Dorothy stepped aside as she listened to Credence’s first words to Belle. Her face tensed with nervousness and her breathing was close to none.
For the past few years, even though her daughter had asked about her father in the beginning, after successfully coaxing her a few times, she stopped making a fuss and became sensible and well-behaved.
However, this time was different. Dorothy was unsure whether her daughter could accept the sudden appearance of her father.
She stared at Belle’s face anxiously and carefully observed her expression.
What had she observed?
Her precious daughter had rubbed her beautiful blue eyes and merely blinked at Credence for a while. A look of displeasure crossed her little face as she spoke, “Mommy, didn’t you tell me that my Daddy was with God in heaven now? That means this man here can’t possibly be my Daddy?”
“Mommy, there are lots of bad guys out there, you know? Don’t be fooled by them. I have already found my own father anyway, he’s the most handsome man on this planet! He’s even more handsome than any of the male idols out there.”
Credence was not prepared for this at all. This little girl had given his ego a nasty blow, his expression turned icy cold.
This was the first time in his life in which he had suffered a major setback from a girl. Moreover, it was a girl who was barely six. All sorts of emotions welled up in his chest as he cast a questioning look at Dorothy. He was greeted with her gloating stare. His heart melted at her coquettish expression.
He stretched out his hand and gently patted the top of Belle’s head and asked softly, “I thought you were sick? How did you muster up all that energy to say so much? Are you hungry? Do you want a hamburger or some fried chicken?”
“Don’t think you can bribe me with that!”
Belle whined cutely and pouted, “I have a godfather and a godmother to bring me those, you know? They already treated me many times before. If you want me to think of you as my father, you’re going to have to treat me to more! At least 250 more times!”
Dorothy could not help but ask curiously, “Why does it have to be 250 times?”
Belle fell silent for a few seconds. Eventually, she stretched out her little finger and pointed at the tall and handsome man in front of her. With all the innocence in the world, she began to answer, “It’s because… Well, I like that number.”
After that, Belle began to laugh to herself.
Dorothy did not know what to say. She wanted to laugh too, but she managed to contain herself when she saw how much the other man’s face had darkened at that moment. She coughed to hide her embarrassment, then she took her bag from the sofa and spoke to Belle softly, “Belle, you’ve just woken up, so you can’t eat greasy food. I’ll go out and buy you something else to eat, alright?”
“Okay, Mommy. But can you wait a minute?”
“Yes, Belle, what is it?”
The little girl pointed at Credence and pouted, “What do we do with this man who claims to be my Daddy?”
As Dorothy watched the man’s face get even darker, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud in the end, “Belle, you can do whatever you want with him.”
“Mommy, I have seen his photos before. Germaine secretly showed them to me and even told me that he had bullied you and made you cry countless times! Mommy, you don’t have to be scared. I will support you till the end, I won’t call him Daddy so easily,” She clenched her little fists with a serious look.
Dorothy was stunned at the moment. How could she accurately describe her feelings at that moment?
It was hard for her to put into words. Her heart prickled, filling with the soft warmth that made her feel incredibly happy.
After Belle had blasted him, for the first time in his life, Credence thought that what she had said was reasonable. He really did owe Dorothy a lot after everything he had done.
He hoped that it was not too late to make up for his mistakes.
Meanwhile, in the dining hall of the hospital.
Because every patient getting treated in the hospital was well-off, the canteen had a huge variety of food and they were really good as well, it was comparable to that of five-star hotels.
After Dorothy bought some food from the canteen, she made her way back to the hospital. She ate most of it with Belle while Credence only had some soup. He received a phone call in the middle of the meal and left to answer it. He did not come back even after a long while.
Belle’s appetite was pretty good. She had eaten a bit of everything, even though it was just a few bites. After she was full, she began to feel sleepy. She smiled dopily at her mother and began to feel her eyes close then slowly drifted to sleep.
“Belle, hold on for a moment. Let’s change you out of those clothes first.”
Belle had spent a lot of energy eating just now so she had worked up quite a sweat. She frowned as she felt her sweat made her clothes stick to her body uncomfortably.
Dorothy’s movements were quick. She took out a towel and soaked it into a basin of warm water. After squeezing the towel somewhat dry, she began to wipe Belle’s body down before helping her into a more comfortable set of hospital attire.
After she settled Belle down, she then put her daughter’s dirty clothes into the wash basin and made her way to the bathroom.
The bathroom was situated outside.
As Dorothy entered the bathroom, she noticed it was spacious and luxurious yet comfortable. There was even a big white bathtub with rose petals in it. The red and white colors complimented each other very well and looked beautiful.
She had been worried sick about Germaine and Belle for the past few days, so she had not been able to relax and properly take a bath herself. She felt sticky from sweating all day.
Having been presented with an opportunity to finally relax for once, Dorothy decided to lock the door and took off her jacket and dress. She bent down, and just when she was about to pull off her underwear, she felt something was off…
As if a burning gaze was staring at her.
With her heart in her throat, Dorothy hurriedly looked back. She happened to meet the man’s eyes, which looked cold and deep. Her heart began to beat wildly.
She had been sure that there wasn’t anyone in the room apart from her before. Where did he suddenly appear from?
The man had probably just finished doing some unmentionable things himself. He pulled up the zipper of his trousers and tied his belt properly before walking towards her.
Under his careful gaze, her heart couldn’t help but race. She could feel herself turn redder and redder from embarrassment, as she sputtered, “Credence, what are you doing here? If you’re done with your business, then you’d better hurry up and get out!”
“Oh, I’ve definitely finished. But I can’t say the same for our business though.”
The man looked down at Dorothy, roaming his eyes up and down her nearly bare body. She was only wearing black underwear at that moment. Beneath her delicate clavicle were a plump pair of breasts that looked much fuller than they had been since six years ago. He thought that it might be because she had given birth.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down and his pupils dilated. He reached out gently and grabbed at Dorothy’s soft waist, forcing her against the snow-white wall. His long, slender fingers reached out to lift her sharp chin. His voice took on a low, gravelly tone that oozed intoxicating charm, “Dorothy, you are already preparing to take a bath? Are you planning to invite me to create a new life with you now?”