Chapter 26
Pierre then carried the child in his arms. At that moment, the tall man revealed his gentle and caring side to Juniper, while she became more expressive and outgoing because of the man. Soon, the kid was seen chuckling, holding the man’s finger. “Hey, that’s cheating! No way! You’re cheating!”
Meanwhile, at the sight of their touching interaction, the heartwarming scene soon moved Selena to tears. Juniper must have wanted to have a father so badly, even though she has never spoken her mind about that at all. It was only then that Selena recalled seeing her daughter’s drawing during her art class. It was an artwork that depicted a scenario in which a family of three was dining together. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
Although Selena had never thought about committing to another relationship, she felt a strong urge to build a family for her daughter. She then wiped off her tears and headed downstairs, followed by Pierre and Juniper a few moments later. Then, the lady pretended as if nothing had ever happened, placing food on Juniper’s plate during dinner like she usually would. Meanwhile, Pierre left with his kids right after the meal, thinking they should leave the mother and daughter some privacy.
Soon, Selena proceeded to do the dishes and tidied up her home like she usually would, while Juniper directly went back to her room. Upon finishing the house chores, she entered the girl’s room and took some books from the shelf. “I haven’t read you a story ever since you came back, Juniper. Let’s take a look at the adventure of Rory the dinosaur, perhaps!” Juniper nodded her head after hearing Selena’s suggestion.
The story was called ‘Me and My Dad’, and it was written in three installments that were split into three books. The plot revolved around a little dinosaur by the name of Rory and his father. In fact, these storybooks were a gift from her colleague who didn’t know that Selena was a single mother. Thus, she had never chosen them to read for Juniper because she was afraid that the child would ask difficult questions, which she might not know how to answer.
Hugging Juniper in her arms, Selena began to read the storybook for the girl just like they did in those good old days. In fact, Selena telling bedtime stories used to be the sweetest moment between the mother and daughter. At the same time, Juniper looked up at Selena every once in a while, noticing the same old smile on her mother’s face. Soon, Selena finished reading the three storybooks back to back for her daughter.
What a touching story! “Rory’s dad is so awesome! When Rory couldn’t find the Christmas tree, his dad dressed himself up as one; when Rory went on an adventure, his father acted as a stone for him to cross the river; when Rory is thirsty, his father got him a coconut, and when it rained, his father became an umbrella to protect him under his shade.”
“Mommy?” Juniper’s voice snapped Selena out of her trance.
“Yeah?” Selena was caught in a trance, as she hadn’t entirely come to her senses. She then looked down at Juniper, feeling grateful that her daughter was finally back.
“Rory has the best dad in the world, but I have the best mom in the universe.” After hearing the girl’s words, Selena could no longer fight back her tears. Deep down, she never thought of herself as a good mother, as she often failed to spend time with Juniper due to her busy work. For that, she was overwhelmed by a pang of guilt for her absence in most parts of her daughter’s life.
Soon, Juniper looked up at Selena, extending her arm to wipe off the lady’s tears. “Are you crying because of my compliment?”
Selena wrapped her arms around Juniper, resting her face on her daughter’s head. “You’re Mommy’s baby, Juniper!”
“I’m sorry that I made you worried, Mommy!”
Selena shook her head in response. “I should be the one to apologize, Juniper. You wouldn’t have had to miss your birthday if I hadn’t ditched you alone. What do you say I organize a belated birthday party for you?”
“No need for that, Mom. My birthday is over anyway, and all I ever wanted was just a birthday cake. However, your birthday is just around the corner, Mommy. So, I won’t have to wait for long either until I can eat a birthday cake! Besides, I can still celebrate my birthday next year since I’m gonna do that every year.”
Selena rubbed Juniper’s head and said, “Okay, you’re the boss, my girl.”
“But I want a daddy for my birthday wish, so when are you gonna make it come true?”
Selena gently tapped the little girl’s nose with her fingertip. “Soon.”
“Really?”
Selena nodded in a serious manner.
Upon noticing her mother’s affirmative reaction, Juniper genuinely smiled and exclaimed, “That’s great!” Then, the child wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and planted a kiss on it. “I love you, Mommy!”
“I love you too, girl!”
At that moment, Selena felt as if Juniper had grown up to become an adult. Back then, I used to look forward to seeing her grow up; but now, I wish she could stay like this forever. Alas! I guess that’s a dilemma every mother goes through.
In the meantime, Pierre was driving his sons back to the Fowler Residence. After a long day, Jameson was seen to be repeatedly yawning, unlike his usual talkative self. Meanwhile, Joaquin
appeared to be having some shut-eye, whereas Pierre began yawning as well after hearing his son yawn.
“Jamie, would you please get me some water?”
“Okay!” Jameson proceeded to hand over the water bottle to his father as he knocked over something in the process. The boy then bent over to investigate what it was, only to find a small case. Before his father realized what was going on, he quickly placed it inside his pocket.
After that, Jameson became awake throughout the entire journey, as his hand kept fumbling with the case in his pocket. Knowing that his father would confiscate what he found, the boy nervously tried to look calm and natural until they arrived home.
Upon reaching the Fowler Residence, Pierre drove off after briefly instructing the maid to take the boys into their room. Soon, the brothers were left alone in their room. While Joaquin was too sleepy to stay up any longer, Jameson suddenly crept into his brother’s bed. “Jojo! Jojo! I have something to show you!”
Despite Jameson’s exciting response, he didn’t manage to pique Joaquin’s interest, as he had always failed to impress his brother with his findings every time. “Jojo! Jojo! Wake up! I promise that you won’t regret it! Look!” Jameson then took out the case and showed it to his brother.
Upon taking a quick glimpse of the item, Joaquin instantly became awake and asked, “Where did you get this?”
“I found this in Daddy’s car. Haha.” Jameson then opened the case and saw a diamond ring in it. “Wow! This diamond ring is beautiful!” Soon, the observant boy realized something amiss and said, “But Dad doesn’t wear a ring, and this ring looks like it’s for women.”
Staring at the circular metal, Joaquin began to knit his eyebrows.