Chapter 2

Perhaps there really was a special bond between a father and his daughter. Suddenly, without any warning, the child burst into tears.

No matter how hard I tried to calm her, she just kept wailing.

The tapping sound of footsteps quickly echoed from upstairs.

Hubert Spencer looked at me with disgust while wrapped in my bath towel.

“Albert, can’t you stand to see me happy? If you’d just made the little one cry on purpose to disturb us, I’d let it slide. But she’s your own flesh and blood! How could you be so heartless!”

My whole body stiffened. The twisted misunderstanding sent a wave of humiliation crashing over me.

For the nine months that Belinay was pregnant, I was the one who cooked for her every day and made sure she took her nutritional supplements.

Ever since our daughter was born, she had never been out of my sight.

No one loved her more than I did.

Unwilling to deal with Hubert’s unreasonable tantrum, I turned and walked away with Charlotte in my arms.

He rushed forward and snatched my daughter from my arms.

“You’re not fit to be a father at all!”

His movements were rough, and Charlotte’s cries grew even more heart-wrenching. My heart clenched instantly. The heartache was so intense it felt like I was suffocating.

My head buzzed, and I raised my hand to shove Hubert hard. He fell to the floor with a terrible scream.

“Albert Clark, what are you doing! Hubert is still sick!”

Belinay rushed down, nearly exploding from rage. Then, she stepped in front of the pale-faced Hubert.

Hubert coughed uncontrollably and looked up at her with a pained expression.

“Belinay, the baby wouldn’t stop crying. I wanted to help Albert, but he hit me right away. I don’t know what I did wrong. Maybe everything I do is wrong...”

Hubert’s voice was low and sorrowful. Belinay would not listen to my explanation at all. With a stern expression, she strode forward and snatched the child away.

I suppressed my heartache and pleaded softly, “Don’t hurt her. I’ll give her to you.”

Amid Charlotte’s hoarse, pitiful cries, Belinay coldly tossed a wad of cash at me.

“Go buy a cake as an apology to Hubert.”

Charlotte struggled desperately, stretching out her tiny hands. She was waving toward me as if begging me to save her.

Belinay ignored my teary eyes and snapped, “Hurry up and go!”

Hubert held Charlotte in his arms. He was smiling lightly at me as if he were holding a trophy.

“Albert, go and come back quickly. I’ll take care of the child for you.”

My daughter’s helpless cries pierced my temples like needles. I glanced toward him. My heart felt like it was bleeding.

After biting down hard on the tip of my tongue, I bore with my dizziness and turned to leave in a hurry.

I pushed the car to its limit, racing to the cake shop to make the purchase.

In less than half an hour, I rushed back, panting heavily.

The moment I pushed open the door, the room was deathly quiet, and my heart sank.

I stumbled into the nursery.

Hubert was just walking out. The instant he saw me, his expression betrayed a hint of guilt.

Then, he quickly smiled and took the cake from my hands.

He looked up and called out to Belinay.

“Honey, come down and have some cake.”

I looked down at Charlotte. She was sleeping peacefully, and I breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, soon, I noticed something was wrong. Charlotte’s face was flushed. Even though she was clearly unwell, she lay completely still.

I panicked. I called out to her softly, then patted her firmly. She still did not make a sound.