Chapter 14: Chapter 14

That night, Lori ventured to ask for something unexpected.

“Daddy, can I sleep with you?”

There was a moment of silence in the room upon hearing this innocent request. Everyone without exception, even Richard, was silent and just stared at little Lori with a perplexed look.

“Can’t I?” asked Lori again, tilting her head. A pair of green-purple eyes seemed to glaze over, waiting for an answer from her daddy.

Richard was eager to grant his daughter’s request. He even wanted to sleep with his daughter every night if necessary, but...

Richard glanced up and looked one by one at the curious faces of his siblings.

“Okay. I’ll sleep with you.”

.....

Lori squealed with joy as she hugged her father’s neck while Richard’s siblings frowned in disgust at his decision, but Richard gave no care and let them think as they pleased and focused his attention on his daughter.

At nine o’clock at night, Lori was already yawning once every two minutes. Meli could immediately guess that it was Lori’s bedtime.

“Looks like it’s time for her to sleep.”

“I think you’re right.”

Richard immediately picked up his daughter and left.

“Brother, where will he sleep?” Harmonie asked while squinting suspiciously.

“Where else? In my room, of course.”

“Richard, someone might call you a pedophile pervert if you grant her wish like that.”

“Only for tonight.” insisted Richard.

Richard couldn’t blame them. Everyone knew that Richard was never serious when it came to chasing women. Richard wouldn’t even let a woman come into his private quarters.

Now, Richard let a little girl sleep in the same room as him; who wouldn’t worry? His family would be shaken up if Richard had a disorder for liking minors.

Well, Richard was no child, and he knew what he was doing. Even though they tried to reassure themselves, they couldn’t stop worrying about this dire possibility.

Richard knew exactly what was going through his siblings’ minds. Instead of defending himself, he deliberately kept his mouth shut without explaining anything. Besides, their expressions were delightful... (*evil grin)

Richard tried his best not to laugh when he saw his three brothers’ mouths hanging open. Oh, their expressions are epic!

Richard took his daughter into his room with relaxed and indifferent steps and put her to sleep. After wrapping his daughter warmly, his phone rang, which ruined his sweet moment with his lovely baby girl.

His brow furrowed when he saw an unknown number on his phone screen. A small smile appeared on his face guessing that the caller was the woman he had been waiting for all day.

“Hello?” Richard heard a strange voice on the other end. Was this Qiao Anxia’s voice? “Yes, she is. The little girl with different eyes is indeed with me. May I ask who this is?”

“I am her mother.”

Her mother? Qiao Anxia? But... her voice sounded different than what he remembered.

Furthermore, his heart didn’t tremble or attract like when he first heard Qiao Anxia’s melodious voice.

He recalled that his heart always yearned and excited whenever he heard Anxia’s sexy voice. Have his feelings changed?

“I see. So you reach me now, huh? What kind of mother only remember her lost baby a few hours later?”

“...”

Lori, who still hadn’t slept, gulped nervously at the cold voice she had heard this afternoon in the airport parking lot. Just as she had expected, this handsome daddy was no ordinary man. She was absolutely sure her newfound daddy would not be afraid of her mother when the two met. He was a perfect husband for her killer mommy.

“Hello? Are you still there?” Richard asked again when there was no response from the other end.

“Sir. Can you return my daughter? I admit I’m not a good mother, but I learned my mistake. I would never let this happen again.”

“Okay. I’ll take her to the Crown Plaza hotel. Pick her up at eight in the morning.”

Richard ended the call without waiting for a response and put his phone carelessly on his nightstand.

He sat beside his daughter and spoke softly, taking Lori by jaw-dropper. How can someone speak in such an unfriendly tone one moment and then talk in such a gentle tone the next?

“Baby girl, do you know why your mother took you to the airport?”

“Hmm. We had to pick up Aunt Meng.”

“Aunt Meng, who is that?”

“She’s mommy’s friend. But I don’t like her.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s not a good person.”

“Why do you think so?”

“She’s a bad influence on mommy.”

Richard’s lips twitched at this. He became curious as to what kind of bad influence his daughter meant. He remembered that Anxia had acted up and wasn’t a good girl, so he wondered how badly the girl he hadn’t seen in four years had changed.

He would find out tomorrow when he met her.

Richard browsed the internet for a fairy tale, then read it in a soft and coaxing voice. Even Richard himself never knew that he could speak so gently and affectionately like this.

Usually, he talks to the opposite sex in a seductive and mischievous voice. He never spoke with such sincerity as he did to his daughter.

Richard had felt strange attractiveness the first time he had seen this girl. He felt an urge to protect this baby once the two of them met.

The longer he talked to Lori, the more he wanted to be with her and protect her. Maybe it was because he was unfamiliar with these feelings that he had been cold to Lori and tried to avoid her.

He didn’t want to feel attached to someone, only to be heartbroken. After all, this child would return to her family sooner or later, so Richard didn’t want to let the mysterious feeling in his chest overwhelm him.

But fate granted his wish in the most strange way. It turned out this baby girl was his daughter. Loreinne was his flesh and blood! No wonder he felt a strong desire to be with this child.

That’s why Richard no longer held back and opened up to his daughter. Which parent doesn’t like the presence of a sweet, intelligent, lovely baby like Loreinne? Richard didn’t want to be separated from Loreine and miss his daughter’s growth.

He had been missing for three years and had not seen his daughter’s infancy. Therefore, he didn’t want to miss even a second of being separated from his daughter. Even if the obstacle was that woman, the woman he probably wouldn’t love.

But for Lori’s sake, Richard would try again to arouse his interest in Qiao Anxia. Whether he succeeded or not, he would find out tomorrow.