Abandoned XXL Wife: My Second Husband Is A Tycoon Chapter 02
But only for a second.
I looked down at Charlie.
At the small fingers curled into the fabric of my trousers.
At the way his whole body leaned into me like I was the only safe place he’d ever known.
Something inside me melted.
Then I looked back at Ethan.
“Then, Mr. Foster, from now on I’ll start fulfilling my duties as mother.”
I bent down and picked Charlie up.
“Come on, baby. Mommy’s going to feed you.”
Charlie went stiff in my arms.
Then he murmured, “I don’t eat.”
I smiled.
I just carried him back to his chair.
“It’s okay. Charlie doesn’t have to eat. Then Mommy has to go feed the other babies now, okay?”
Charlie froze for a moment, then nodded hesitantly. “Okay.”
I picked up a few plain fried eggs and drew little smiling faces on them with ketchup. I lined them up across the table.
“Okay, babies. Mommy wants to see who eats the best.”
“The winner gets to sleep with Mommy tonight.”
I spoke to the eggs in a soft, serious voice.
“Oh, look at this little egg. Such a big mouth. What a good baby. He just drank a whole glass of milk.”
I caught Charlie staring at the eggs.
I pretended not to notice.
“Oh, wait. There’s another little baby here.”
“He doesn’t look like he wants to sleep with Mommy tonight.”
“That’s okay. He doesn’t have to join the contest. We never force anyone.”
“Mommy, I want to sleep with you!”
Charlie grabbed my sleeve.
I put on a troubled expression.
“But you don’t like eating. I don’t want to make you do something you don’t like.”
“I like eating!”
His little face turned red.
“I love eating so much!”
As if he had something to prove, Charlie grabbed his milk and gulped it down.
Then he picked up the bread and started stuffing it into his mouth.
I almost laughed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan standing against the doorframe.
He was watching me.
His eyes stayed on me for a long time.
First suspicion. Then scrutiny.
And finally, something softer.
Approval.
After dinner, I took Charlie upstairs to get him ready for bed.
After Charlie got to his room, the butler stopped me in the shadows of the hallway.
His expression was still full of contempt.
“Ms. Vance, even if Mr. Foster agrees to marry you, you’re nothing more than an expensive treatment for Young Master Charlie.”
“The Foster family has hired the best specialists in the country.”
“You won’t fool him for long with little tricks like this.”
I stopped.
I looked at him calmly.
“This isn’t a trick. It’s security.”
I held his gaze.
“If you think I’m just playing games with him, then you don’t understand what Charlie actually needs.”
The butler’s face stiffened.
I didn’t say another word.
I went into Charlie’s room.
After changing into his pajamas, Charlie looked like a little rabbit.
He held tightly onto the hem of my sleep shirt.
His big eyes blinked up at me.
“Mommy, will you tell me a bedtime story?”
“I see other kids do it. Their mommies tell them stories before bed…”
His voice grew quieter.
I looked at his face.
That careful little hope in his eyes hit me somewhere deep.
This cold, beautiful mansion was full of people. And somehow, this little boy was still all alone.
Just like me.
“Okay.” I smiled, “Mommy will tell you one.”
I sat beside him and turned off the harsh ceiling light.
Only a warm little night-light stayed on.
Charlie curled into my arms like a tiny heater.
His face rested against my chest. He smelled faintly of baby shampoo.
I brushed my fingers through his hair.
“Once upon a time, there was a little star who got lost…”
My voice filled the quiet room.
Little by little, Charlie’s body relaxed. His breathing slowed.
Soon, he was fast asleep in my arms.
I didn’t notice that the bedroom door was still slightly open.
Out in the hallway, Ethan had come to check on Charlie.
He stopped outside the door.