Chapter 8 chapter 8
Chapter 8
Five years later...
“Jojo, pray that I don’t get hold of you because I am going to spank you,” Natalie shouted at the top of her lungs as she ran across the room.
“Mummy, mummy, you cannot do that. I only ate a small piece of cake.”
“What did I tell you? You can’t eat sweet things now until you are fully recovered.”
“But Mummy, it was just small, I swear.”
As Jojo was running around, her body bumped into someone.
The man held her as he cautioned, “Careful, you might hurt yourself.”
When Jojo saw the person who had come, her eyes sparkled as if she had finally seen her savior.
She shouted in her sweet voice, “Uncle Sean, please save me. Mummy wants to spank me just because I ate a small piece of cake.”
“Is that so?” The man called Sean laughed as he asked. He lifted Jojo and hugged her in his arms like a protective father.
Natalie was about to hit Jojo, but Sean stopped her. He gently held her hand and led her to the sofa, “Nat, that is enough. You might get sick if you continue to run around like that.”
“What are you saying, Sean? She did something wrong, and she has to be punished.” Natalie said as she tried to catch her breath.
“Let us sit down and talk things through, okay?”
“Sean, you don’t have to spoil her too much. She will become too much to handle in the future.”
“Nat, you are overthinking. She is just a child, and it is only normal that she is spoiled. If I don’t spoil my only daughter, who else am I supposed to spoil?”
When Sean stopped talking, his expression changed, and even Natalie looked at him with wide eyes.
He cleared his throat and said, “Nat, it was just the slip of the tongue. I… I did not mean it.”
“It is okay. You don’t have to apologize. See how she listens and does everything you tell her to. I am even starting to suspect if I am her mother or not.”
Jojo hugged Sean and kissed him on the cheeks, “I love Uncle Sean the most. Only if you were my real father so that I could call you daddy like how other kids call their dads.”
Natalie felt a lump in her heart after hearing that. Jojo had never seen her father, and the only man she knew in her life was Sean.
Although she was just five years old, she was sensitive enough to know that her mother did not like to talk about the man who had fathered her.
Sean ruffled her hair and said in his deep, baritone voice, “Jojo, I don’t really care. You can just call me daddy. Aren’t we best friends?”
A sparkle appeared on Jojo’s face. She wanted to nod right away, but she couldn’t do that unless she got her mother’s permission, “Mommy, is it right if I call Uncle Sean daddy? Will you be mad at me?”
Seeing how sensible she was, Natalie felt like crying. But if Jojo started referring to Sean as her dad, then their relationship might change. It had been five years, and Natalie did not feel like she was ready to love someone else.
Natalie’s silence was enough for Jojo to read between the lines. She lowered her head, and a downcast expression appeared on her face, “It is okay, Mommy. I will never call Uncle Sean daddy. I don’t want my mommy to be sad.”
Having said that, she rushed upstairs, and before Natalie and Sean could react, they heard the sound of the door being banged.
Sean frowned as he looked at Natalie, “Nat, you’ve really hurt her feelings, you know. It is just her calling me dad. Do you really have to think everything through?”
“Sean, I…”
“I consider Jojo to be my daughter, so I don’t care if she calls me dad. I just don’t like it when she is sad.”
“Sean, it is not that I am overthinking everything. I am just afraid that Jojo may really start viewing you as her father, and once you get married and have your own kids, she will really be heartbroken.”
“Nat, I have never told you this before, but I am not planning on getting married. I have Jojo, and I have you, what else could I ever wish for?”
“Sean, we are not your responsibility, and there is no way I would be so selfish and cling to you. You also deserve to have a family and live a happy life.”
Sean looked at her and said, “I already have a family, and I don’t want to add another one.”
Natalie was stunned upon hearing that. She had known Sean for the last five years, and she had never seen anyone by his side, so when did he even get a family?
He was a doctor, and they even worked in the same hospital. If he were not in the hospital, then he would be spending time with Jojo. In fact, he spent so much time with Jojo than she did.
Natalie held him and apologized in a sincere voice, “Sean, I am really sorry. I had no idea that you had a family. I am always telling you to look after Jojo for me. My goodness, did your wife misunderstand? Should I go and apologize?”
“Nat, what are you talking about? When did I ever get a wife?”
“You… but you’ve just said that…”
Sean burst out in laughter. This woman was so cute, and he could no longer continue to lie to himself.
“Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?”
“Nat, how long have we known each other?”
“Five years.”
“Have I ever told you that I have a wife? Or have you ever seen anyone around me claiming to be my life partner?”
Natalie shook her head, not understanding why Sean was suddenly asking such questions.
Sean looked at her and continued to question, “Who do I hang around most of the time?”
“Jojo and I,” Natalie subconsciously said.
“Then who do you think I was referring to?”
Finally realizing the meaning behind his words, Natalie’s expression changed, “You…”
“Nat, Jojo will call me dad, if that is what she wants and if it makes her happy. We can just pretend to be a couple whenever we are out to avoid the awkwardness.”
“Sean, can you really be my daughter's father?”
“I have always been her dad, and she will be my daughter forever. Even if her real father came one day, I won’t let her go.”