Chapter 169
To make Aura happy, James rented out an entire indoor children's playground and planned to take her there over the weekend.
Aura had been excited for days. On a weekend morning, she woke up early, absolutely thrilled.
"Mommy! Let's go to the playground! I want to go with Daddy and Mommy!" She was wearing the new little dinosaur onesie I'd bought her, bouncing up and down on the bed.
"Okay, okay, we'll go to the playground," I said with a smile as I lifted her down. "Let's have breakfast first, and then we'll head out."
James was already ready, wearing a casual shirt and pants. He looked less serious than usual and more gentle.
He walked over and naturally took the little comb I was using to brush Aura's hair. "Let me do it."
His movements were still a bit clumsy, but much better than before. He carefully tied two little pigtails for Aura.
Aura checked herself in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction. "Daddy did better this time than last time!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Aura. Daddy can do it well because Aura has such nice hair," James said with a smile, pinching her cheek.
Watching Aura and James interact, I couldn't help but smile.
After breakfast, we drove to the playground. Since James had rented the whole place, there were no other visitors, just staff and security.
As soon as Aura got in, she was like a little pony let loose, pulling both James and me by the hand, wanting to ride the carousel one moment, play in the ball pit the next, and then drive the little cars.
James patiently stayed with her the whole time. Even when Aura dragged him to play things that seemed extremely childish to him, he showed no sign of impatience.
I took pictures with my camera, capturing Aura's happy smiles, and of course, took quite a few photos of James too.
After playing for over an hour, Aura got a bit tired, so we took her to the rest area for some snacks and water.
Just as Aura was sipping her juice, there was a small commotion at the playground entrance.
I looked up and saw a young woman in a light pink dress, dressed elegantly, trying to enter but being stopped by the staff at the door.
"Sorry, Miss, the place has been rented out this morning. It's not open to the public," the staff member explained politely.
The girl looked up, and I raised my eyebrows. I didn't expect it to be her: Cecilia.
She showed just the right amount of surprise and disappointment on her face. "It's been rented out? But my friend told me there would be fewer people here today and specifically asked me to come..."
As she spoke, her eyes "casually" swept toward the rest area, and then she opened her eyes wide in "pleasant surprise." "Mr. Smith? What a coincidence!"
She quickly walked over, pushing away the staff member who tried to stop her.
James frowned, clearly recognizing her too.
Cecilia walked up to our table with a sweet smile. "Mr. Smith, Ms. Brown, I didn't expect to run into you here."
"Aura, hello, do you remember me?" She bent down to greet Aura.
Aura shrank closer to James without saying anything, just looking at her warily with big eyes.
A flash of embarrassment crossed Cecilia's face, but she quickly recovered her smile. She straightened up and said to James, "Mr. Smith, you're here with your daughter today? You're such a good father."
"I was supposed to meet a friend here, but I didn't know it was rented out. What a wasted trip." As she spoke, she looked rather pitiful.
I quietly watched her performance, knowing full well what was going on. Meeting a friend? How coincidental that they'd arranged to meet at the very playground James had rented out? And just happened to "run into" him?
Cecilia's intentions were too obvious.
James's expression was indifferent. He nodded at Cecilia as a greeting but didn't pick up her conversation.
But Cecilia wasn't discouraged. Her eyes fell on the snacks and juice on the table, and her tone became even gentler. "Aura must be tired from playing, right? Children sweat a lot and need to stay hydrated. The fresh juice here is good, but since Aura is still young, it's better for her to drink something warm."
As she spoke, she quite naturally reached out, seemingly wanting to take Aura's cup. "Let me check if the juice is too cold..."
"That's not necessary," James said. His tone was still calm but clearly distant. "You're a stranger—we don't need you worrying about these things."
He gently pressed his hand on Aura's cup.
Cecilia's hand froze in mid-air, and the smile on her face finally started to crack.
I picked up my water glass and took a sip without saying anything.
James's attitude was clear—he didn't want too much contact with Cecilia.
This somehow made me feel a bit better.
But then I thought, we're already divorced. If he wants to find another woman to marry, I have no say in it. Yet I still felt somewhat annoyed.
James kept a cold face. Any other girl would have known to back off by now, but Cecilia certainly had some persistence.
She didn't retreat because of James's coldness. Instead, as if she hadn't noticed, she sat down in an empty seat nearby on her own.
She said softly, "Mr. Smith, actually, I've been reading a lot of books on parenting education recently. I feel that early childhood development is really important for kids nowadays. At Aura's age, it's the perfect time to develop imagination and hands-on skills."
James didn't respond, just looked down and asked Aura, "Want more to drink? Or do you want to play some more?"
Aura shook her head. "I don't want to drink anymore. Daddy, I want to play on that big slide."
"Okay, Daddy will take you there." James stood up and naturally extended his hand to me. "Sophia, coming?"
I looked at his hand, hesitated for a moment, but still placed my hand in his.
After all, in front of Aura, we at least needed to maintain surface harmony.
Cecilia watched our hands clasped together, her eyes darkening, but she immediately stood up too. "That big slide is really fun. Should I come with you? I can help watch Aura."
"That's not necessary." This time it was me who spoke.
I looked at her with a polite but distant smile. "Ms. Thorne, today is our family time. It's not convenient to have outsiders present. Please feel free to do as you wish."
My words were quite direct.
Cecilia's face paled, and her eyes actually started to turn red. She looked at James, her voice carrying a hint of grievance. "Mr. Smith, I don't mean any harm. I just think Aura is very cute and wanted to play with her more... Did Ms. Brown misunderstand something?"
She threw the problem to James, acting as if I had bullied her.
In the past, I might have gotten angry and argued with her.
But at this moment, I just found it ridiculous.
I'd seen this level of manipulation and performance from Amelia countless times before.
James's brow furrowed even tighter. He looked at Cecilia, his voice clearly displeased. "Ms. Thorne, Sophia is right. Today is our family time. Having you here is indeed inconvenient. Please leave."
Cecilia probably didn't expect James to be so blunt with her. Tears actually started welling up in her eyes. "Mr. Smith, I..."
"Daddy!" Aura suddenly shouted, interrupting Cecilia.