The Runaway Groom

"No!" Vivian promptly refused, even stuffing all the things she bought into Lulu's hands. "Mr. Slate is busy, and entrusting you to buy his baby's belongings is a sign of his trust. You should do your best. It's the same for me as Mr. Slate's assistant. Since he keeps me around, he definitely thinks highly of me."

The last part was meant for Zachary and not Lulu, and after shoving everything into Lulu's hands, Vivian smiled and returned to Zachary's side. "Mr. Slate, children should be treasured, especially daughters,” she said softly while leaning close to him.

Zachary promptly stepped off to the side, distancing himself.

She was certainly disgusting and he wanted to chase her away, only to see that Lulu was reacting.

He promptly stopped himself.

Lulu realized that she had not been controlling her reaction either and deliberately picked one of the gimmicks Vivian brought.

It had quality, but could a mere assistant afford it?

She must have been paying through the nose to woo Zachary, even if she did pay attention to the details.

For her part, Lulu really did not want to be the third wheel. Once she packed up all the things Vivian brought, she headed into Star's room.

The baby was sound asleep, and Lulu sat by her cradle, while staring outside the window.

It was already dark outside as night had arrived, and Lulu slowly calmed down amid the silence, watching her daughter.

"Mwah..."

Star was just puckering her little pink lips that appeared so peachy.

Her eyes were open, her crystalline gaze darting everywhere as she took in the world curiously.

Lulu smiled and poked her little cheek, calling out to her softly, "Star."

It was actually catchy and not harsh on the ears, and Zachary probably paid it some thought. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

As she stared at Star, and Star stared back at her in turn, Lulu was smiling tenderly, whereas Star simply appeared confused, her black eyes bright and innocent. It occurred to Lulu just then that a person was colorless like a blank piece of paper at this age.

If only Star could live in stability like now, instead of taking after her.

It had been a long journey, and she had gone through so much.

She could not help sighing, and Star suddenly started bawling, her cries immediately resounding in the room.

"It's alright, Star!" Startled, Lulu picked her up a little slowly.

Just as she was about to calm Star, the door opened with a click, and Vivian appeared, looking worried.

"What's wrong? Why's the baby crying?" Vivian asked, holding her hands out to take Star.

Lulu promptly took a step back with Star, evading her grasp.

The air in the room promptly turned stiff, as Vivian's expression cooled.

She could tell that the woman before her cared a lot about the baby and snapped, "I want to hold her!"