

Emily's eyes widened at his words but before she could say anything, he tucked his little brother in his pants, and saying, "Also, don't worry about me. I'll be safe." he rushed out of the kitchen like a gust of wind.

Emily stared blankly for a moment before she adjusted her dress and leaned back against the countertop, muttering, "Did I really look disappointed?"

Just then, she heard Natalie's panicked voice from outside and came out of the kitchen in time to see Natalie grabbing Sophie's hand, pleadingly saying, "Don't go, Seph. It's dangerous outside."

"What's going on?" Emily asked, walking over to them.

Natalie's eyes lit up with hope and she hurriedly said, "She wants to go out and see what's going on. Tell her to stay put, Mom."

Emily looked at Sophie, who had a worried, almost panicked, look on her face and was trying to free her hand to leave.

As a mother, she could immediately tell that Sophie wasn't in the right mental state.

"Hey, Seph. What's wrong? Can you tell us?" asked Emily softly while gently pulling her in her embrace and soothingly caressing her back.

Sophie stared at the door over Emily's shoulder for a few moments. Then she closed her eyes, hugged Emily back and murmured,

"I…I had a nightmare last night. I saw Max fighting some people to save us, save everyone. But they were many and very strong, so Max soon got injured. He looked around and called out for me, he called out for you and Natalie too. But…"

She bit her lip, her tightly shut eyes becoming wet from tears, "...But we weren't there. We couldn't help him when he needed us the most. He felt really alone at that time and then he..."

She didn't finish her sentence but Emily and Natalie could tell what might have happened afterwards.

Pushing herself out of Emily's embrace, she stared at her, "I want to be there when he needs me. So, please let me go."

Emily sighed and said, "I understand how you are feeling, baby. But let's first calm down, alright?"

"How can I—" Sophie began to say when Emily sternly glared at her, "Calm down, so you can think properly!"

Sophie was startled, not expecting her to suddenly become angry.

"Would our going there be of any help to him? No, it won't because we are too weak to help him in any meaningful way." Emily said,

"If we still go, we would be only distracting him because if the situation is indeed dangerous, he would have to split his attention to ensure we aren't harmed before he could try to resolve the situation. You don't want me to spell out what would happen if he is distracted in a dangerous situation, do you?"

Unable to retort, and feeling helpless, Sophie clenched her fists and bit her lips.

Seeing this, Natalie felt sad for her and gave Emily a look.

Sighing, Emily gently wrapped her hands around her, "Don't worry, Seph. He is very strong and smart. He can handle the situation."

"Mm." Sophie nodded before saying, "I want to go rest in my room."

"Alright." Emily nodded and let go. Then, she and Natalie watched her head upstairs, feeling she looked very desolate.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Natalie's mind.

'I should ask Big Brother to help her awaken instead of me. When she is stronger, she won't feel the same helplessness again.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.