She Outshines Them All

She Outshines 106

Athena caressed Maria’s head again, comforting her. “You did very well

If I had been at home, I would have supported your decision to adopt Josie”

Hearing this, Maria felt relieved

Although Maria was honest and lacked confidence, she was not someone without opinions and courage. At the very least, when faced with crossroads in life, Maria could follow her heart and bravely choose the path she wanted to take. Maria did not need excessive worry from anyone.

Maria scratched her head in embarrassment and continued, “Josie has no memory of what happened before she entered the orphanage, and she can’t clearly remember her experiences there. She only vaguely recalls that the other children complained about her lame leg and did not play with her.”

“In her memory, she just got lost by accident, spent a few days at the orphanage, and then her sister and parents found her and brought her home. So, she is terrified of going out alone.”

“In her view. Mom and Dad are her biological parents, and we are her biological siblings.”

“That’s why the family never said Josie was adopted; they always said Josie is a biological child”

Athena nodded. “That’s good.

Maria took the towel from Athena’s hand and covered her face, feeling embarrassed. “I feel like telling you this is such a big deal I’m panicking inside, but it is not that important for you.”

“Ah, it’s my lack of breadth and vision. I always tend to get stuck in small details.”

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Athena chuckled and gently touched Maria’s head. “Let me give you a suggestion. You can think more about the enemy the bad guys, but keep it simpler for your family members.”

Maria could not help but laugh. “What you said makes sense. Il remember it.”

Seeing that Maria was okay, Athena stood up. “You still need to wake up early tomorrow, so go to bed now. I’ll drive you to work in the morning”

Maria nodded obediently. “Yes”

Athena heard Josie’s singing from downstairs as she left Maria’s room.

“You’re my little apple. No matter how much I love you, it’s never too much” She sang.

Looking down, Athena saw Josie bouncing upstairs with a Hello Kitty in her arms, beaming like a twinkling star.

Athena could not help but smile. It truly felt like there was an angel in this family,

That night, the entire family slept very well and woke up early.

After enjoying a delicious breakfast together, Wesley went to work, driving his wife and son to the market to buy groceries.

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Athena helped Maria with her makeup, selected her outfit, and drove her to the studio.

By the time Athena returned to the villa, Claire and Arthur were already preparing the dishes for the guest of honor.

They had worked until 12:30 pm when the doorbell rang.

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Claire had changed into a light blue one–piece dress and opened the door to welcome the guests. “Welcome, welcome.”

sor Whitlock. Please come in. The

The four of you must be Mr. Freeman, Professor Barlowe, Professor Katz, and Professor food is ready.”

Arthur was secretly impressed. Athena was truly remarkable, everyone around her had a PhD.

“Mrs. Donovan, you are too kind.” Mr. Freeman, holding a large bouquet of fresh flowers, handed them over generously. “Athena always spoke highly of how beautiful her mother is and how delicious her cooking is. You truly live up to your reputation!”

Claire did not expect the tall man before her to be so polite. Relixing her tense nerves, she took the flowers and smiled, “I hope my dishes will meet everyone’s expectations so Athena will not be accused of exaggerating.”

Josie stood on her tiptoes, hiding behind her mother. She peeked out with her big curious eyes, continuing to observe the

guests

Mr. Freeman immediately noticed the little head and was charmed by the sight. Squatting down, he said in a gentle tone, “Oh, whose little one is this? She is so cute, like an angel.”

Josie covered her face with one hand and shrank back, leaving only the top of her fluffy head visible.

Mr. Freeman, still squatting, took a few steps forward and asked “Can I shake your hand and be your friend?”

Josie revealed half her head and said, “You are Athena’s good friend. I can shake your hand.

After saying that, she carefully extended a hand.

When they shook hands, Mr. Freeman cupped his face and exclaimed, “Why does Athena have such a cute sister while I do not? It is so unfair!”

Knowing he was praising her, Josie shyly used her Hello Kiny to cover her face. Her cheeks turned red.

Claire smiled and said, “Josie, could you show the guests to the dining room?”

“Alright.” Josie stepped out from behind her mother, waving the Hello Kitty in her hand. ‘Dear guests, the dining room is this. way. Please follow me

The other three guests nodded at Claire and the others. They apologized with a brief “Sorry to bother you” and then. followed Josie.

Arthur observed Rufus, who was at least 6 feet 3 inches tall and had a powerful and impressive presence. His buzz cut resembled a hedgehog’s spikes, giving him a rugged and formidable look as though he were from the underworld. Yet, he was extremely polite and seemed fond of children.

The other three were all dressed in white coats and looked completely different from Rufus.

One was an elderly man in his sixties with thick, neatly combed white hair and glasses, appearing wise and scholarly.

Another was a skinny young man with long bangs nearly covering his eyes. He wore large black– framed glasses and had a somewhat gloomy and blank expression as if he was not fond of interacting with others. Upon entering, he immediately gazed in the direction of the dining room with a keen interest in his eyes

Arthur muttered to himself. “Frankenstein.”

The last person was a woman in her forties. She was dressed simply and did not wear any makeup. Her expression was somewhat stern and old–fashioned, resembling the kind of low–empathy female leaders one often encountered in the office. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Arthur felt a bit intimidated by her and did not dare to approach Fortunately, she did not seem inclined to speak much.

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Athena welcomed them into the dining room, It’s not often that you visit us. Please don’t worry about any formalities. Just help yourselves and enjoy the meal.”

Rufus and the others did not stand on ceremony and took their seats.

Since they were here to taste the food, the family specially prepared a circular rotating table with only four seats.

Claire stood by the table and served soup. This is Green Gazpacho. A soup,”

Three of them thanked her politely.

Only the skinny and small “Frankenstein” did not and picked up the spoon to take a sip. His eyes immediately brightened, and he seemed to come alive like a fish just entering the water.

He then focused on drinking the soup and relished the taste of the exquisite soup.

After finishing, he picked up a fork and, without waiting for the others to start eating or for the dishes to be introduced, began to eat a piece of macaroni and cheese in front of him.

Everyone could see that his eyes widened and glistened, a smile spread across his face, and he began chewing more quickly.

“It seems like the dishes are quite delicious. He’s enjoying his meal!” The three others thought. Observing this, they, too, picked up their forks.

Rufus smiled and said, “Mrs. Donovan, we can serve ourselves. Please, go ahead and have your meal.”

In the dining room, a small table with a few dishes was set aside for the family’s meal.

Claire sat down facing the guests and quietly asked Athena, “Athena, do you think they like the food?”

Athena smiled and responded, “They absolutely do.”

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