When Charlotte frowned, wearing that classic rebellious “I don’t want to study, I hate studying” look, Anthony couldn’t help but smile. For a second, it actually felt like he was tutoring his own daughter. He wondered if Charlotte had been this much of a troublemaker when she was little, and if their future daughter would take after her just as much.
Catch up on lessons? That woke Charlotte up instantly. Great, she thought, Andrew tattled on me again.
“Give me your phone,” Charlotte said. She leaned against Anthony, relaxed. Without waiting for him to agree, she snatched his phone and unlocked it in a few quick taps. She found Andrew’s social media and number, and with zero hesitation, blocked him everywhere.
That still didn’t feel like enough. She glanced up at Anthony. “Anthony, do you give Andrew spending money?”
“Yeah,” Anthony replied, not looking up as he kept writing, a small smile on his face. He was happy to let her do whatever she wanted.
“Cut it in half,” Charlotte said, plopping the phone down and shifting restlessly, pouting a little. “Why are you—”
“What?” Anthony paused, pen hovering, and looked at her.
“You’re poking me,” Charlotte mumbled, her cheeks heating up. She grabbed the pen from his hand, burying herself in her work to cover her embarrassment.
She finished the entire physics worksheet in just a few minutes. Then she tossed the pen aside, dove under the covers, and her voice came out muffled. “The answer to the last question is five. Too many steps, I’m too lazy to write them all.”
Anthony looked at the bundle under the blanket and couldn’t hold back a helpless smile. He checked her paper. It was last year’s entrance exam. She’d gotten a perfect score.
So, all that talk about her bombing the test was just gossip. Andrew was stirring up trouble again.
Anthony pressed his lips together and picked up his phone, sending a message to Hans, who had just gotten back from the desert. “Cut Andrew’s allowance in half this month.”
Andrew got the notification while he was laying on the sofa, snacking on fruit. He shot upright.
What? His allowance got cut in half? He barely got enough as it was—how could they cut it now?


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