Changing The Last Name Of The Children
Sensing their father glaring at them, the boys immediately took some food and placed it on Arissa’s
plate. “Mommy, you should eat more. You must be tired after working so hard today!”
Kingsley laughed out loud when he heard that.
“Boys, why are you only taking food for your mommy? How about giving some to Uncle Shaun too?”
Shaun said in amusement.
The three boys blinked before looking at Shaun and said, “Uncle Shaun, we’ll pass the food to you. You
can take some for yourself. You’re too far away from us!”
Shaun and Kingsley laughed and said, “Look at how smart these boys are!”
Darius gazed at the boys affectionately before turning toward Benjamin.
With a serious look on his face, he said, “Did you hear what I told you just now?”
“Yes,” Benjamin answered plainly.
“Just hearing is not enough. You have to take it to heart and act on it as well!” Darius emphasized.
“All right.”
Benjamin merely agreed without saying anything else to prevent Darius from nagging any further.
After dinner, everyone headed to the garden at the restaurant for a stroll.
The garden was picturesque and well-maintained.
While everyone was enjoying their evening walk, Darius gestured for Benjamin to step aside for a chat.
“Dad.”
Benjamin walked toward Darius.
Noticing that the father-and-son pair had something to talk about, Arissa wanted to take the kids
somewhere else but was stopped by Darius.
“Issa, you should come over here as well.”
“Of course, Mr. Graham.” Arissa had no choice but to comply.
Darius looked at her smilingly and teased, “It feels really awkward to hear you addressing me as Mr.
Graham. When are you going to change the way you call me?”
“Huh?” Arissa was confused.
“I prefer to hear you call me Dad.” Darius went straight to the point.
Arissa was slightly startled and quickly explained, “Mr. Graham, I think you’ve mistaken. I’m not dating
your son!”
Darius frowned and stared at Benjamin.
Benjamin glanced at his father before looking toward Arissa, who was quick to clarify their relationship.
He could not help but feel slightly displeased.
He said, “Dad, she’s just feeling a bit shy.”
Darius looked at his son and smiled. “Yeah, I can tell.”
Arissa was dumbfounded.
Since when did we start dating?
“I—”
At that moment, Benjamin grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
Arissa could feel an electric current flowing through her fingers, and her heart skipped a beat.
“Dad, what is it that you wanted to say? Stop beating around the bush,” Benjamin said, interrupting
Arissa.
Darius looked at the couple and said, “Oh, I was thinking that since the kids have reunited with each
other, they should change their last name back to ‘Graham.’“
Darius glanced at Arissa after saying that.
In actuality, Arissa had seen that coming. However, she did not know how to respond now that Darius
had brought the matter up personally.
“Got it, I know what to do,” Benjamin replied.
“Issa, what do you think about it?” Darius directed the question to Arissa.
She looked at Darius before looking toward Benjamin.
“Can we talk about this again at a later time?”
Arissa knew that for a prominent family like the Grahams, changing the children’s last names was not
that simple. There would surely be complex procedures to follow in order to formalize the change.
As such, she was rather reluctant to agree to that.
She was not ready for her children to return to the Graham family.
As Darius was an extremely sensitive and observant man, he only needed one look at the woman and
he could guess what she was thinking.
“The kids are just changing their last name. No matter where they might be in the future, they will
always be descendants of the Graham family. It doesn’t mean that they will have to leave you.”
Arissa’s eyes lit up when she heard that. “Mr. Graham, do you mean they can continue staying with
me? We won’t have to be separated?”
When it came to matters concerning the kids, she made sure she clarified them properly.
“Since you’re their mom, it’s only natural they should be with you. No one can change that fact. Even if
you and Benjamin do not end up together, they can still choose to stay with you, and you will still have
their custody. I know it wasn’t easy bringing them up on your own. So, we won’t snatch them away from
you. My only request is that they change their last name back to ‘Graham.’“
Since Darius had already made his stance clear, Arissa figured she shouldn’t keep refusing his request.
“Do you mean it, Mr. Graham?”
She then shot a glance at Benjamin, who merely fixed his gaze on her and kept quiet.
“As long as I am still alive, I will keep my promise,” Darius said firmly, completely ignoring Benjamin.
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