A deep, pleasant male voice followed.

“Hmm, have you eaten?”

“Not yet, but Mom’s almost done.”

“Really?”

Freya paused, then walked out of the kitchen, carrying the dishes. Isabella and Matteo entered from the living room.

“Mom, Dad’s back!”

Freya glanced at Matteo, quickly averting her gaze. “Hmm.” She removed her apron, handing it to the butler before they all sat down in their usual places.

Isabella, eating the food Freya had served, asked, “Dad, didn’t you say you’d be back tomorrow?”

“I finished my work early and came back.”

“Oh…”

The Wilson family maintained few dinner table formalities. Isabella spoke freely, while Matteo, though quiet, responded to everything she said. Isabella chatted happily, then turned to Freya. “Mom, why aren’t you talking?”

Freya smiled gently. “It’s fine, I’m happy to listen to you.”

“Oh…”

Even the butler noticed something seemed amiss with Freya. Previously, she had always tried to avoid bothering Matteo, fearing he might be annoyed. However, every time he returned from a business trip, he never failed to greet her or show concern. Today, however, not only did Freya not initiate conversation with Matteo, but she hadn't even looked at him directly. Matteo, oblivious to Freya’s unusual behavior, maintained his usual calm expression.

At that moment, Matteo’s phone rang. It was his grandmother.

“Did you go on another business trip?”

“Just got back,” Matteo replied, placing his phone on speakerphone and continuing to talk while eating. “What advice does the little old lady have for me?”

The old madam chuckled. “It’s been half a month since I last saw Freya and Bella. The weather’s getting cold now, so tomorrow, you should take them to the hot spring resort. Let’s go soak in the hot springs and warm up.”

“Understood.”

After hanging up, Isabella was overjoyed. “We can go to the hot springs again! Yay!”

Matteo looked at Freya. “I’ll have someone pick you up tomorrow night.”

Freya didn’t look up. “I’ll drive myself from the office. It’s fine.”

“No, Mom, come with me! The hot spring resort is so far, and it’ll be boring for me to go there alone by car.”

Freya paused. “…Fine.”

Recently, Cole had been developing a new app, and after dinner, Johnny called to discuss technical issues with Freya. While Matteo and Isabella chatted in the living room, Freya went outside to take the call. Half an hour later, she finished.

Isabella looked up and said, “Mom, you’ve been getting a lot of calls lately, and you talk for such a long time every evening. You weren’t like this before…”

Matteo, hearing Isabella, also glanced at her. The butler realized this was indeed unusual. Freya rarely talked on the phone, let alone for so long every night. Could she be having an affair? No… that couldn’t be it. Given how much Freya cared about Matteo, that wouldn’t make sense.

“It’s just something,” Freya replied, offering no further explanation. “I’ll go upstairs to take care of some things.”

“Oh…” Isabella replied.

Freya opened her computer and began processing the file Johnny had sent. Isabella returned to her room. Seeing her mother busy, she didn’t disturb her and played by herself. After taking a bath, she came back to peek at her. Over the past few years, Freya hadn’t completely neglected her professional work. Whenever she had free time, she would design programs. When Isabella watched, she sometimes shared basic knowledge with her.