Niamh quickly explained, “Daddy is just too happy that he’s feeling embarrassed.”
She made an excuse for Kendrick as she took the drawing from Lillian’s hands.
“How about I help you pass this to Daddy, Lillian?”
Lillian’s dark eyes brightened as she nodded at Niamh.
Niamh’s chest tightened. “Trust me, Lily. You’re irreplaceable in Mommy, Daddy, and your brother’s hearts. Don’t think otherwise, okay?”
Lily’s marble-like eyes blinked as she nodded.
“That’s my good girl.” Niamh placed a peck on the child’s cheek.
Seeing this, Jackson came over to ask for affection as well. “Me too, Mommy.” He pushed his handsome little cheek toward her.
Niamh placed a peck on his cheek as well and stood with the drawing in her hands. “Help your sister with her homework, okay, Jack?”
“Okay!” Jackson replied obediently and took his sister’s hand.
Staring at the two small figures, Niamh’s heart warmed. However, it was clenching in relief and regret at the same time.
These two kids had never gotten the chance to have the kind of carefree childhood other children got to experience. They did not get to bask in both their parents’ love at the same time.
Niamh’s heart soured. ‘Must my children experience the same horrible childhood I had?’ she asked herself. Looking closer at the drawing in her hands, Niamh’s heart ached.
She took the drawing and made her way to the courtyard.
She searched around and found Kendrick standing by the flower beds. With his back against her, the man seemed to be wiping the corner of his eyes.
Finding it weird, Niamh quickened her pace as she walked toward the man.
Hearing her footsteps, Kendrick turned around.
Under the cold silver moonlight, the man’s attractive features were calm as if everything that happened a moment ago had nothing to do with him at all.
Niamh was not angry at all when she was met with the indifferent expression the man wore. She spoke in a calm tone, “If I were to still question and doubt you at this stage, Kendrick, then I don’t think I deserve you at all.”
Her words had stunned Kendrick. Niamh merely smiled and handed the drawing to him.
“I know that you have your own reason for doing that. I also know that you’ve been waiting to hear her say out that word for a very long time…”
Kendrick felt his hold over his emotions slip as he watched Niamh pass him the drawing with the word ‘Daddy’ on it.
He did not say anything, merely reaching out to take the drawing that Lillian had drawn with her heart.
“I’ll go check on Pudding. You take as much time as you need.” Niamh then turned around.
He was now alone in the empty courtyard.
Kendrick stared at the drawing under the moonlight and traced every figure with his slender finger before it finally fell on the little girl who was calling out for her dad.
The night breeze blew at him with the fresh scent of flowers.
Even so, Kendrick could not help but smell something bitter instead.
Before him was a colorful and warm drawing, yet it seemed to be gray in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Lillian.”
The corner of his eyes grew hot and damp as he called out her name.
“Daddy is happy, I am,” he murmured under his breath as he carefully kept the drawing close by his chest.
Kendrick and Niamh spent the night in Waldburg Manor.
It was around midnight when Kendrick carefully crept out of bed and into Lillian’s bedroom.
The weather was slowly transitioning into summer and the temperature began to rise. Entering the room, Kendrick found that Lillian had kicked the blanket off to the side and her pajamas had risen up her stomach, showing a corner of her small tummy.
Kendrick walked over, tucking Jackson in on the way before he made his way to Lillian’s bed. After adjusting his little princess’ clothes, he softly tucked her in as well.
“Lillian,” he called out softly, his gaze looking soft.
He had planned to watch his little princess in silence when the child’s eyelashes fluttered and she slowly opened her bleary eyes.
Kendrick sat by the bed and watched Lillian blink while she reached out to lightly grab Kendrick’s hand.
Stunned, Kendrick gripped the small hand in his palm.
Lillian smiled subconsciously before her eyes slipped shut again and she drifted back to sleep.
It was almost as if all of this was a dream to her.
Instead of turning away from her, her dad gripped her hand tighter in her dreams. It was warm, very warm…
Niamh watched the scene by the door and felt her heart grow heavy.
Why did he find the need to be so cold to Lillian? Why?
Niamh watched by the door for as long as Kendrick sat in the kid’s room. It was only when she heard his footsteps that she quickly ran back to lie down in the bedroom.
Not knowing that Niamh was awake, Kendrick quietly went to smoke a cigarette by the balcony.
Soon later, he joined Niamh in bed.
Wrapping an arm around her, he kissed her lips and caressed her brows.
“Goodnight, Nia.”
“…”
Niamh pretended to be asleep, but as Kendrick approached, she could smell the faint scent of herbs on the man.
Why would a normal cigarette have such a refreshing scent?
Despite her confusion, Niamh fell asleep before she knew it.
Niamh was still asleep the next morning when she heard her phone vibrate non-stop.
She turned around to see that she was getting a call from Ava. She picked it up. “Why are you calling me so early in the morning, Ava?”
“How are you still asleep, Niamh? Did you see the breaking news online yet?”
The breaking news online?
Niamh had just woken up and her mind was muddled.
“You and Kendrick are trending, Niamh.” Ava’s tone was heavy and it told Niamh that they were not trending for a good reason.
Tapping into Twitter, Niamh’s eyes fell onto her and Kendrick’s name topping the search bar.
Furthermore, Ryan’s name was there as well.
Paparazzi had apparently caught onto last night’s incident by the river, and with a few dramatic touches, the story had begun to spread on the internet.
Niamh scrolled through the images online with flames beginning to flare in her eyes.
The scene of Ryan hugging her and forcing a kiss on her had been turned into a scene of Ryan and her in a passionate bout of lip-locking.
Kendrick, who had appeared to protect her, was turned into the homewrecker with the intention to break the sweet couple apart.
Her struggles and attempts to push Ryan away were not photographed at all.
It was evident that the media had done so to make their story trend.
They had succeeded.
Two of Glendale’s bachelors were fighting each other for a woman’s affections.
Among the images uploaded was one with Kendrick holding Ryan’s collar and punching the man.
Niamh read the comments and found that almost everyone was scolding Kendrick for his actions while siding with Ryan who seemed to be the victim in this case.
Niamh was now completely awake.
Ava’s voice sounded over the phone. “Didn’t you say Ryan agreed to sign the divorce papers that day, Niamh? Now everyone who doesn’t know the whole story is claiming that Kendrick is trying to break your marriage apart!
“Just show your divorce papers, Niamh. That’ll shut those internet trolls up! You don’t even know how horrible their comments are!”
Niamh knew that Ava was angry on her behalf, but she could not post the divorce papers online. Niamh remained calm. “Don’t worry, Ava. I’ll deal with this. Let me wash up first and I’ll call you back later.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.