"Oh, it's fine!" Zachary smiled and picked up his cup of coffee for a sip.He looked up again after lowering the glass and said, "Stan told me that you had experience with many children abroad. What can you tell me about it? My child has been crying a lot since I've been busy lately, so I have to get a child care worker… Moreover, I'm a single man and not exactly the delicate type, so caring for children can get inconvenient."He certainly was not careless with her child, and he was left sighing upon remembering how Jean kept crying into the middle of the night!Lulu felt warmth in her heart seeing Zachary's attitude—any man who realized that he lacked the delicate touch was certainly giving his best!"I have cared for the children of several families abroad. You may read some of the feedback!" Lulu said, and handed him some of the materials she prepared. "I asked Stan to bring me back since staying abroad permanently isn't doing me any favors either.""Wendy Jones…?" Zachary co
"That's more than what I was paid abroad. Don't worry, I'll take good care of your child!" Zachary asked for a pen from the waiter, and after they both signed it, Zachary offered a handshake. "I look forward to working with you!"Lulu did not hesitate to shake it—she was just a step away from seeing her baby again!On the other hand, Zachary's heart skipped a beat as their hands touched, but he said nothing."Oh, by the way…"Zachary suddenly remembered something as he packed up. "I named my child earlier, but I'm not satisfied with it. Could I ask for a suggestion since you'd be more knowledgeable?"Lulu did a double take.She and Martin had come up with the name 'Jean' for the baby, but Martin was dead and herself disfigured. Likewise, she could not say anything against Zachary renaming the baby—it was fortunate that she was young, and her ties to the past would be severed after that.Still, Lulu pretended to hesitate and shook her head. "I'm just going to take care of your
Both Zachary and Lulu hurried into the room, where Erma had Luna in her arms and was coaxing her to sleep.Lulu scowled at the sight of Erma, storming angrily toward her."What are you doing?!" Lulu demanded accusingly while taking Luna off her arms. "Can't you get some training? Why can't you hold the baby right? She's so young!" Luna had been crying for so long her voice was hoarse, and Lulu actually felt the impulse to cry upon seeing Luna. She finally got to see her baby—the baby whom she had carried for ten difficult months and thought of every waking moment.On the other hand, Erma was left stunned—that was how she always carried her children, and no one told her that it was wrong! "Mr. Slate, I…" she stammered, left awkward and unsure what to say."Go back to cleaning the house!"Zachary waved her off dismissively, his eyes fixed on Lulu's nervous reaction.There was nothing wrong with what she said, and she acted just like a childcare worker… But did she have to be
Zachary snapped grumpily at Erma even as he picked up his suit. "Pack up your things and leave. I don't need you here!"Then, turning to Lulu, he said, "This way, Ms. Jones!"She hurried outside without looking back, with Luna still in her arms.Fortunately, Zachary did not park his car in the garage, though he glanced at Lulu as he drove—she looked utterly worried, and there was pain in her eyes."Hurry!"Zachary did not drag his feet for the sake of his baby and drove straight to the hospital.Likewise, Lulu was flustered throughout the journey and only heaved a sigh of relief when they arrived.Since it would take a lot of time to queue up, Zachary called a friend beforehand to take a number at the pediatrics department. There was a vein throbbing on his temple and his tone was frantic—Lulu judged that he was caught off guard by Luna's sudden illness and that he was not neglecting her.Nonetheless, Zachary was on the phone for just a couple of minutes before getting a numb
"Doctor!"Lulu, however, clearly did not hear Zachary and turned around to the pediatrician. "She's very young. Wouldn't this cause chronic conditions?"The pediatrician shook his head as he wrote a prescription. "You're worried now? It's like you were incapable of that earlier. Just remember how important caring for children is and that you must constantly keep an eye out to prevent this from happening again. Your baby could've suffered from brain damage if you'd brought her here any later!"Lulu nodded repeatedly.After getting Luna's medicine from the pharmacy, Luna was already given an injection.Lulu felt her body weak from head to toe as she left the pediatrics department, and Zachary could see that she was exceedingly enfeebled. He wanted to offer a supporting hand, but his body stopped him.Still, seeing that she cared so much about her child, he suddenly sighed. "It's my fault. Erma was unreliable… but I'm sure I'll be relieved with you now!"Lulu turned and smiled at h
Zachary was definitely a good father to Luna, and Lulu nodded in the knowledge that he was doing this for the child. "Your daughter is lucky to have you."Zachary flashed a begrudging smile and looked up at the wall clock to find that it was already 1 AM. "Oh, it's late…""You should stay with your baby," Lulu said. "Someone must stay with her at all times, since there's a chance she might wake up. Also, I have things to pack from my place—I'll move most of my belongings over to your house by tomorrow."Zachary nodded and hesitated for a while before asking, "Do you need a ride?""It's fine—there's no reason to give me one." Lulu waved him off as if it was only natural. "I'm not staying that far from here."With that, she started to turn to leave, not willing to let him find out where she lived! After all, Zachary had all the tools at his disposal to investigate her. She was concerned that he would suspect something if he somehow found out that Irene was the one who got that hou
With those words, Isaac reached out and pulled Irene by the waist."Ow…" She gasped in surprise and felt his lips on hers before she could continue.Then, vaguely feeling the hand reaching across her body, she held it down and pretended to protest, "What are you doing? You're really…"Isaac said nothing and merely kissed her more delicately!Unbeknownst to them, a violent wind brewed outside, kicking up a storm of leaves.Most of Irene's clothes were loosened before she knew it, but just as things were starting to get heated up, the door opened with a click!"Mommy! The wind… I'm so scared…" Tommy was suddenly running toward them with his blanket. Being barely a few years old, being woken by sudden stormy winds was certainly terrifying!"S-Stop!" Irene's eyes widened at her son's voice.Lowering her gaze and seeing that her chest was bare, she promptly pulled up the blanket to hide herself in the heat of the moment!Then, smiling awkwardly, she shoved Isaac aside and called ou
Finding the book interesting, Tommy suddenly pointed outside and exclaimed, "Pitter patter!""Pitter patter, pitter patter, listen to the rain!"Tommy appeared interested as Isaac read it for him, and the boy pointed outside and exclaimed, "That's what we're hearing outside… I like nursery rhymes, Daddy."Irene smiled mildly. "As long as you like it."Tommy then lay down and wrapped himself in the soft blanket, his little legs lifted into the air.Just then, Isaac's phone on the table rang.Seeing that it was James and probably about work, he picked it up. "I'm taking this."Irene nodded. "Go on."She lay with Tommy and read it for him, "Home! Home! Sweet, sweet home! There's no place like home!""I like this, Mommy," he said, pointing at the last part. "There's no place like home—does that mean missing where we used to live?"The boy was quite smart for his age, and Irene smiled. "More or less.""I miss home too," Tommy suddenly said."Don't you like it here?" Irene asked.