Chapter 5

Kate's POV

Caleb had been working from home lately, often staring at the front door, lost in thought.

His phone sat on the table, lighting up every so often with messages from his assistant.

"Mr. Steele, we checked. The apartment under Kate's name hasn't had its utilities paid in two years."

"Her Social Security payments stopped three years ago, and her health insurance was canceled too."

Caleb stared at the messages for a long time. Then he turned his phone face down on the table.

He looked at Claire, who was also staring at the door. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Claire Sutton," she answered.

"Claire, your mom abandoned you too," Caleb said.

Claire immediately bristled. "No way. Mommy would never leave me!"

"Really? Then why hasn't she come for you after a whole week?" he asked.

Claire bit her lip. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to cry.

Caleb started to say something, but the doorbell rang, cutting him off.

He immediately got to his feet with a knowing smile. "Your mom is here."

Claire hurriedly got up from the floor and looked toward the door hopefully.

The door opened, and they both froze.

Claire pouted. "You lied. That's not Mommy."

The woman at the door was a striking young lady in a red dress. I had seen her the second time Claire and Caleb met.

It was at the hospital, right after Claire had her surgery.

Caleb had walked out of the gynecology department with her. The two of them looked really close.

I didn't know her name. I only remembered her holding Caleb's arm and smiling sweetly.

I had carried a weak Claire past them after her surgery. Caleb didn't even spare us a second glance.

Now, the woman glanced at Claire crouching on the floor. She looked puzzled. "Whose kid is this?"

Caleb's expression was slightly uneasy when he saw the woman, but he quickly regained his composure.

He replied offhandedly, "I just picked her up."

The woman's eyes widened. "You picked up a kid? Caleb, what kind of hobby is that?"

Her playful, affectionate tone made it clear that she knew Caleb very well.

As if she suddenly remembered something, the woman walked to the window and looked outside.

Then she pointed angrily at the flower bed in the yard and asked, "Who pulled out my roses? I brought those varieties back from Nethora!"

My heart ached for some reason. So they had already been living together. Even the flowers in the yard were hers.

Caleb glanced at Claire, who barely reached his hips. Feeling guilty, Claire looked away and returned to the couch. She had secretly picked the flowers from the yard that day while Tessa wasn't looking.

Caleb didn't seem to care. "They're just flowers. You can plant some more."

The woman didn't say anything more, but she was clearly unhappy.

She followed Caleb inside and had barely sat down on the couch when she covered her nose. "What's that strange smell? I've been really sensitive to scents since I got pregnant."

She was pregnant?

I stared in shock at her barely visible belly.

My mind went blank.

After watching Caleb with Claire these past few days, I had still hoped that once he found out she was his daughter, he would treat her well.

But now that he was going to have a child with another woman, what would happen to Claire?

Caleb noticed the strange smell in the air too and looked at Claire on the couch.

He walked over, lifted Claire up, and pulled up the couch cushion.

A pile of food wrapped in plastic bags was hidden underneath it.

There was half a moldy bun, a loaf of bread covered in green specks, and candy that had melted into a sticky mess.

Then there were seven wilted roses scattered across the floor.