“I’m going to the Brown family!”
After these five years, Mrs. Miller’s fear of Conrad had lessened, mainly because every time he came to their house, he was always so polite.
“It’s not a holiday, and it’s not even Jasmine’s usual visiting time.”
Just as Melissa opened the iron gate to leave, she was suddenly stopped by George, who had appeared out of nowhere.
“Don’t go!” George had clearly run over from his house.
To get closer to Melissa, he had convinced the neighbors to move out, and now he lived right next door to the Miller family’s villa.
But even then, he almost missed catching Melissa before she left.
“What are you stopping me for?” Melissa glared at him.
“They’re a family of three now. It’s the perfect time to sort everything out. You know how much Jasmine wants to be with Lillian,” George explained. “Besides, if you take Lillian away, do you want to see Jasmine cry or Conrad go crazy?”
“I can take both Jasmine and Lillian away. As for Conrad, he’s the one you care about.” Melissa softened for a moment. “Forget it, considering he’s taken care of Jasmine so diligently for five years, I’ll let him off the hook.”
She looked uncertainly at George. “So… Lillian really came back?”
That night, there were too many people at the charity gala. To avoid public pressure, Lillian had run off again. They had sealed all the information, and anyone with any sense wouldn’t spread rumors.
When Melissa had been busy with her own plans, she had kept herself so isolated that she hadn’t heard a word about Lillian’s return.
“She’s back, and now she’s a famous director, internationally renowned.”
Melissa only heard this one sentence before tears welled up in her eyes.
“Really?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
Lillian… Lillian finally made it.
Melissa cried and laughed at the same time, then turned to grab George’s shoulder. “I told you she wouldn’t give up hope. As long as she’s alive, she’ll achieve her dreams. She did it, she really did it…”
She smiled at George, but when she realized it was him, she quickly pulled back her smile. “I’ll go inside and eat first.”
He followed her and said, “Don’t you want to know more details about her?”
Melissa stopped in her tracks.
George raised an eyebrow. “I made a little too much for dinner tonight. I bet you haven’t eaten yet, right? Why don’t you come over to mine?”
“Are you shameless?”
“As long as it works,” he replied, turning around and mentally counting.
Sure enough, within five seconds, he heard footsteps behind him.
A smile slowly curled at the corner of his lips.
******
When Lillian came out of the bathtub, holding a warm, soft little girl, Conrad was already waiting at the bathroom door.
“I’ll dry her hair.”
Lillian watched him with practiced ease and nodded. She didn’t know where many things in the house were; she still had to ask her daughter.
Conrad picked her up and held her close. “Was the bath comfortable?”
“Of course, it was perfect! Full marks!”
He placed her on a little pink peach chair, gave her a toy, and then took away her towel. Turning on the child-friendly, silent hairdryer, he began drying her hair from behind.
His movements were smooth, as if he had done this many times before.
“Lillian, can you grab the hair oil from the second drawer in the bathroom?” Conrad asked.
She paused for a moment, then turned and went back into the bathroom.
As she handed it to him, his fingertips brushed against her skin. Lillian quickly pulled her hand back, but in the next instant, he hooked her finger, tightly holding her hand and pulling her closer.
Lillian stumbled a bit, and Conrad smiled at her. “Be careful, the floor’s slippery.”
“…”
Was it really the floor that was slippery, or was it on purpose?!
Jasmine secretly watched their interaction in the mirror, covering her mouth with her hand and grinning, clearly enjoying herself.
Once the hair was dry, Jasmine ordered Conrad to go to the media room and pull up the photos for Lillian to see.
The first day back had to be fully packed with activities!
She had to let her mom see how Jasmine had looked from the time she was little.
Jasmine insisted on sitting between Lillian and Conrad.
She even had to hold onto one of each of their hands, linking them together, and leaning on them before she’d settle.
“Alright, now I’m with Mom and Dad.” She even turned around to warn them, “You can’t let go, okay?”
With that, the little girl comfortably lay back.
Ada quietly nudged the heavy door of the media room with its head and came over to curl up at their feet.
The warmth of Conrad’s body and the well-defined muscles of his forearm supported her arm.
Lillian’s body instinctively wanted to pull away from the contact, but his hand gripped her tightly.
She stared expressionlessly at the screen, trying to focus all her attention on it, but she couldn’t stop the overwhelming, dominating presence of Conrad from seeping through every crack.
A large number of photos and video files quickly appeared on the screen.
“This is when Jasmine was still in the incubator.”
Lillian’s heart tightened. She almost shot up from the couch, but if it hadn’t been for Conrad’s hand gripping her elbow, she might have forgotten she had a daughter in her arms and would’ve shaken uncontrollably.
The nightmares from the years when Frank had held her captive crept back, overlapping with everything she saw in front of her.
It was like a pair of monstrous, powerful hands reaching out of the darkness, clutching her body, trying to drag her into the abyss.
In the photo, the tiny baby was so small, hooked up to tubes, her skin almost transparent.
The little bit of blood flowing, day by day, changing.
Her vision quickly blurred.
After being discharged from the hospital, the first photo of Jasmine and Conrad together.
Conrad was surrounded by people, holding a pink swaddle in his arms, his gaze gentle. His movements were still awkward but steady.
By the time Jasmine turned a month old, her hair had grown a lot, messy and curly. Her long eyelashes framed her chubby little face. Her arms and legs still had little flesh on them, but the little dimples were starting to show.
Every day in the villa felt like a battle. Despite being an easy baby to care for, Jasmine couldn’t sleep a full, peaceful night.
Ada’s family couldn’t stay with the newborn and had to move to the back mountain.
This was also the most frazzled Lillian had ever seen Conrad.
His hair was a mess, his pajamas wrinkled, holding the baby while humming and rocking around the living room, trying to lull the baby to sleep.
The little girl’s eyes were wide open and wouldn’t close.
His patience was surprisingly good, singing the same song over and over again.
Lillian watched Jasmine from back then with almost desperate longing.
Yet, she ultimately missed such precious moments.
“Mom, why are you crying?”