Chapter 5

I knelt in front of the little one. “Chloe, you can’t point a gun at your teammates. From today on, the gun is confiscated!” I rarely called her by her full name, and my usual smiling face was gone.

The little girl froze, her innocent gaze filled with a mix of curiosity and confusion.

I took the gun, but then cut her a small piece of cake.

“Sweetie, you need to sleep! You’re still growing.”

I patiently wiped the cream from her lips.

This child had only one flaw: she hated sleeping. In the first few days I was at Jax’s house, she’d sway from exhaustion but refuse to get into bed.

The discomfort of being sleepy made her wail.

So, when Jax said the previous nannies couldn't stand her crying, it wasn't entirely Chloe’s fault.

Because of this, I had to pull out all the stops to coax her to sleep.

I read her fairy tales, and she’d say, “Why did the Little Mermaid have to die for the prince? Was he really that handsome?”

I put on sleep-inducing cartoons, and she’d say, “Are they mute? Why aren’t they talking?”

It wasn’t until I put on a classic old movie that she started to snore before she could even complain.

This little one was… interesting.

But even classic old movies eventually end, and Chloe wasn’t easy to fool, so I put on a long-running historical drama for her.

She slept, alright, but then I started binge-watching shows all night.

Everything from historical epics and family sagas to modern romances and thrillers.

It was normal for me to love watching them, but as for Chloe—

“I’m looking for my dad!”

Jax?

My expat husband, living it up overseas, how could he appear in a TV show? I pulled Chloe into my arms: “Sweetie, if you miss Daddy, we can FaceTime him.”

The child shook her head.

“Daddy has to go to heaven and earth, he doesn’t have time to answer the phone.”

I raised an eyebrow, my lips twitching. Jax really could say anything, couldn't he? He should be more realistic when coaxing a child.

If he could go to heaven and earth, I’d be the Queen of the World.

After that conversation, my gaze softened towards Chloe even more. Her mother was nowhere to be found, and her dad was full of empty promises.

As her stepmom, I had to give it my all.

My attention to Chloe became almost 24/7.

But kids have their secrets too.

“Why are you fiddling with your watch and hiding from me?”

I teased Chloe, who was crouched in the corner. Her face was full of surprise, one hand covering her smartwatch, the other covering her mouth. She shook her head frantically.

Thankfully, I wasn’t interested in uncovering a child’s secrets. It just made me feel even more anxious whenever Chloe left my sight.