As Irene had Baby hand Erin a bouquet, Erin smiled at the child as she took the flowers. "Thanks, Baby."Baby smiled, baring a row of stark white teeth.Since Baby really looked like Irene, she said, "You'll definitely become a pretty boy when you grow up."Irene rolled her eyes. "Why does that sound like an insult instead—a pretty boy with a girly face and all?""That's twisting words," Erin replied with a giggle. "He would definitely be a macho man.""Aunt Erin," Baby blurted just then, able to speak basic words and phrases now. Erin patted his head. "Where's your brother?""School," Baby said adorably."You're so cute." Erin grinned before looking up at Irene. "How'd you know I was here?""James was calling Isaac in the morning, but I answered," Irene replied."Oh," Erin replied, chagrined. "Well, that was embarrassing.""So, what happened here? How did you tumble? You should really be careful in your final trimester," Irene said, her tone stern again.Erin fiddled her
Erin had always held a heart of gratitude and therefore always took joy in what she had, never complaining.On the other hand, James took leave over the next couple of days to take care of her.He arrived at Erin's ward with food and smiled when he saw Irene. "Hello, Mrs. Jefferson."Irene nodded in turn. "Take good care of her and don't let her slip again. You need to be very careful during pregnancy."James nodded awkwardly. "Yes, it was my fault for not taking good care of her.""Mom, I'm hungry." Baby tugged on Irene's sleeve just then.Irene placed him on her lap and tousled his jet-black hair.His facial features were more pronounced these days, which accentuated his resemblance to Isaac. They were less obvious with his younger chubbiness.Blinking his round, black eyes, Baby said, "I want to eat."Carrying him up in her arms, Irene said, "I'm taking Baby for lunch.""Then hurry," Erin urged. "Don't starve him.""Actually, he can have some of the food I bought," James
Baby was fine with using cutlery, but he tended to make a mess.Still, it was nothing since there were plenty of servants around the house, and Irene did not have to do anything.Once Baby had his fill, they left, picking up Tommy around five when school was out.Irene had both her boys share a room so that they would bond.Tommy took a bath first, while Baby was too young to do it himself. Irene helped him and wrapped him in a towel before she carried him back into his room.Finding Tommy reading a book, Irene helped Baby get dry while asking, "What are you reading? You look like you're suddenly older."Tommy blinked. "But I am the older brother."Irene pinched his cheek, "Yes, and you're all grown up."Once she was done helping Baby get dressed, Baby threw himself at Tommy, hugging him and kissing his cheeks, calling out cutely, "Tommy, Tommy…""You're heavy." Tommy shoved him.Irene smiled as she watched them bond and said, "Take care of Baby. I'll take a bath, and then I'
"Yeah," Isaac replied softly. "Go back to sleep.""I can't sleep now. Let me down," Irene said as she leaned against his shoulder.He lowered his gaze in silence, while she shyly buried her face in his arms.-Back in Zidonia, it was daytime and Lulu was playing with Star outside.She would pick up a toy and move it around as Star's eyes followed it everywhere, and brighter ones were especially effective.As her eyes darted around, her lips would part from time to time, baring the little teeth that just grew out.She tended to drool perhaps because of that, and Lulu wiped her mouth while fastening a napkin around her neck. She would change it once it got wet too, or Star's skin might get red.Babies' skin could be delicate and must be kept dry or rashes would easily occur.Such was how meticulously Lulu was taking care of Star, and the baby was putting on weight too.Her little cheeks were white and fair, making her especially adorable.Meanwhile, Vivian woke up to find the
While Lulu headed to the washroom, Vivian seized her opportunity.Star was no longer in her cradle when Lulu stepped out. She quickly searched for Vivian, but Vivian was gone too.She tried to check the cameras, only to find that the cameras were destroyed and the footage showed nothing.Though Lulu was flustered and angered, she did not lose her calm, calling the cops first before calling Zachary.Her fingers clenching on her phone, she quickly said as soon as Zachary answered, "Star is missing. Vivian might have taken her away—can you call her?"Zachary's mind went blank for a moment, and he almost spat an expletive right then.In the end, he bore with it since Lulu was Star's mother, and she would never let Star get in harm's way.No matter what happened between Lulu and Zachary, they both loved Star.Taking a deep breath, he asked. "So you're saying Vivian kidnapped her?""Yeah. She's been acting weird all day."Zachary nodded—Lulu must have read Vivian's mind and did not
Vivian certainly came prepared, even flashing a gloating smile. "Why did you call the cops? Did something happen? Did you lose something?"Even as she smiled, Lulu had to restrain herself. Like Zachary, she was afraid to push Vivian too far, since Vivian could hurt Star. Instead, she would leave all her grievances until after Star was found.However, the officers at Zachary's mansion interrogated Vivian too since she was at the mansion when Star went missing. "What were you doing around 7.30 PM?""I left to have dinner," Vivian replied calmly."Did you notice anything unusual? Did you have line of sight to the baby's crib?""No, taking care of the baby is her job." Vivian pointed at Lulu, smiling. "Oh, so you lost the baby? It's over for you, Wendy Jones—Mr. Slate will punish you for this."Lulu restrained herself against Vivian's gloating, whereas the cops kept interrogating Vivian, their tone menacing. "Are you sure you saw nothing?"Vivian felt a hint of panic but pointed a
Vivian actually felt uncomfortable from Lulu's stare and averted her eyes as she kept trying to slander Lulu in front of Zachary. "You can't let her stay, Mr. Slate. She's so irresponsible!"Zachary glanced at Vivian with a subtly murderous glare, growling slowly and clearly, "I won't hold back."Vivian flinched for some reason when she saw the look on his eyes.Why was he giving her such a cold, scary look?Still, she quickly assured herself that it was meant for Wendy and not herself."You will leave when Star is found," Zachary said just then."As I should," Lulu said.Vivian was convinced she succeeded thanks to their tacit agreement, and she excused herself to go to the washroom.There, she told her accomplice to bring Star to the nearest precinct—she could not hold on to Star forever anyway, and just having Zachary chase Wendy away was enough.She knew that Zachary would have her head if he knew she was the one who kidnapped Star, and whatever would happen to Lulu would
Even at this juncture, Vivian was bent on foolishly shifting the blame to Lulu. Grabbing Zachary's arm frantically, Vivian cried, "Wendy must have planned all this, Mr. Slate. Just arrest her—everything will be fine after."Zachary had enough before she could finish and kicked her to the floor, leaving her looking up at him in disbelief even as she clutched her belly. "Mr. Slate…"Zachary refused to speak another word to her and passed Star to Lulu. "Go to the car. I'll deal with this."Lulu held Star firmly in her arms as she nodded repeatedly. "Okay."Vivian was left staring blankly—why would Zachary still trust Wendy now?"Mr. Slate, Wendy was the one who lost your baby!" she cried. "How could you still trust her? You're putting Star in danger!"Zachary completely ignored her, however, and went in the precinct to speak with the officers inside.He could no longer abide with Vivian after what she did to Star, even if Star turned out to be fine. There was no forgiving Vivian