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
She wasn't angry with Kevan. She didn't even resent Muffin for scratching Aster."Hey," she said, suddenly changing the subject. She asked seriously, "Have you considered taking your daughter to a psychologist?"Although Muffin had always been more mischievous than Cookie since she was little, she was not a cat that would scratch people for no reason—otherwise, Kevan wouldn't have brought her to Larissa.In Larissa's opinion, Muffin's strange behavior had been caused by Bethany's mistreatment.Larissa had noticed earlier that Muffin and Cookie's soft, beautiful, long fur was particularly sparse in certain parts of their bodies—it was clearly not due to shedding, but rather, someone had been plucking their fur. There was no one else she could think of except Bethany.Previously, when Bethany bullied classmates at school, Larissa attributed that behavior to her family spoiling her. However, she likely had an innate antisocial personality or a mental illness if she abused animals for
Kevan stayed quiet. He knew better than anyone how stubborn Larissa could be.On top of that, it was not the best time to pursue her—his intention was just to test the waters and gauge how open she was to the idea. As expected, she was still the same as before, unwilling to give him even the slightest chance. She probably trusted him even less than before—after all, he had hurt her in so many ways in the past.His amnesia could barely allow him to be around her; it couldn't bring her to let her guard down. Although he had dug his own grave in the situation, he didn't regret his choice. For her safety, nothing else mattered.The car soon pulled into the compound of Larissa's residence. Kevan got out of the car first to pick up Aster, who was still sleeping, from the backseat. Suspended in mid-air, Aster let out a groan of discomfort as he opened his heavy eyelids.In the dim light of the street lamps, he could barely make out Kevan's face."Daddy ..." He smiled sweetly, murmuring s
Larissa needed a person who could remain neutral and objectively analyze the pros and cons of each choice for her. The only person she could think of who had no connection to Kevan and had a wealth of life experience was Gary.Due to the family sports day, the kindergarten started an hour later than usual.When Kevan told Larissa to head to work as he would take Aster to the kindergarten, Larissa hesitated for a moment.Noticing that, Kevan smirked and said, "I'll leave after dropping him off at the kindergarten."Larissa was taken aback, feeling a sudden pang of guilt."Alright, thank you," she replied, forcing a smile as she lowered her head.Instead of going to the hotel, Larissa went to the hospital. Gary would be discharged that day, and it was only right for her to go and pick him up.Since Gary had woken up early, he had already dressed up and packed all his clothes and belongings into a suitcase by the time Larissa arrived."Why did you come so early?" Gary stood up qui
Larissa had never met her biological father before. By the time she was old enough to remember, Yvette was already with Xavier.She could only piece together a vague image of her father's appearance from Yvette's poor descriptions."He's an incompetent piece of trash." Perhaps he was skinny and meek. "He was always tongue-tied and clumsy." Maybe he was a silent and introverted man who always doubted himself. "He's a freeloader who couldn't earn a penny by himself. He depends on women to pay his bills." He probably dressed in the simplest clothes, maybe even a bit sloppy.In short, he was not particularly impressive or good-looking.However, Larissa always had an inkling that Yvette was not telling the truth. Just because they didn't share a close relationship didn't mean she didn't understand her.Yvette was vain and materialistic, and if her biological father was truly as unbearable as she had described, Yvette would never have married him in the first place.Then again, per
Larissa was taken aback, "Huh?"Gary avoided her gaze and asked in a low voice, "What about your father?"Although Larissa was trembling, she put on a smile and said, "My mom said he passed away when I was very young. I've never seen my dad, and I don't even know what he looks like. That's the biggest regret of my life. Because of this, I can't bear to let my son's hopes be shattered."Gary's heart, which had just calmed down, began to ache again. He wanted to tell Larissa that he was her father.But he was worried that she would blame him for not appearing all these years, and might even refuse to acknowledge him. He wouldn't be able to maintain even a simple friendship with her."Do you miss your father?" he tentatively asked."When I was little, I thought about him, especially when I was sad," Larissa recalled the past, as if all the pain had disappeared, leaving behind a faint trace of melancholy, "But as I grew up, I stopped thinking about it because I knew it was pointless.