Noah Cooper was standing in front of the sink, his cuffs were pulled up to his arms and his white shirt was tucked inside his suit pants. His slender legs were wrapped in his suit pants and the smooth line outlined the curvature of his hips connected to his crotch, he was having broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His physique was totally perfect and flawless.
A pair of big cute round eyes stared at him from behind and suddenly called out, “Dad,” hearing the only voice that was a soothing balm against the raw edges of his pain, Noah rinsed his hands and turned around to see his six years old daughter standing in the entrance of the bathroom, holding her favorite doll to her chest.
A trace of a smile appeared on his face as he made his way out of the bathroom and squatted in front of his daughter, “Why aren't you asleep yet, sweetheart?” he asked adorably, toying with the tip of his daughter's hair. “Why aren't you asleep too, Dad? And what are you doing in my bathroom at this time?” Aurora questioned calmly, staring at her Dad meaningfully. Noah's smile grew wider as he answered, “I was just doing some of your laundries, baby, I'll go to bed soon” finishing his words, a deep frown etched on Aurora's forehead immediately,
“Until when are you going to stop this, Dad? This is not a father's duty, but a mother's. I know I don't have a Mommy since when I was born, but I want to have one now, Dad” Tears pooled into her eyes as she blurted her mind, bringing tears to Noah's eyes as well.
He hated to see his daughter in tears, let alone in distress. “Each and every one in my class has a Mom, and they keep mocking me that my CEO Daddy brings me down to school every day instead of my Mommy” Noah swallowed hard over the lump of emotion lodging in his throat.
This wasn't the first nor the second time his daughter would be complaining about this to him. “You keep saying you care about me, but you do not care about my happiness, Dad, otherwise why do you keep sending my nannies away, insisting that they would hurt me in the end?” Aurora continued to blurt her mind, more tears streaming down her cheeks. “You bath for me, dress for me, take me to school and even bring me back yourself, aren't you tired? I know you're worried about me and that's how much you love me and I love you too, Dad, but I'm tired of only this fatherly love, I need motherly love too” Aurora stormed off after stating her intentions, leaving Noah no chance to say anything. He remained stationary for some moment, but finally slumped to the floor, looking broken.
All that Aurora had just said was true. Noah Cooper was a millionaire, a distinguished young CEO across the country. His group had become the largest conglomerate here in Houston, and he had also set up branches of companies in oversea.
He had people arrange his food, clothes, and accommodation for him. However, when it comes to his daughter, he tends to do everything for her by himself. The only thing he wasn't good at was cooking. Nevertheless, he buys his daughter's meal from the best restaurant in the city.
Six years ago, his lovely wife gave up to ghost immediately after she gave birth to their only daughter. And since then, Noah had transferred all his love to his daughter. He felt insecure whenever his daughter was out of his sight, and would even reach out to her in school through the principal. Despite being a millionaire, Noah was always available for his daughter at any time, and would perpetually take her to amazing places every weekend. This excessive love for his daughter had made him realize that he could never love anybody else, and he felt okay with his life with just his daughter alone in it.
The next morning,
Noah had prepared the table, which contained his daughter's favorite breakfast dishes; scrambled eggs, blueberry muffins, and strawberry juice, before going to her room. He shut the door carefully behind him, even though he had come to wake his daughter for school, yet, he wouldn't like the noise of the door to disrupt her beautiful sleep. He amounted his pace toward her queen-size bed and found her daughter still sleeping beautifully and soundly with some strands of her black hair plunging to her forehead. An intriguing smile emerged on his lips as he stooped and reached over to sweep away the hair from her face,
“Sweetheart,” he called in a soft yet sweet voice, caressing her ruby cheek. “Hmm…” Aurora stirred beneath the duvet cover. Her long, thin eyelashes trembled a few times before she was able to slowly open them, gazing at her handsome Dad. “Good morning, Darling. Did you sleep well?” Noah greeted her with a bright smile, brushing her hair with his slender fingers. Aurora slowly braced herself up to a sitting position on the bed, looking quite sharp. “Have you thought about what I told you already?” she questioned gloomily, it seemed she wouldn't smile with her Daddy until he agreed to her desire.
Noah's smile faded for a second as he slowly withdrew his hand that was stretched to her face, “Annabel,” he called solemnly, sitting on the bed close to his daughter. “You know Daddy loves you so much, right?” he asked gently, taking her hand in his. “And you should know that I'll do absolutely anything to make you happy, my dear” her face slowly changed from anger to calm while staring and listening to her Dad's words.
“Please baby, give Daddy a little time to look for a good Mommy for you” she nodded vigorously, having a cheerful smile on her face. Noah also smiled, feeling glad her bad mood was now long gone, “Now, will you give Daddy a big hug?” she crawled toward her Dad and jumped into his embrace, “I love you, Dad” she pronounced, smiling with a charm that lit up the room. “I love you more, dearest”
***
Jasmine sat in the opposite seat of Paisley in the hospital cafeteria. Paisley stared at her friend's face admiringly as she nibbled on her baked chicken. It had been a week already,, and she was pleased to see that Jasmine had completely forgotten about everything that happened recently. “Are you going to keep watching me while I eat? Is that how much you love me?” Jasmine teased, without raising her head to look at Paisley. Paisley chuckled lightly before raising her glass of water to her lips and drinking some of it,
“I'm only envious of your beauty, Jas. How I wish I were as pretty as you?” she pouted her lips, feigning a sad expression.
Jasmine rolled her eyeballs before drinking some water also, then dipped her head forward, “Did you hear that Matron Perez is getting married soon?” she whispered to Paisley's face. Paisley's eyes widened very much in disbelief, “Which of the Matron Perez, please?” Paisley puzzled, blinking her eyes rapidly. Jasmine frowned, “How many Matron Perez do we have here?” she rolled her eyes again, shaking her head twice. “Are you serious?” Paisley almost yelled, banging her hand on their table and standing up. Jasmine darted her eyes around to see if no one was watching them and turned to look at her, “Shush, Paisley, and sit down” she commanded sternly, but Paisley wasn't embarrassed. She sat down curtly, waiting for Jasmine's next words, “Believe me, I don't know the details. That was what I heard from Nurse Grace” Jasmine disclosed, grabbing her fork. And it was Paisley's turn to roll her eyeballs, “How could you believe what Nurse Grace had said?” Paisley challenged, not willing to hide her disappointed look. “I didn't believe it, I was only asking you if you also heard the same thing” Jasmine sneered, enjoying the look on her friend's face.
Accidentally, she raised her head toward the entrance and saw Xavier walking in with one of the female accountants in the hospital. A sharp pain cut through her heart in an instant, but she chose to ignore it, reminding herself that she was over him already. Therefore, she wouldn't be in pain because of him ever again. “Hello, are you with me?” Paisley snapped her fingers in her face after she realized that Jasmine was not saying anything to what she had been saying. Jasmine jolted out of her trance, a bitter expression showing on her face.
Paisley furrowed her brows and followed her line of sight and saw Xavier sitting down with the female accountant. She heaved a rueful sigh and looked over at her friend, “You're not over him yet?” she asked gently, feeling compassion toward her friend. “I want to have my revenge, Paisley” Jasmine said through clenched teeth, fisting her hands. Immediately, a bright smile arose on Paisley's face, “Yes, babe, I'm in support!” she squealed excitedly, loving the idea so much.