Chapter 597 - A Mother's Instincts
A man's very loud voice suddenly made everyone in the shop turn their heads, including Anne, who was holding the beautiful baby she had just found. At the moment at the entrance of the shop, there were a lot of people gathered. A well-built men dressed in black with no expression were escorting a man who had just shouted. Some of the men immediately burst into the shop with two security officers.
"Charlotte..."
Anne immediately took a step back when one of the men tried to approach her.
"Who are you?" asked Anne curtly.
The tall man in neat clothes immediately turned his gaze to Anne. "Chester Lloyd and the little girl you're holding is my daughter, Charlotte Lloyd."
"Oh really? How can I believe that this beautiful girl is your daughter?" asked Anne warily.
"Miss, watch your words, don't you know ..."
The words of a bespectacled man standing behind were immediately stopped because the man named Chester raised his hand, giving a code for the man not to continue talking.
"Charlotte wears a necklace with a round pendant that has a big C engraved on the back, you can check that," Chester said quietly.
Anne was silent for a while before she finally sat on the sofa not far from where she was standing. Anne carefully examined the neck of the little girl who was still keeping her mouth open. Anne really couldn't bear it. The baby was really hungry, oh my God. Anne's eyes immediately narrowed when she found the pendant mentioned by the man. A little worry disappeared in Anne's heart, but she still couldn't believe the stranger who had just arrived, considering how she had last found the girl she was holding on to.
Anne took a deep breath and turned to Chester with a still unfriendly gaze. "Then?"
Chester frowned. "What do you mean by that 'then' you just said, Miss?"
"Well, what I mean is that I've found the pendant you mentioned. Then what other evidence can confirm the suspicion that you are really the father of this child," answered Anne quickly.
"I lost Charlotte 30 minutes ago while I was at a restaurant outside. At that time, I was too careless to let Charlotte's nanny take her alone, until finally I realized that Charlotte was missing and we searched for her to the mall, because based on CCTV, we saw Charlotte's nanny brought her into this mall. That's why we're here and I really swear to God that Charlotte is my daughter, my favorite daughter," Chester said at length. His voice was a little hoarse when he spoke and Anne realized it.
Anne stroked Charlotte's blonde hair gently. "You know, this kid was walking alone in the middle of people, faltering and falling. You really are a bad father."
Chester's eyes immediately filled with tears when he heard Anne's words. "Sorry, I'm still learning. Since my wife died two months ago, she committed suicide by slicing her veins in the bathtub, I haven't been able to be the perfect mother and father to our daughter."
Thump!
An invisible hammer directly hit Anne's chest.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'm sorry for your loss," said Anne quietly full of regret.
Chester smiled. He slowly stepped closer to Anne and grabbed Charlotte from Anne's arms. "It's okay, I'm used to it. Because I'm sure by now my wife is at peace in heaven."
Anne was immediately speechless. She really felt very bad right now. Not only did she suspect Chester as an irresponsible father, now Anne also felt even more guilty for reminding the man of the tragic death of his wife. Anne's smile slowly appeared when she saw Chester kissing her daughter with teary eyes and, wait, Chester even shed tears. Damn, the man was crying.
Without waiting for long, Anne immediately approached Chester and immediately grabbed Charlotte from his arms.
"Hey what are you doing!!" Chester's assistant snapped at Anne spontaneously.
Anne immediately turned and glared at the man. "Can't you see he keeps his mouth open? This kid is hungry."
The man who had just snapped at Anne immediately shut his mouth tightly, his face turning pale when he realized the mistake he had just made. Meanwhile, Chester immediately grabbed a bottle of milk that was brought by one of his men and gave it to Anne.
"This is Charlotte's milk," he said quietly, holding out Charlotte's bottle of milk to Anne.
Anne who couldn't bear to see Charlotte hungry, immediately accepted the bottle of milk from Chester's hand and slightly dripped the milk into her hand.
"You..."
"Did you bring the powdered milk and hot water?" asked Anne quickly cutting Chester's words which almost snapped him again.
"Milk, hot water." Chester repeated Anne's words in confusion.
"Yes, this milk is no longer fit for consumption. It's cold, not good for the stomach. I can guarantee this milk must have been made more than an hour ago, right?" said Anne in a rising voice.
Chester was silent, as was his assistant who had previously yelled at Anne.
Anne took a deep breath. "Take Charlotte, I'll prepare the milk for her myself," said Anne quietly as she carefully handed Charlotte back to Chester. After which, she immediately walked over to one of Chester's assistants who was carrying Charlotte's bag of equipment.
Without speaking, Anne immediately took the baby's bag and opened its contents, Anne's face was a little tense because she was worried that there was no milk in the bag but Anne's fear disappeared when she saw a milk box that was still intact and a small thermos filled with warm water.
Anne approached Chester and gave Charlotte a kiss on the cheek.
"Wait a minute, honey, just two minutes," said Anne softly to Charlotte.
As if understanding Anne's words, the little baby smiled broadly and looked even more adorable, Anne really fell in love with him. Charlotte's chattering voice finally awoke Anne from her reverie. She rushed to bring the milk and the hot thermos and approached the shop assistants who had been silent for a long time.
"There's a small pantry in the back," one of the saleswoman said quickly when she realized what Anne wanted to do.
Anne smiled and walked straight to the small pantry which could now be seen from the front, because the curtains had been opened, Chester's heart immediately warmed when he saw what Anne was doing. Anne had rolled up her sleeves while washing her daughter's milk bottle. She skillfully cleaned and sterilized the bottle using hot water from the shop. After making sure the bottle was clean, Anne then began to prepare the milk for Charlotte, in the right amount. Before giving it to Chester, Anne had time to drip back her homemade milk to make sure it wasn't too hot. Her smile widened when she was sure that the milk in the bottle was now just right for a baby of Charlotte's age.
"Give this to her," said Anne softly to Chester who was now sitting on the sofa he had previously sat on.
Chester smiled and instead gave Charlotte to Anne. "Please."
"M-me?" asked Anne stupidly.
"Yes, you've made the milk for her. I think my daughter will be happy if you feed her," answered Chester without guilt.
Anne's face immediately turned red. Her hands spontaneously moved to cover her chest and it made Chester nervous.
"N-no, it's not what you think. What I mean is..."
"Okay, I know. Give Charlotte to me."
Chester carefully gave his daughter to a strange woman he just met. After Charlotte was in Anne's arms, she immediately positioned her face in front of Anne's chest. Her pose was exactly like Christian's when he was about to feed and that made Anne smile warmly. Anne lovingly began to give milk to Charlotte using the bottle that Chester had previously taken while she was holding Charlotte. And Anne's guess was right, Charlotte was really hungry and what was even more amazing was that she didn't cry at all.
Again, in Chester's heart, an indescribable feeling flowed when he saw the warm scene before him. A feeling he felt for the first time when holding his daughter when she was just born.
To be continued
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