Chapter 227

Matteo, having finished packing his laptop, got out of the car. Upon hearing Isabella, he slowly responded, “Your mom isn’t here.”

Isabella stopped in her tracks, turned back to look at him, “Huh? Mom isn’t here?”

“Mm.”

“Is Mom still busy?”

Matteo gently patted her head with his big hand, “Maybe you can call her to ask.”

“Oh…”

Recently, when she tried calling Mom, she hadn’t answered. At home, everything was fine, but while she was abroad these past few days, Dad and Aunty Raven weren’t there—though they called and video-chatted with her every day, they weren’t physically with her. Being alone overseas, she often felt lonely and homesick.

In the first few days abroad, what she missed most was actually Mom. She called her every day during those days, but Mom never picked up. Later, she gradually adapted, understanding that Mom was likely busy and didn’t have time to answer her calls, so she stopped calling.

Before returning to the country, she had actually hoped Mom would come to the airport to pick her up. But since Dad and Aunty Raven said they would be the ones to pick her up, she didn’t call Mom. She had thought that once they got home, Mom would definitely be there. But, unexpectedly…

Thinking about it, Isabella didn’t feel like calling Mom anymore. She thought that even if she called, Mom would probably still be too busy to answer.

When they arrived, the joy of coming home instantly disappeared as she realized that Freya wasn’t there.

Matteo squatted down, gently pinched her cheek, and raised an eyebrow, “Crying?”

Isabella pouted and turned her face away, “No, I’m not!”

Matteo laughed, “Giving up? Not calling Mom anymore?”

Isabella didn’t answer. After a long while, she mumbled softly, “I… I didn’t give up…”

She still wanted to call Mom.

Matteo chuckled but didn’t say anything further. He reached out and picked her up, saying, “Let’s go inside first.”

Isabella nestled in his warm and broad arms, hugging his neck as she felt a little better. The Wilson family was waiting for them to eat dinner. When they saw them return, everyone turned to look.

Especially Old Madam Wilson, who, upon seeing Isabella, immediately smiled from ear to ear, “Isabella is back? Come over here, let Grandma have a good look at you.”

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No More Layovers for a Love That Won’t Land

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Chapter 227

Isabella got down from Matteo’s arms and ran over to Old Madam Wilson, “Grandma.” Then, she called out to Grandma Stella and the others, “Grandma, Aunty, Uncle.”

Stella and Maria responded lightly, but their voices were faint. Yancy, however, was very happy. He got up and went over to hug her, teasing her. Isabella giggled as she was teased.

At this point, Yancy suddenly turned to his brother and asked, “By the way, where’s my sister-in-law?”

When Stella and the others arrived home, they hadn’t seen Freya and assumed she had gone with Matteo to the airport to pick up Isabella. Now that both Matteo and Isabella had returned, yet Freya was nowhere to be seen, they found it a little strange. But since they didn’t care much about Freya, they didn’t bother asking.

Matteo replied, “She’s busy.”

Yancy didn’t suspect anything and continued to tease Isabella. Old Madam Wilson knew what was going on but didn’t say anything.

After dinner, Isabella played for a while, but feeling bored, she decided to call Freya. Even though it was a holiday, Freya had no plans to let herself rest. When Isabella’s call came through, Freya was busy going over some materials provided by Nolan.

Seeing the call, and recalling that they hadn’t seen each other for nearly a month, Freya picked up the phone casually, “Hello.”

Isabella wasn’t really expecting Freya to answer her call. But when Freya suddenly picked up, she was filled with joy, “Mom!”

Freya, still focused on the computer, responded indifferently, “Mm.”

Isabella didn’t notice the tone, only happily saying, “Mom, I’m back!”

Freya didn’t know she had gone abroad. She just answered, “Mm,” indicating that she understood.

Since Freya answered the call, Isabella, excited, started bouncing on the bed: “Mom, when will you be done? Will you come back tonight? Tonight, I want you to hold me to sleep. I have so many fun things to tell you, and I also want to eat the breakfast you make tomorrow morning. When will you be back?”

Freya didn’t tell her that she wouldn’t be going back to the Wilson family again. She replied, “Mom is busy recently and won’t be back, maybe next month. I’ll take you out to play then.”

Freya hadn’t taken her out to play in a long time, so she was happy about it.

But…

“Next month?” Though only a few days remained until next month, Isabella still felt like it was a long time away. But she didn’t say that, instead asking, “When next month?”

Even though the longing and desire to see her mom could be felt through the phone, Freya tightened her grip on the mouse and after a few seconds, said, “We’ll see when the time comes. I’ll let you know once I’ve decided.”

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