Chapter 681 - 14.77

"It's okay, champ. Uncle Reed will be your guardian."

"Thank you, Uncle, but…." Hermes raised his head and stared dead serious at Reed's eyes. "Can you be the guardian of my mom and sister too?"

"Your mom and sister?" Reed acted surprised. Of course he knew it was coming. Hermes preferring him as the father figure rather than Clarke for an obvious reason.

Because Reed could be a great father, while Clarke could not. He was a one-track mind kind of person. He wouldn't know how to divide his time between work, duty as a superhero, and family. 

Unlike Reed, who knew the importance of a family bond. 

Because he was also craving for it. As someone who never had a real bond with a family, he found that taking care of Hermes, Artemis, and Gaius gave him that satisfying feeling he was craving for.

The feeling of family warmth.

"Yes, please take care of my mom and sister," Hermes begged. "I followed what you said, Uncle Reed. If I want to run away from home, I should go to that small hotel you own. So it's not hard to track down Mom's movement."

"Good job, buddy. You really know how to do stuff!" Reed patted Hermes' head, and Hermes nodded with a blush on his cheek. 

He felt happy and proud of himself because he got a compliment from Uncle Reed.

Reed knew that a boy around Hermes' age craved validation from his father figure. So it wasn't hard to teach him stuff in Reed's favor. 

"Uncle Reed, Mom is really sad right now. Can you make him happy again? 

"Well, that depends," Reed crouched and patted Hermes' shoulder. "Champ, I need you to help Uncle to convince your Mom. You know he is very stubborn, right?"

"Yes…"

Reed grinned thin and then told Hermes about the idea. Hermes agreed to do so because he thought there was no better place than with Uncle Reed. 

"What do you want for reward, little champ?" 

"Uh… I just want Uncle to come with me to that father's day school sports competition. I want to win all challenges and get the trophy!" 

"Oh, sure! I've promised you before, right?" 

"Yes! Oh, Arte wants her dolls, but we can't return to our apartment. Please buy it for her, Uncle!"

"That's easy! As long as you keep persuading your Mom to stay with Uncle, then Uncle will give anything you want!"

"Whoa! Uncle is really the best, unlike my Dad!" 

'Heheh, of course, I'm better than your dad. I'm better in any way possible to be your Mom's new spouse.'

**

Gaius was busy helping Artemis take her evening bath. He told Hermes to teleport to a mini-market and bought a few cups of instant noodles for their dinner. 

But he went for so long, Gaius got worried.

"Mom, I've returned!" 

"Oh, son! What makes you so long?" Gaius complained as he put the new clothes for Artemis. 

"I… uhh… I went outside to meet my friends first, Mom. Since I won't come with them for tomorrow's soccer practice," Hermes reasoned. 

"Ah, okay then. Well, tell me if you're going somewhere. We can't let your Dad find our place," Gaius warned. He took the plastic bag from Hermes' hand, "Go and take a bath first. Mom will cook simple dinner for you two."

They lived in this somewhat spacious hotel room, complete with a small kitchen and everything needed there. It was a nice surprise to find the room clean and in great condition, contrary to the shabby look from outside. 

"Mom, what will we do next? Will we stay here forever?" Hermes asked amidst their dinner time as three. Nothing changed much, though, since they always had dinner as three since Clarke was never there. 

"Yeah, Mommy. Arte misses home already…."

"W—Well, Mom will try to find a job, then we can settle down. Don't worry, we won't stay here for long, just endure it, for now, okay?"

Hermes and Artemis looked at each other. Artemis was still three years old, so she didn't really know what went wrong with Mom and Dad.

But even she knew that Mom wouldn't return to Dad, not anymore.

They slept together as there was a big bed. They were pretty tired after all, so they passed the night in peace. 

Click. 

The door was opened from outside. 

Reed walked in leisurely and stood in silence, staring at the family of three, separated from their now estranged husband/father. 

He scoffed lightly and kept staring at the family for a while. 

He thought he would only come to destroy this family, but he had grown attached to the kids. He had always wanted a child of his own, but because he was so disgusted by the idea of someone carrying his baby, he never impregnated a woman no matter how many lined up in front of him. 

But seeing Hermes and Artemis, he had to admit that his heart was soft on them. He wanted to be their dad, especially after knowing that Clarke was a terrible father for them. 

He then looked at Gaius, who was in a deep sleep. He still refused to admit that he liked Gaius. In fact, he kept reminding himself how much he hated an idiot, useless male wife like Gaius.

But…

Reed bit his lower lip for a moment and walked towards the bed. 

He crouched and whispered on Gaius' ear.

'You're at my mercy, Gaius. Accept it. Accept me as the new one. You know Clarke doesn't love you, right?'

'I hate you, I hate everything about you and that idiot Clarke. But if you obey me, then I will consider marrying you.'

'You might be an idiot male wife, but I… I think you're the only one I can tolerate to be my wife.'

'How about it, hm? Just accept my offer, Gaius White.. That's your real name, right? You don't need to have Clarke's last name behind yours anymore."