Chapter 78 Could It Be His Daughter
Last night, William didn't get his answer.
During breakfast, his eyes kept falling on Sophia and Emily's faces, with a guess in his mind that he didn't dare confirm.
The former pretended not to notice.
The latter thought he wanted some of the porridge from her bowl and generously scooped him a big spoonful.
Emily leaned out from her high chair, reaching toward William's mouth, gesturing for him to open wide.
"William, eat."
William felt his heart soften at her gesture. He touched her little head and said gently, "I won't eat it. Emily should eat it."
Today was the weekend.
William rarely skipped going to the company, staying at the Johnson Villa to keep the three children company.
James and Michael were the happiest about this.
Sophia didn't want to see William at home, but the two boys had just experienced an attack and were already unsettled. Having William by their side would give them more sense of security.
"Mommy, play blocks with me."
"Daddy, Daddy, look at the toy car my godmother bought me!"
"Emily, that's not how you play with it. Let me teach you. First like this, then like this. See, now the little train is running."
"Daddy, this is my new drawing. This is Daddy and Mommy, this is James, Emily, and this is handsome me..."
The morning flew by quickly.
Sophia and William played with many toys and games with the three children. The adults were tired, but the kids were still full of energy.
During this time, William stole several glances at Sophia, his eyes complicated, wanting to say something but holding back.
"Sophia..."
"William, I just want to spend quality time with the kids."
Seeing the distance and coldness in her eyes, William had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Perhaps because of the soft material of his casual home clothes, it softened the mature coldness that William had developed through his business battles.
When those eyes, deep as the ocean, fell on her, Sophia actually detected a hint of helplessness and grievance in them.
She felt like she was going crazy.
How could William possibly feel aggrieved? He radiated the powerful aura of someone who controlled an empire. He should be the one making others feel wronged.
Unable to stand his gaze any longer, Sophia went straight upstairs to the study.
Since he wanted to spend time with the kids, she'd leave him plenty of time and space. It was a good opportunity for her to handle some lab matters anyway.
Emily's hands were dirty from playing with clay.
She pursed her lips and held her hands up to William with some distaste, her lively eyes blinking and sparkling like stars.
She said in her childish voice, "William, wash your hands."
William snapped out of his thoughts. His gaze swept over the child's clay-covered hands, his voice gentle. "Okay, I'll carry you to wash your hands."
He picked Emily up in one swift motion, holding her with one arm as he strode toward the separate washroom outside.
Emily sat on the sink counter, leisurely swinging her legs as her smooth hands rinsed under the running water.
William gently applied hand soap to her hands, treating her like a fragile treasure with the utmost care.
Emily opened and closed her five fingers under the water stream, splashing quite a few water droplets onto William's clothes, but he didn't mind at all.
If this were anyone else, he would have darkened his face long ago.
Even when James and Michael washed their hands, William didn't allow them to splash around, strictly enforcing the Smith family children's code of conduct.
But Emily was an exception.
Every time he saw this child, William had an impulse to buy her everything in the world that she liked.
After drying the child's fingers clean, William picked Emily up again.
The two of them, one big and one small, stood in front of the mirror for a long time without leaving.
He looked at his own features and Emily's in the mirror, examining them carefully for a long time, not missing any detail.
Emily's face shape resembled her mother's.
Her eyes, nose, and mouth all looked like Sophia's.
Especially her eyes when she smiled, curving like crescent moons—they were exactly like Sophia's.
Emily was a miniature version of Sophia.
The only thing somewhat similar to him was the small mole between her eyebrows.
But could it be possible?
Could Emily... possibly be his daughter?
William wondered anxiously in his heart.
Emily hugged William's neck and also looked at herself in the mirror like he did, making funny faces from time to time to make him laugh.
"William, pretty."
Although she knew in her heart that William was her biological father, Emily decided to pretend not to know until Sophia agreed.
William couldn't help but kiss her cheek.
He praised, "Emily is even prettier."
Hearing this, Emily shyly buried her face in William's neck, nuzzling affectionately and softly calling him William.
"I'm here."
William responded to every one of the child's calls of "William."
Emily really liked the feeling of being with him now, and the dependence and joy in her eyes grew more and more.
The cold, hard shell around his heart was completely melted by Emily's soft cuteness.
Just thinking that Emily might be his daughter, William wanted to pluck stars and the moon for her right now.
He finally made up his mind.
"Emily, the little butterfly on your head is crooked. Let me redo your hair, okay?"
Crooked?
Emily looked at her hairstyle in the mirror, puzzled. It looked the same as when her mom did it this morning.
She shook her head back and forth for a while and found that the butterfly hair clip was still in its original position. Just as she was about to say they could go find Mommy, William had already put her back on the sink counter and was undoing her pigtails.
Emily sighed in her heart.
...Okay then.
She could only trust William's hair-styling skills one more time.
"William, Emily doesn't want to go bald."
William felt a bit embarrassed, remembering his helplessness last time.
"Don't worry, Emily, I've practiced this time."
As William said, his movements were noticeably more skilled this time, only pulling out three or four hairs.
He re-clipped Emily's hair and carried her back to the playroom, instructing James and Michael to take good care of Emily.
"Be good, Emily, play here with James and Michael. I'm going out for a bit."
Emily looked at James and Michael in the room, nodded obediently, and waved goodbye, telling him to come back soon.
William smiled and agreed, "Okay."
He returned to the washroom, picked up the comb, and put Emily's hair into a prepared transparent bag, along with his own hair that he'd prepared in advance and Sophia's hair, all together in a document envelope.
At the door, Tony was already waiting in the car.
William's face was stern: "As soon as possible!"
Tony took the documents and was about to go straight to the testing facility, but he received a temporary call from the company saying there was a problem with some documents that needed his attention, so he had to go back to the company first.
"Tony, does this document need to be processed together?"
The speaker was William's other female secretary. Although she wore a flashy red dress, her face had a serene, peaceful expression.
Tony's heart tightened: "No need! I'll handle this one personally!"
Seeing him quickly finish his work and hurry away, the female secretary immediately followed him secretly. When she saw the testing facility, she immediately understood what was in that document.
After Tony left, she entered the testing facility.
She left triumphantly half an hour later.