Chapter 886: Chapter 886: Dad, You
As she spoke, Lucy glanced at the little boy, "I’ll take the money, but I’m leaving the child with you."
"No way!" Mark refused, "Lucy, I can give you money to raise the child, but the child isn’t mine. You can’t just leave him here."
"Isn’t this about a stand-in?" Lucy looked at Mark, "Isn’t that stand-in you yourself?"
Mark was at a loss for words, so he took out his phone, "Lucy, I have the number of that stand-in, but..."
"Okay, Kaleb." The woman stopped Mark, disregarding his phone, and directly said, "Since you insist there’s a stand-in, fine, I believe you."
Hearing the woman say this, Mark immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
But the woman’s next move and words caught Mark off guard and nearly brought him to tears.
After saying she believed Mark, the woman directly pushed the child she was holding towards Mark and seriously said to him, "Kaleb, even if there’s really a stand-in, and that stand-in really is the child’s father like you said, you still can’t shirk your responsibility."
"First, the stand-in is your stand-in; secondly, it’s because of you that I got involved with that so-called stand-in. So, no matter how you look at it, you should be responsible for this child."
"If there truly is such a stand-in, fine, you can help me hand this child over to him. If you were lying, well, I’ve handed the child to his biological father!"
With that, the woman left the child and walked away casually.
"Hey, Lucy!" Mark called out to the woman, intending to ask her to take the child along.
But the woman ignored Mark and walked straight away.
As Mark was about to catch up to the woman, the little boy she had left behind hugged Mark’s leg.
The little boy, with a face strikingly similar to Mark’s, looked at Mark pitifully and asked, "Daddy, are you still unwilling to accept me?"
Mark looked down at the little boy and explained, "Child, I’m really not your father."
The little boy didn’t believe Mark’s words at all. He stubbornly clung to Mark and slowly began to speak, "Daddy, Mommy raised me alone for three years. All these three years, she has been taking me to find Daddy."
"At first, Mommy was especially nice to me. She said once we found Daddy, the three of us could be happy together. But after looking for a long time without success, Mommy started drinking. When she got drunk, she would come back and hit me..."
As he spoke, the little boy rolled up his sleeves, revealing bruises and scars on his small arms, "The last time Mommy brought me to find Daddy, and Daddy said I wasn’t your son, Mommy hit me even harder..."
As he said these words, the little boy’s eyes were brimming with tears, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.
The little boy raised his head, his misty eyes fixed tightly on Mark, "Daddy, now that Mommy has found a new boyfriend and she doesn’t want me anymore, do you not want me either?"
While the little boy stalled him, Lucy was already out of sight.
Unable to find the stand-in and unable to bear leaving a pitiful child unattended, Mark had no choice but to take the child into his home.
Once inside, Mark had the child sit on the sofa and wait.
After finding the first aid kit, Mark gently and carefully tended to the little boy’s injuries.
Then Mark looked at the little boy and said earnestly, "Child, I’m really not your father, but I will help you find him."
The little boy looked at Mark with a pained expression and pleaded, "Daddy, please don’t abandon me. Mommy doesn’t want me anymore. If you don’t want me either, then I’ll be an orphan..."
Mark: "..."
What should he do?
The child is still so small, he can’t be reasoned with.
The little boy jumped down from the sofa, showed no fear of Mark, and clung to him, "Daddy, I really am your son!"
"Look at my eyes, nose, mouth, don’t they all look just like you? And I want to grow up to be a hero who catches bad guys, just like Daddy."
Mark, helpless, said, "Child, until we find your real father, I can take care of you for now, but..."
Before he could finish with "But I’m really not your father," the little boy leapt up with joy, "Great, Daddy finally acknowledges me!"
After cheering, the little boy looked at Mark and assured him seriously, "Daddy, don’t worry, I will be very, very well-behaved, and when I grow up, I will definitely take good care of you!"
Without waiting for Mark to say anything, the little boy quickly continued, "Daddy, you may think I’m still small, but I can already do so many things."
"I can sweep the floor, wipe the table, stay home alone waiting for Daddy to come back, and even bring Daddy slippers when he gets home... And when I grow a little older, I can even cook for Daddy..."
The little boy kept listing all the things he could do now and promised what he could do when he grew up, fearing Mark might suddenly regret not wanting him.
Looking at this three-year-old, so endearing and pitiful little kid, Mark couldn’t help but gently ruffle his hair.
Mark looked at the little boy with gentle eyes and softly asked, "What’s your name?"
"My name is Marcus Foster." The boy’s eyes were bright as he looked at Mark and continued, "Mom said your online name is Mark, so I am Marcus Foster too. But Daddy, you can just call me Marcus..."
Mark held his forehead.
Though his online name was Mark, what does that have to do with the boy being called Marcus Foster?
And the stand-in doesn’t even believe the name is Marcus, right?!
Having temporarily kept the child, Mark was now responsible for taking care of his daily needs.
Upon learning that Marcus hadn’t eaten yet, Mark immediately took Marcus to the mall, where he bought some daily necessities and ingredients to prepare a meal later.
Carrying two large grocery bags, Mark exited the elevator and immediately saw Arnold standing at his door.
Mark quickly walked up, "Arnold, why are you here?"
Arnold, who was hesitating at Mark’s apartment door, unsure whether to ring the bell, turned around immediately upon hearing Mark’s voice, "Hm, I came to see you, boss."
