“All this information comes from Ford.”
Conrad turned his head and spotted Ford sitting in the back, holding a recording pen.
Melissa snapped her fingers. “Don’t look at him – look at me. All of you need this training, including that slouching Andrew over there.”
Hearing his name, Andrew awkwardly straightened up as everyone turned to stare at him.
Satisfied, Melissa continued.
“Quincy – five years old. His hobbies are as follows. See this?” She pointed to an image of firearms. “This is your area of expertise. Is anyone here better at this than you? Win him over!”
“And Jasmine, you get along with Quincy pretty well, right?”
Jasmine hesitated. “Yeah…”
“Then why not invite Quincy over more often? Let him stay a while, how about that?”
“Emmmm…”
“See? That’s the wrong response.” Melissa sat down with a sigh. “Quincy means something special to Lillian. For the past five years, she’s poured all her motherly love into that boy. Because of him, she’s had the strength to keep going. Honestly, right now, Quincy might even mean more to her than Ethan does.”
“She completely lets her guard down around that kid. So if we can win Quincy over, we’ll have a solid opening. You need to accept that Quincy’s basically your honorary big brother now.”
“And you,” Melissa said, turning to Conrad, “you need to find a way to get that boy to call you Dad!”
Both Conrad and Jasmine looked equally horrified.
But after exchanging a glance…
“Dad,” Jasmine asked quietly, “can you do that? If you have him… will you still love me?”
“What kind of silly question is that?” Conrad ruffled her hair gently. “Of course, I’ll love you. But… I really am grateful that he’s been there for your mom.”
Including Ethan – even after learning what had happened five years ago – he couldn’t bring himself to hate that man.
But expecting him to be friendly with a romantic rival? That was impossible.
As for that Quincy… well, he was just another godson, nothing more.
“Alright then, let’s team up and win over Ethan and Quincy!” Conrad declared loudly.
“Sure,” Jasmine replied happily.
“Exactly!” Melissa chimed in. “That’s the strategy – infiltrate Ethan’s family! If we can’t beat them, we’ll join them. We’re too passive right now. If we don’t take a detour to win this battle, relying solely on your daughter to get close to her won’t cut it. Give it enough time, and it’ll turn into you being you, and Jasmine being Jasmine. By then, she’ll only need Jasmine – not you. A persistent suitor always wins in the end – silent, steady infiltration is the most terrifying tactic!”
Lionel closed his notebook. “Seems like there’s nothing left for us to do. Should we head out?”
“Hold it!” Melissa snapped. “Who said you guys are off the hook? One person’s strength is limited – but a whole group’s strength? Unshakable! Think about what you can contribute to the cause – we’re having a strategy meeting later!”
The more she talked, the more fired up Melissa became. “Tonight, we’re locking down the plan!”
Hogan covered his mouth and whispered, “She seems to really understand the art of winning back a wife, huh? So… when are you gonna have a kid?”
George’s expression stayed flat. “None of your business.”
Hogan was speechless. Why was this guy getting all worked up now?
******
When Lillian got home, Ethan didn’t let Quincy bother her. He knew she needed some quiet time to herself.
Quincy looked worried. “Dad, I think Mom Lillian’s upset. Did Jasmine’s dad say something to her? Is she unhappy? Should we really just leave her alone? Doesn’t she need comforting?”
Ethan ruffled his hair. “Quincy, sometimes, when you have something on your mind, you need some time to sort things out, right? Well, Mom’s the same way.”
Quincy nodded thoughtfully. “Got it. I’ll go see her tomorrow.”
“Good boy. How was it playing with Jasmine today?”
Quincy fiddled with his toy. “She’s really cute and nice… but I still wish my own mom and dad could be together. Dad, when’s Mom coming to visit me? I haven’t seen her in so long.”
At the mention of his ex-wife, Ethan said, “Doesn’t Mom message you every day? Next time, why don’t you ask her yourself?”
Quincy nodded again.
He climbed into bed and pulled his blanket up to his chin. “Today, Jasmine and I made a wish in the spaceship ride.”
“Oh?” Ethan asked. “What did you two wish for?”
“I wished for my mom and dad to get back together. But… more than that, I just want you both to be happy.”
Ethan’s heart softened. “You’re still a kid. Kids are just supposed to be happy and carefree – don’t worry about all that grown-up stuff.”
Quincy thought to himself, If you adults didn’t make things so complicated, us kids wouldn’t have to worry so much either.
Ethan waited until Quincy had fallen asleep before stepping out of the room.
He was worried about Lillian, but he knew she was stronger than she seemed – delicate on the outside, but tough on the inside.
When he returned to his room, he couldn’t help but open the drawer of his nightstand.
Inside was the box containing their wedding rings.
His ex-wife’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
“Ethan, you’re always like this – calm, steady, never showing any emotion. I know you’re just being stable, but sometimes… I really wish you’d just yell at me. Right now, it feels like I’m punching cotton, and maybe… maybe we’re just not right for each other.”
He closed the ring box.
Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his temples.
Sometimes… he wished he could be like a kid again – just say whatever was on his mind without overthinking it.
But as an adult… that kind of honesty felt like a luxury long gone.
The alarm went off right on time at 7:00 a. m.
Ethan opened his eyes, his body moving mechanically as he got out of bed, washed up, and was just about to change out of his pajamas for his morning run-planning to grab breakfast on the way back-when he heard the doorbell ring.
Ethan frowned. Who could it be at this hour?
He checked the video doorbell and raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw Jasmine.
“Mr. Ethan, it’s me!”
“Hello, Jasmine. I’ll be right there.”
Hearing Ethan’s voice through the doorbell speaker, Jasmine grinned proudly. “Step one: successfully infiltrate the enemy’s base!”
Conrad ruffled her hair. “That’s my girl!”
Ethan’s smile stiffened for a moment when he saw Conrad, but he quickly masked it with a polite smile. “Mr. Conrad, you’re here too? Are you dropping Jasmine off to spend time with Lillian? Just leave her with me, I’ll take care of her.”
“You’re too kind, Mr. Ethan.” Conrad squeezed inside with a large stack of food containers. “Sorry, my daughter’s not quite used to being with strangers. I’d feel better if I stayed and watched over her myself.”
Ethan watched as Conrad made himself right at home and couldn’t help but admire the man’s shamelessness.
“Mr. Conrad, I’m afraid I don’t have any spare slippers for you. It might be inconvenient.”
“No worries, we brought our own,” Jasmine chimed in. She ran to the door, grabbed her pink little suitcase, unzipped it, and sure enough, pulled out two pairs of slippers.
The father and daughter duo put them on as if they owned the place, then turned to Ethan.
“Lillian’s not up yet?” Conrad asked.
“Mr. Ethan, is Mommy still sleeping?” Jasmine added.
Ethan opened his mouth, then sighed helplessly. “Yes.”
Conrad said, “Then I hope you don’t mind if we wait inside.”
“Mr. Ethan’s such a nice guy, of course, he won’t mind. Come on, Dad! Mr. Ethan’s couch is sooo comfy,” Jasmine chimed in cheerfully.
“Oh, is that so?” Conrad chuckled.
The father and daughter walked hand-in-hand straight into the living room.
Conrad casually glanced upstairs before settling on the couch.
As Ethan closed the door, Conrad smirked and said, “Mr. Ethan, just woke up? That’s no good. What about breakfast?” He glanced toward the kitchen. “Who usually makes breakfast around here?”
Ethan walked to the bar and poured two glasses of water. “Usually, I get up early, go for a run, and grab breakfast on my way back.”
Conrad sneered. This guy sure knew how to phrase things. What do you mean you ‘get up early first’? He said it like he and Lillian were sleeping in the same room.
Clearly, they were in separate rooms. And he still tangled up with his ex-wife…
Shameless guy!
Conrad thought all this but kept his face neutral. He simply frowned and said, “Eating out all the time isn’t healthy. Mr. Ethan, if you can cook yourself, you should.”
Before Ethan could reply, Conrad had already unpacked the food containers and set them on the dining table. “Jasmine and I brought some breakfast from home – all of Lillian’s favorites, made by the nanny who used to take care of her.”
“Jasmine helped too! Today’s breakfast was made by Jasmine and Daddy together,” Jasmine proudly added.
“Mr. Ethan, you and Quincy can have some too if you’d like. Jasmine made enough for you both!”
Ethan couldn’t help but feel that Conrad… well, today was quite the eye-opener. For some reason, this man just gave off that… what was the word they used online?
Angelic bitch? Right, angelic bitch, though he was a man.
Ethan took a deep breath and said calmly, “No need to worry, Mr. Conrad. Recently, Quincy and I both transferred back for work, and Lillian’s no longer busy with early morning shoots. By the time they’re up, I’m usually back from my run. If they have time, they’ll sometimes make breakfast themselves. No need to make things so formal – we’re family, after all.”
F-a-m-i-l-y.