Chapter 60
Chapter 4
The car pulled up in front of the preschool, and I stepped out.
My daughter, holding the teacher’s hand by the gate, saw me and waved happily.
I hurried over, thanked the teacher, and knelt down to meet her eyes.
“Sorry I’m late today, sweetheart. Did you wait long p>
She looked up and pointed a small finger past me.
“Did that uncle make you late p>
Surprised, I turned to look.
Jasper was standing behind me-I hadn’t noticed him approach. His cocky, unbridled expression was gone, replaced by something solemnity.
And was that… a flicker of delight?
I went still, my hand tightening around my daughter’s.
He stepped forward and slowly crouched down in front of her, his eyes on her sweet face.
Even his voice, usually cool, softened a little.
“How old are you, honey? What’s your name p>
I didn’t speak or stop him.
After three years together, I knew him well enough.
He wouldn’t believe anything I said unless he saw for himself.
I looked at my daughter gently and gave her hand a light squeeze-a silent cue.
She understood immediately.
“I’m Lily Bennett,” she said clearly. “I’m three years old p>
I let out a quiet breath.
Jasper stared at her-at the features that so clearly resembled his-but the flicker of new fatherly joy that
had yet to show faded in an instant, snuffed out by her words.
The words he’d been about to say died in his throat, leaving him silent.
Chapter 4
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Lily was born premature, and I’d been malnourished when I gave birth to her-so she was smaller, more
delicate than other children her age.
And with little ones that young, it’s hard to guess their exact age at a glance.
After our breakup, I’d blocked him on every platform, and he’d tacitly left me alone.
We were like two lines that crossed briefly, then pulled apart to continue on their own paths.
For five years, we’d lived in the same city. Sometimes I wondered if I’d see his car at an intersection or pass
him on the street.
But I never did.
We’d always been on different tracks, moving at our own pace toward separate destinations.
Even under the same sky, we lived in different worlds.
That evening at home, Lily tugged at my shirt, her face confused.
“Mommy… I’m four. Why did we lie p>
Yes. Why did I teach my child to lie?
Maybe because I didn’t want to invite trouble.
Not long after that last night with Jasper, I found out I was pregnant.
I considered ending it. But lying on the examination table, I hesitated.
A stubborn, aching resentment lingered in my heart-I admit it, I was bitter.
I thought… even if we couldn’t be together, having a child who carried part of him might be… something.
So I had her alone.
But the moment I held that tiny, pink, breathing little person in my arms, I felt only gratitude for my choice.
She was my daughter. Half of her was me.
She didn’t belong to anyone else-not even him.
She deserved to be here, to see the world.
After I tucked Lily into bed and she fell asleep, my phone rang.
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Chapter 4
It was the HR director, informing me I didn’t need to come to work tomorrow.
I frowned. “Whose decision is this p>
A hesitant pause followed-they weren’t going to answer.
I didn’t press. After all, leaving a day earlier or a day later didn’t make a single difference to me.
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