Chapter 247

Chapter 247

The next day.

After work, Alice and Samuel headed over to Bianca's rental house together.

The second they walked through the door, little Zola came running toward them. Samuel scooped her up in his arms.

"Zola, did you miss us?"

Zola, with her hair tied up in two little buns, said in her sweet, tiny voice, "Yes."

Hearing that soft, gentle voice, Alice felt her heart melting.

She normally wasn't a kid person, but every time she saw Zola, she couldn't take her eyes off her. The little girl was just too adorable—Alice had absolutely no defense against her.

Just as the two of them were carrying Zola further inside, a refined-looking man walked over, "Zola, you can't just run off like that."

The man looked at Alice and Samuel and took the initiative to greet them, "You must be Bianca's brother and sister-in-law. Nice to meet you both."

He extended his hand toward Samuel, polite and gentlemanly.

"And you are...?"

Alice looked him up and down, her brow furrowing. A man showing up at Bianca's place this late in the evening—she couldn't help being on guard.

"I'm a friend of Bianca's. Today's Zola's birthday, so I came by to drop off a little gift for her. I'll be heading out soon."

After saying this, the man glanced toward Bianca, who was still busy in the kitchen, and called out to her, "Bianca, I'll get going then. Don't want to crash your family time."

Hearing his voice, Bianca hurried out of the kitchen. Faced with Samuel and Alice's questioning looks, she explained openly, "This is Eric Allen, my boss. He found out it was Zola's birthday today, so he made a special trip to bring her a gift."

Alice's gaze swept between the two of them, and she immediately understood what was going on.

"Well, since you're already here, why don't you stay for dinner? Mr. Allen, you don't have other plans tonight, do you?"

"No, I don't. I just didn't want to intrude—you know, with you all celebrating as a family."

"You wouldn't be intruding at all. Who knows, maybe we'll all be family someday anyway." Alice teased, then took Zola's hand with a smile, "Zola, isn't that right?"

With Alice putting it so bluntly, both their faces flushed red.

"You guys chat. I still have a few more dishes to make in the kitchen," Bianca said.

With her apron tied around her waist, she turned to go, but Eric immediately followed, "Let me help you. That's too many dishes for one person—you'll wear yourself out."

Once they'd both disappeared into the kitchen, Alice turned to Samuel, "Honey, looks like you're about to have a new brother-in-law. And this one seems way better than that Robert guy."

Samuel glanced toward the kitchen, "It's not at the brother-in-law stage yet."

His expression was neutral, revealing nothing.

Bianca had already been through one failed marriage. This time, he absolutely couldn't let her rush into another one. This Eric—they'd need to check him out first, make sure he was worthy. Otherwise, Samuel definitely wasn't going to let Bianca marry just any random guy.

In the kitchen.

Eric took the spatula from Bianca's hand, "Kitchen fumes are bad for your skin. Let me do it."

"No, really, I've got it. You're a guest—I can't have you cooking."

Bianca tried to take it back, but Eric dodged her, "Between us, we don't need to be so formal. Forget the whole guest thing."

Watching Eric cook with such practiced ease, Bianca felt a warmth spread through her chest.

Ever since she'd joined the company, he'd been looking out for her. When she worked late, he'd buy her food and give her rides home. He'd bring toys for Zola from time to time. It had been so long since Bianca had felt this kind of care.

Soon, a whole table of dishes was ready. Bianca and Eric brought the food out and sat down next to each other.

"Fish..."

As soon as she sat down, Zola pointed at the fish, calling out repeatedly.

Bianca was about to serve her some, but Eric had already placed a piece of deboned fish on Zola's plate, "There you go, Zola. Eat your fish."

Watching his attentiveness, Bianca couldn't help but smile.

Throughout the meal, Eric kept serving Bianca food. Whenever he gave Zola something to eat, he'd carefully check it first before putting it in her little bowl.

Alice noticed everything he did, and her impression of him kept getting better.

Compared to that Robert, he was in a completely different league.

After dinner, Alice and Bianca went to the kitchen to wash dishes. She glanced back at Eric, who was helping Zola with her puzzle.

"This Eric guy is pursuing you, right? Have you two made things official yet?"

Bianca's hands paused over the dishes, her face flushing slightly, "No, he's just my boss. He probably just feels bad seeing me raising two kids on my own, so he's been nice to me."

In Eric's presence, Bianca felt somewhat inadequate. After all, she was divorced with two kids, doing the most ordinary work at the company.

Eric, on the other hand, had graduated from a prestigious school, had never been married, and had achieved quite a bit at the company. How could he possibly be interested in a divorced woman with two kids who was just an ordinary employee?

Seeing her put herself down like this, Alice frowned, "If he just felt sorry for you, why would he come to your house to celebrate Zola's birthday? And during dinner just now, he was constantly looking after Zola so thoughtfully."

Though this was their first meeting, Alice could tell that if Bianca and Eric got together, he would definitely be a good father.

The two kids had grown up with a piece of trash like Robert who'd hit them and yell at them at the drop of a hat. They must have some insecurity deep down. If Eric could be with Bianca, he would definitely be a good father.

Hearing Alice's words, Bianca lowered her head slightly, lost in thought.

Actually, she did have feelings for Eric. It was just that the gap between them was too wide—she didn't dare hope for anything.

"Stop making wild guesses. Maybe he really does just feel sorry for me. I don't want to be presumptuous here. Right now, I just want to work hard, earn money, and take care of my two kids. As for fate and all that—I'll leave it to chance. You can't force these things."

Since the divorce, Bianca had seen things clearly. In this world, the only person you could truly rely on was yourself. She didn't want to depend on a man again.

She had a job, she had her kids. A man? She could take him or leave him.

Seeing her mindset so stable now, Alice felt much more at ease.

Samuel was staring at Eric, who was playing with Zola's toys, sizing him up.

Eric had noticed his gaze a while ago. At first, feeling awkward about meeting for the first time, he'd tried to pretend he hadn't noticed. But being stared at like this—they couldn't just stay awkward forever.

He looked up and spoke first, "Do I have something on my face? Why do you keep staring at me?"