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Chapter 368 Guardians

　　Neither Tom nor Lucy said another word for some time as he drove, until something occurred to him, and he turned to Lucy, "Are you okay with staying here, or do you want to return to your apartment now that everyone else has left?" He asked, and Lucy frowned, wondering why he was asking her that.

　　Tom shrugged, "I just want to be sure that you are comfortable and not just living with me because you don't want to hurt my feelings by returning to your apartment. In as much as I love waking up to the sight of you beside me, I don't want you to do things you're not comfortable with," Tom said, and she smiled. 

　　"So you are not asking because you need space?" Lucy asked, and Tom turned to look at her incredulously.

　　"Are you kidding me? Why would I need space from you when I've only just found you after searching for you all my life?" Tom asked, and she blushed.

　　"You could have easily said yes or no. Why do you always have to use such words?" She asked with a shy smile, and he chuckled.

　　"Because it's the way I feel about you. I told you already, Jewel. I want you beside me every moment of every day," Tom said as he drove through the gate to his mansion.

　　"You still haven't answered my question. Are you okay with being here with me, or do you want to return to your apartment?" Tom asked again, and Lucy pursed her lips as she thought about it. 

　　"I'm happy being here with you. If I need to be alone for some time, I will go to my apartment," she said, and Tom gave her a nod as he pulled the car to a stop in front of the house and parked it. 

　　"I'm glad. Let's go in then," he said as he got out of the car, and she did the same. 

　　Once they walked into the house, the first sight that greeted them was Samantha, trying to console Jamal, who was bawling by the staircase.

　　"I almost forgot about the kid," Tom murmured under his breath as he started to go take the kid from Samantha, but he slowed down when he noticed Lucy's quick strides.

　　"What is wrong?" Lucy asked as she approached them with concern in her eyes, and Jamal ran over to her and embraced her legs.

　　"He wouldn't say. He has been crying non-stop since he woke up from his siesta almost an hour ago and remembered that his mother and your mothers had left," Samantha complained helplessly as she looked at Tom apologetically. 

　　She had assured him that she could take care of the kid, but she was already failing at it.

　　"It's fine. We will continue from here," Tom said as he went to stand beside Lucy while standing back to observe how she would handle the kid.

　　"His mother left a message for you," Samantha informed Tom before going to get the envelope, while Tom watched Lucy with interest as she squatted in front of the kid who had stopped crying. 

　　"You miss your mom and everyone else, don't you?" She asked as she took out her handkerchief from her handbag and wiped his tears before cleaning his running nose, and he gave her a slight nod. 

　　"Yeah, I understand. I miss my mom and the others too. So until we see them again, why don't we keep each other company?" She asked as she extended an open palm to him, and he placed his tiny palm on hers trustingly.

　　Tom tried not to smile as he watched Lucy straighten up while holding on to the kid's hand, and he wondered how she could be so good with kids and not know if she wanted to have kids or not. 

　　"She asked me to give this to you," Samantha said as she joined them, holding the envelope in one hand. 

　　Tom's face was carefully blank as he took it from her and opened it to see the contents. There were three white papers inside. One was a list of the dos and don'ts for Jamal, which he had asked that she write out before leaving.

　　The other was... He frowned slightly as his gaze swept through the details of the letter, and then he glanced at the kid before reading the letter again. It was a temporary caregiver affidavit stating that she wanted him and Lucy to be Jamal's guardian in her absence no matter the duration of time she was away. 

　　Of course, he had agreed to have the kid live with him. But this was different. This made it feel sort of official, and it filled him with a sense of dread. He suspected that the only reason she would have thought about drafting such a letter was that she thought her life might be in danger, and she wasn't so sure of returning. What was Lucy going to think of it?

　　Why hadn't Candace discussed it with him? And why did she choose him and Lucy? He wondered as he took out the third paper.

　　"What is wrong?" Lucy asked when she noticed the different expressions that crossed his face. 

　　"Let's talk about it upstairs," Tom said, and she could tell he didn't want to talk about it in front of the kid. 

　　"Why don't you keep Samantha company while we go upstairs to freshen up?" Lucy suggested to Jamal, who was still holding on to her hand, and he reluctantly let go of her hand. 

　　"No more tears, alright? We will get you a gift if you don't cry," Lucy said, and Jamal gave her a nod as he used the back of his hand to wipe his face. 

　　"Good boy," Lucy said with a smile of approval as she ruffled his hair, and then she dug into her handbag when she remembered she had a wrap of chocolate which she was yet to eat, and she handed it to him before turning to Tom who was still staring at the kid, "Let's go upstairs," she said as she took his hand, and led him away from there, curious to know why he looked so worried.

　　"Did something happen?" Lucy asked in a low voice. 

　　"His mother named us as his temporary guardians," Tom said, and Lucy looked at him, wondering what the problem was. 

　　"You already agreed that he could stay under your roof. That makes you his temporary guardian already," she pointed out as she paused to take off her heels. She picked them up before following him barefooted.

　　Tom didn't say a word until they got into the bedroom, and then he handed the letter to her, knowing that she would get a better understanding of his reaction when she read through it and saw her name on the letter. 

　　Lucy sat on the edge of the bed as she skimmed through the letter, and her heart skipped a beat when she came across the line bearing both hers and Tom's names, "In the event that something happens to her, she wants us both to be his guardians? Why would anything happen to her?" She asked, glancing at Tom, who simply shrugged as he lowered himself on the couch and looked down at the short note which he was yet to read but addressed to them.

　　"Nothing is going to happen to her, right? Why would she leave such an affidavit? Is Jade aware of this?" Lucy asked in concern. It was one thing to console a weeping child or play with the kid, but it was utterly different from being entirely responsible for the kid. That was like having an adopted kid. Being responsible for another life when she didn't even completely understand herself yet. 

　　"I will have to give Jade a call after reading the letter," Tom said, and Lucy stood up from where she was and went to sit beside him to join him as they both read the letter.

　　"To Tom and Lucy,

　　I understand that you are both probably shocked that I named you both to be Jamal's guardians, but trust me, I only did so after giving it a lot of consideration over the past two sleepless nights.

　　There is no better couple I would comfortably entrust Jamal's wellbeing to than the both of you, especially after seeing your families together in the last couple of days. I'm very sorry that I'm springing this on you both out of the blue, but it's the best I can do for my son, so please help me look after him."

　　They both sighed once they finished reading and looked at each other, "What should we do?" Tom asked Lucy, leaving the decision up to her since they had both been listed as the kid's guardians, and she was the one who had a problem with having kids. 

　　"What can we do? She is not here, so it's not like we can reject her request. Let's just take care of the kid the best way we can until she gets back, or we can do so until her sister shows up," Lucy suggested, and Tom raised a brow.

　　Jade had said she was an orphan and didn't have any family; hence she wanted the kid to remain in his house, so what sister was Lucy talking about? "She has a sister?"

　　"Yes. I remember Sonia talking about her sister..."

　　"Sonia knows her too? If she has a sister, why not ask her sister to be her son's guardian?" Tom asked, making a mental note to confront Jade for lying to him later. 

　　"Yes, Sonia and Bryan know both her and her sister. I don't know why she didn't ask her sister. Maybe it has something to do with her sister being a stripper... I'm not sure," Lucy said, and Tom looked at her. 

　　"Her sister is a stripper? You seem to know a lot about her," Tom observed, and she shrugged. 

　　"She taught Sonia and me a few things about stripteasing and lap-dancing," Lucy said with a playful wink, and Tom chuckled.

　　"When are you going to put the lessons into practice then?" 

　　"I'm going to surprise you one day," Lucy said, and Tom smiled.

　　"Are you sure you're okay with the kid? You said..."

　　"I understand your concern. Don't worry about me. Let's focus on Jamal. You promised you would care for him until her return. Let's stick to the plan. That's just a piece of document," Lucy said as she stood up to pick up the shoes which she had dropped beside the bed while Tom folded the letters and replaced them in the envelope. 

　　"Okay, let's do that," Tom said with a nod as he stood up to freshen up so that they could get ready to leave for dinner with Harry and his father.

　　A part of him hoped that by the end of their stay with the kid, she would change her mind about having a family of her own.