Chapter 3
Aside from the intimidating guy from earlier, there was also a teenage boy, probably around 15, in the room.
He had striking features–tall, slim, dressed in clean, neat clothes–but his face was full of awkwardness, like he didn’t quite fit in.
Kelvin Adler glanced down, his eyes flicking over the boy with little interest. His voice was cool, almost detached. “You tell this lady yourself. What’s the name of the kid you’re looking for?”
Jeremy Adler bit his lip, his eyes darting around, clearly nervous. He mumbled under his breath, ‘It’s not like I’m the one looking for her… I just feel sorry for the kid.
Dani, looking confused, blinked at him. “Hi there, which kid are you talking about?”
Jeremy cleared his throat, his face flushing slightly as he mumbled, barely above a whisper, “Yvonne.”
Dani almost didn’t catch that. “Did you say Yvonne?” she asked, staring at him, not quite believing it. “You’ve met this child before?”
Jeremy nodded a bit, then tried to downplay it, “I just think she seems… okay.”
Kelvin’s gaze flickered over his son’s awkward face, his expression unreadable. He was clearly frustrated. Jeremy’s pride was a problem.
Kelvin finally looked away, his tone as cold as ever, “Can I see the child now?”
Dani snapped out of her thoughts and quickly nodded, “She should be awake now. I’ll get someone to bring her in.”
A few minutes later, a volunteer entered, holding a groggy Yvonne. As soon as she was placed on the floor, her eyes locked onto Dani, who looked like she was about to lose it.
Yvoone didn’t seem to care at all about the tension; whatever had happened last night was a distant memory.
“Mrs. Harrison!” Yvonne tottered over to her, bouncing like a little snowball and crashing into her legs.
Once she was in Dani’s arms, she noticed the two men in the room.
Dani paused before saying, “Yvonne, this is Mr. Kelvin Adler and his son, Mr. Jeremy Adler.”
Yvonne gripped Dani’s clothes tightly, her big, innocent eyes darting from one man to the other. When she saw Jeremy, her eyes lit up, and she immediately called out, “Hi, Mr. Adler.”
Kelvin’s eyes lingered on her for a moment, but his face remained unreadable, as always.
Dani, feeling the tension in the air, didn’t dare to speak, but Yvonne, totally unaware of the situation, flashed a sweet smile at Jeremy.
After a brief moment, Kelvin gave Dani a nod, his tone steady and flat. “That’s the one. Get the paperwork done.”
Dani’s heart skipped a beat. While Kelvin’s background was unclear, the way he spoke and carried himself made it clear he was no ordinary person -definitely not someone like the Yates family from yesterday.
Sull, he didn’t seem like the easiest person to deal with, and the director worried Yvonne might get the short end of the stick. But then, she decided to let Yvonne herself to make this decision.
Softly, she asked, “Yvonne, Mr. Adler wants to adopt you. Would you like to go home with him?”
Yvonne’s eyes widened in surprise. Her eyes sparkled, and she sneaked a look at Kelvin.
He was sitting on a simple wooden chair, looking like some untouchable figure–sharp features, almost too perfect. Yvonne quickly shifted her gaze and saw Jeremy sitting next to him.
Jeremy seemed a little nervous, his eyes darting away from hers, his face stiff, the usual guard up.
Yvonne suddenly grinned, her whole face lighting up with joy. “Yeah, sure! I wanna go home with them!”
Jeremy’s tense expression softened for a second, his brows relaxing. He curled his fingers slightly, fighting back a smile. If he had a tail, it’d probably be wagging right now.
Kelvin stayed behind in the office to handle the paperwork while Jeremy waited outside.
Yvonne, totally excited, skipped over to Jeremy, naturally grabbing his hand and beaming up at him with a big smile. “Hi?”
Jeremy muttered a cold response, his lips pressed tight, but didn’t look at her.
1/2
11:49 AM
Chapter 3
Yvonne wasn’t at all scared by Jeremy’s cold, distant stare. Instead, she tilted her tiny head and, with a sweet, babyish voice, said, “Mrs. Harrison told me you’re the one looking for me. Thanks for taking me home! I really like you.”
Her innocent words could melt anyone’s heart, but Jeremy Adler kept up his cool act. “I don’t like you, so don’t go getting any ideas.”
But his pale checks betrayed him, flushing bright red.
Yvonne stared at him for a couple of seconds before sighing and dropping her hand. “Okay.” She was clearly disappointed and went quiet after that.
Jeremy, trying to look indifferent, kept sneaking glances at her. The little one sat next to him, bored, doodling aimlessly in the dirt with a twig.
When he saw the red, swollen spots on her palm, his heart tightened. He suddenly asked, “How’d you hurt your hand?”
Yvonne bit her lip, her long lashes fluttering like little brushes. She had wrapped it up yesterday, but it got itchy at night, and she scratched it open by accident.
“I hurt it when I fell, but I already treated it…” Her voice was barely audible, and Jeremy didn’t think much of it.
He assumed it was just from her being a bit reckless.
He bent down and gave her a soft tap on the head with his fingers. “You’re such an idiot. I’ve never seen anyone mess up their hand like that.”
Ivonne covered her head, sniffing, and muttered softly, “Got it…”
Seeing her like that, Jeremy couldn’t help but smile. She was so cute–soft and sweet, the kind of kid he just couldn’t resist.
At that moment, Kelvin Adler came out, done with the paperwork. He noticed the big and little ones walking hand in hand, already getting along pretty well.
He gave them a quick glance, said nothing, and simply led them out of the orphanage.
Yvonne took a few steps before looking back at Dani, who was smiling and waving at her. After a brief moment of hesitation, she let go of Jeremy’s hand and ran back.
Dani crouched down with a warm smile. “Yvonne, remember to listen to Mr. Adler, okay? Don’t piss him off. And if he’s cool with it, I’ll come see you.
She gently wiped away the tears on Yvonne’s face, pulling a tissue from her pocket and handing it to her. “Stop crying, go on now. Don’t keep Mr. Adler waiting too long.”
Yvonne, her eyes brimming with tears, sobbed and choked out, “I… I’m sorry, last night I…”
Dani interrupted her, wiping her face. “It’s fine, sweetie. I’ll bring your necklace as soon as I find it. Don’t worry about Bucky either; I’ll take care of him.
“And if Mr. Adler wants a dog, once his pups are old enough, I’ll pick out the cutest one and bring it to you.”
With a soft nudge on her Back, Dani urged her to keep going.
Jeremy walked over and wordlessly scooped the child up, carrying her in his arms.
He gave Dani a brief nod, then got into the car with the crying little one.
Only after the Adler family’s car had disappeared from view did Dani turn to leave.
She grabbed a couple of bread rolls from the cafeteria, then went into the monitoring room to pull up the footage from the previous day.
She cared for each and every child in the orphanage like they were her own. She’d always believed Marian, despite her competitive nature, would never hurt anyone.
But s
