Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid

Chapter 107: Chapter 107 The Daughter He Never Knew

Ryan was genuinely curious about the little girl.

She was bright, well-behaved, and unusually independent. Most children her age hadn’t developed much emotional maturity yet, but Ariel was different.

He knew a little about the Robinson family, and that only made him more curious about her parents.

At last, Ariel looked up at him, blinked, and said matter-of-factly, "My dad is dead."

The answer caught Ryan off guard.

His brows unconsciously drew together, and something flickered in his eyes.

"I’m sorry," he said quietly.

Ariel waved a hand dismissively.

"It’s okay. I don’t need a dad anyway. I’m fine with just my mom. My mom is better than a lot of people."

Ryan had assumed a child would feel vulnerable discussing life and death, especially at an age when children often long for a father figure. But the little girl in front of him seemed completely unbothered by the absence of a father.

"You’ve asked me a lot of questions," Ariel said suddenly, turning to him. "Now it’s my turn to ask you something."

Ryan raised an eyebrow slightly, amused by her seriousness.

"Are you Mike’s dad?"

"No."

"Then why are you pretending to be his dad? Doesn’t he have one? Or do you just like being a dad to little kids?"

Her voice was soft and sweet, but the question carried a surprisingly sharp edge.

Ryan didn’t try to brush her off.

"I don’t have children yet."

"Oh." Ariel looked as though she half understood. Then she suddenly pointed into the distance. "So are you going to have a baby with your wife?"

Ryan followed her gaze.

Samantha was standing nearby, chatting with a few wealthy mothers.

His expression remained calm, unreadable.

Just as he was about to answer—

"Ariel, it’s time to go."

Rose’s voice cut him off.

Ryan lifted his gaze slightly.

Rose didn’t look pleased. Carrying a thermos, she walked over quickly and picked Ariel up.

Before leaving, she shot Ryan a look filled with clear displeasure.

The moment she had seen him sitting with Ariel, her heart had nearly stopped.

Cold sweat instantly broke out across her back.

She was terrified Ariel might say something that would make Ryan realize the little girl in front of him was his daughter—especially now, with the divorce at such a critical stage.

Fortunately, Ryan showed no obvious reaction.

She had heard Ariel’s question just now.

How could she not know the answer? Given Ryan’s feelings for Samantha, he would probably answer affirmatively someday. And if Ariel later discovered that this was her father, it could deeply affect the child’s worldview.

Rose didn’t want her daughter to hear that her father had openly betrayed her mother.

Ariel obediently wrapped her arms around Rose’s neck and waved at Ryan.

"Bye, Uncle."

Ryan didn’t miss the look in Rose’s eyes.

When she had rushed over, there had even been sweat at her temples.

The weather wasn’t nearly hot enough for that.

It seemed she was extremely unwilling to let him interact with Ariel.

Ryan watched her retreating figure without moving.

When Samantha walked over, she caught the expression on his face. Following his gaze, she saw Rose disappearing around the corner.

A trace of coldness flashed through her eyes before she asked softly, "Ryan?"

"You seem to really like that little girl from earlier."

She certainly didn’t believe Ryan had been interested in talking to Rose. It had to be because of the child.

As she spoke, another thought occurred to her, and she smiled.

"So you really do like daughters? More than sons?"

There was an old saying: men who preferred daughters tended to treat their wives well.

Ryan didn’t respond to that directly. He only gave a faint smile.

"That little girl is the youngest daughter of the Robinson family. ’South Robinson, North Knights’—she’s a child blessed with good fortune. I wonder which branch of the Robinson family she belongs to."

Samantha instinctively glanced at Mike.

She would need to remind him not to provoke Ariel again. Offending the Robinson family would only create trouble.

"I’m not sure," Ryan said.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had just asked Ariel himself, but she hadn’t revealed anything useful.

Young as she was, she was still cautious.

Very clever.

Samantha didn’t care much about other people’s children.

What did they have to do with her?

Then another thought crossed her mind, and she smiled brightly.

"Ryan, among the hotels I sent you, did you find one you liked?"

Ryan answered after a brief pause.

"Leave that to Owen."

*****

"Is Mom really close to that uncle from earlier?" Ariel asked after Rose had carried her for a while. Then she patted Rose’s shoulder to signal she wanted to walk on her own.

Rose crouched down beside her.

"...I guess so."

She honestly didn’t know how to answer that question.

She didn’t want to lie to Ariel, which made her response especially difficult.

Ariel looked thoughtful.

"That man seemed really curious about me. He even asked about Mom and Dad."

A chill instantly ran down Rose’s spine.

She knew exactly how sharp Ryan was.

Once he noticed even the smallest clue, he could analyze it thoroughly.

Rose quickly grabbed Ariel’s hand.

"What did you tell him?"

Ariel gave a little snort. Her large eyes sparkled beneath beautifully defined double eyelids, and dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"I wasn’t going to tell him anything. That’s private, and I don’t even know him."

The little girl looked thoroughly pleased with herself.

Rose finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In many ways, Ariel really did resemble Ryan.

She couldn’t deny that.

Precocious, observant, and mature beyond her years.

Running into Ryan at the kindergarten had already been unexpected. The fact that he had shown such strong interest in Ariel made her deeply uneasy.

It was also a wake-up call.

Fortunately, Ryan had moved up the date for finalizing the divorce papers.

Otherwise, the longer things dragged on, the more complications would arise.

Ariel was still legally registered under Trevor’s household, and there were many complicated matters left to resolve.

Getting the divorce certificate was only the first step. It wasn’t enough on its own.

Only after obtaining the divorce certificate could Rose use it to transfer Ariel’s household registration into her own name and remove her from Trevor’s registry. Otherwise, Ariel still wouldn’t legally be considered her child, and the situation would remain unstable.

Legally speaking, Ariel was still a member of the Robinson family.

If Rose didn’t transfer Ariel’s registration quickly, then if Ryan ever discovered Ariel was his daughter, he could go to the Robinson family and demand custody.

And the Robinson family might not necessarily refuse to give the Knight family face.

Exchanging a child for a lasting alliance between the two powerful families was not impossible.

Only by officially transferring Ariel’s registration into her own name would the custody relinquishment agreement Ryan had signed—without realizing the truth—truly become valid. Otherwise, everything she had done would be meaningless.

She had to secure Ariel’s legal status as soon as possible.

As a mother, she had to consider every possibility.

There were simply too many things she needed to handle.

With that thought in mind, Rose immediately sent a voice message to Trevor, who was still overseas.

"Mr. Robinson, could you return to the country a little earlier? I want to transfer Ariel into my name as soon as possible."

Her connection with Trevor existed only because of Diana.

If she were being honest, she couldn’t claim she truly knew him well.

Nor could she guarantee that Trevor would unconditionally defend her rights as Ariel’s mother.