Larissa asked Aster to call Kevan. After a while, someone answered the phone. "Hello?" It was a little girl who answered the phone. Who else could it be other than Bethany herself? Aster held the phone and stared at Larissa helplessly. Frowning, Larissa ended the call for him. "Uncle Kevan can't come tonight because he needs to stay with Bethany," she said. Aster was undoubtedly disappointed. Pouting, tears welled up in his eyes. "Uncle Kevan is a liar!" he said in an aggrieved tone. Larissa patted his head and pulled him into her embrace. "Uncle Kevan's not a liar. It's just that something important came up at the last minute, he probably forgot to inform you," she defended Kevan. Although she did not want Aster to have unrealistic fantasies about Kevan, at the same time she did not want to shatter Kevan's perfect image in his heart. After all, Kevan was genuinely fond of Aster. "If you want to play games, I'll accompany you." Larissa made a huge compromise
Since Kevan came late, it was not long before Aster's bedtime came around. Normally, Aster would obediently go to bed on his own, without anyone reminding him. However, today he was being stubborn and refused to leave the living room. He clung to Kevan's arm like gum, staring at him pleadingly with his wide eyes. "Uncle Kevan, can't you spend the night with me?" Aster begged sweetly, his eyes filled with anticipation. Kevan didn't dare to give him a hasty answer. He turned to Larissa and waited for her response. Naturally, Larissa rejected him immediately. "Uncle Kevan is too busy tonight." The hope in Aster's eyes faded, and Kevan himself felt a little disappointed. Larissa detached Aster from Kevan's body and pushed him in the direction of his bedroom. "Wash up and go to bed now." Dragging his feet, Aster tried to gesture to Kevan as he walked away reluctantly. Although Kevan didn't want to part with Aster, he was more afraid of Larissa. He could only shrug and ga
Seeing how determined he was, Larissa relented. "Alright, you can sleep with him." Kevan lifted up the blanket and stood up from the sofa. "I'll take a shower first." "Wait a minute," Larissa called out. "Yes?" Kevan turned around, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "To be honest, you didn't have to deliberately rush over here to accompany Aster," Larissa said after some hesitation. "Don't misunderstand me. I just feel that you should spend more time with your own daughter."Although she wasn't fond of Bethany, that didn't prevent her from sympathizing with the child. In Bethany, Larissa was vaguely reminded of her past childhood. Like her, Bethany had grown up without parental love. The loneliness, sadness, and fear she experienced was unimaginable to others. Kevan had explained why he wasn't close to Bethany, but his explanation didn't convince Larissa. "At this young age, children need the patient guidance of their parents. Now that her mother is not around, and you
After her alarm clock rang, Larissa went to the next room to wake Aster up as usual. When she walked out of her bedroom, she was surprised to see both Aster and Kevan fully dressed, sitting side by side in the dining room. "Mommy, come and have breakfast! Uncle Kevan made it! It's really delicious!" Aster waved at her excitedly. Larissa walked over doubtfully. Kevan had made a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and pasta. Larissa had bought the pasta a long time ago and placed it in one of the cabinets, completely forgetting about its existence. Kevan had cooked the pasta and mixed it up with some black pepper sauce. As the enticing aroma of food filled the air, Larissa couldn't help swallowing her saliva eagerly. She sat down across from Aster and picked up the cutlery on the table."Thank you for your hard work. You're unwell, and yet you went through the trouble of cooking breakfast for us," she said with an apologetic look at Kevan. "Just consider it paym
Kevan responded with a grunt and said to Larissa, "Well, we're off." Larissa knew that she couldn't stop Aster, so she let them off the hook. "Okay, drive safe," she cautioned with a nod. It was Aster's first time riding in Kevan's car. He sat obediently in the middle of the backseat, with his hands neatly folded on his knees. "Uncle Kevan, I'm feeling very happy," he said to Kevan.Hearing that, Kevan glanced at Aster through the rearview mirror. "Why is that?" Aster smiled widely "Because you're sending me to kindergarten!"After that, his smile faded and he asked cautiously, "By the way, Uncle Kevan … If my teacher asks about who you are, can I say that you're my daddy? " When Kevan heard Aster refer to him as his "Daddy", his chest tightened inexplicably. Instinctively, he gripped the steering wheel, nearly flooring the accelerator. Suppressing the overwhelming joy and heartache that welled up within him, Kevan replied in a calm voice, "Of course." Aster clen
When Larissa went to pick Aster up in the afternoon, she noticed that the other parents, especially the mothers, were looking at her with a different expression from before. Just as she was feeling puzzled about it, a parent who had chatted with her a few times earlier while waiting to pick up their children deliberately came up to Larissa. Raising her eyebrows, she said in a teasing manner, "Your husband is really handsome! No wonder you seemed so secretive about him and wouldn't let him show up at the kindergarten!" Taken aback, Larissa froze for a moment before realizing that the "husband" she was referring to was probably Kevan. "Are you still trying to feign ignorance?" The other parent nudged Larissa with her elbow and gave her a reproachful look. "I heard it myself, your son called him 'Daddy' this morning!" Aster … Larissa felt both angry and yet powerless at the same time. She had no energy left to argue, so Larissa simply gave her a faint smile and brushed her o
Larissa sighed deeply. Aster turned to look at her with concern and asked, "Mommy, what's wrong?" Pursing her lips, Larissa ran through what she was going to say in her head before voicing it to Aster, "Aster, will you be disappointed if I turned up alone to the Fun Family Sports Day tomorrow?" He seemed momentarily stunned, probably not expecting Larissa to bring up this topic. "Can't I get Uncle Kevan to come with us?" he asked. Larissa hardened her heart and emphasized firmly, "Uncle Kevan's not your dad. You can't rely on him for everything. It is not his responsibility or obligation to help you out all the time," The excitement in Aster's eyes died down immediately. Hanging his head, he replied in a low voice that was filled with disappointment, "Well, Mommy can come alone. I won't be unhappy about it." Seeing how sensible and understanding Aster was, Larissa felt both gratified and sorry for him at the same time. Holding Aster's hand tightly, her lips twitched a
Conversely, Kevan wasn't as optimistic as Aster. Nonetheless, he couldn't bear to dampen Aster's enthusiasm, so he said, "Alright, I'll give it a try." By the time they brought the things upstairs, Larissa had let the cats out. She had them both on her lap, caressing and teasing them affectionately. The two cats seemed to remember her. As soon as Larissa opened the cage, they eagerly rushed into her arms, meowing incessantly. Cookie was just as clingy as before, swishing his tail left and right as he rubbed his head against Larissa. On the other hand, Muffin wasn't as enthusiastic as Cookie. Stretching out a paw, Muffin rested it on Larissa's leg and stared intently at her with her sky-blue eyes without blinking. With a lump in her throat, Larissa almost cried as she hugged them tightly. Aster put down the cat food and ran over to Larissa. He squatted down beside her and watched the two cats lying comfortably in Larissa's lap with curiosity. "Mommy, can I touch th