Chapter 4
I couldn’t sleep. I lay there, wide awake until dawn.
Around seven, I heard Aria talking outside, along with another woman repeatedly saying “okay, okay.”
I guessed it must be the housekeeper.
A moment later, the front door closed, and the sound of a car engine starting up told me Aria had left for work.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind in chaos as I began to reflect.
I had never been an outgoing guy; otherwise, I wouldn’t have secretly harbored a crush on Aria for so many years.
But now, finding out that not only had my crush been successful, but I had become her husband, I felt shocked, yes, but more than that, I felt an undisguised joy.
I thought this was a chance given to me by fate, but I never imagined I’d mess up this marriage so badly.
Low emotional intelligence really is a fatal flaw.
Lost in my thoughts, the bedroom door suddenly opened.
A woman wearing a housekeeper’s uniform walked in. Seeing me, she quickly apologized.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here.”
“It’s alright, I was just about to get up,” I said with a smile. She seemed relieved and slowly entered the room.
“Ms. Aria left for work. I thought this room was empty. Didn’t you used to sleep in your own room?” she asked.
My own room?
I suddenly remembered that when I went to get clothes yesterday, there was indeed a bed in that other room.
So, I had been sleeping in a separate room all along.
Does this mean we were living separately?
Thinking about it this way, all of Aria’s unusual behavior yesterday started to make sense.
I felt utterly embarrassed.
I buried my face in my hands, already regretting my actions many times over.
Coco must have heard our conversation because she came running to the bedroom door, barefoot. She looked at me expectantly but didn’t dare to come in.
“Coco, come here to Daddy,” I said gently, holding out my arms to her.
Hearing this, the little one excitedly ran towards me.
She pounced on me, knocking me back onto the bed, and flashed her little tiger teeth in a big smile.
“Daddy,” she said, nuzzling her head against my chest.
My heart melted.
She really was my adorable baby girl.
No matter how much Aria might hate me right now, Coco was still my daughter, and I was determined to be a good father to her.
I said goodbye to the housekeeper and took Coco out for a day just for the two of us.
We went shopping, and I bought her lots of pretty clothes. I also bought some normal clothes for myself.
After all, my post-marriage style was a bit hard to accept.
I carried Coco in my arms as she happily ate ice cream, her face covered in cream.
I gently wiped her face clean.
“Coco, what was Daddy like before?” I asked.
Coco looked at me, pouted a little, and said in a slightly hurt tone, “Mean to Coco.”
Then she added, “Grumpy.”
Children don’t lie, and her words made my heart ache.
It seemed the old me had changed so much that even I couldn’t recognize myself.
So why did Aria choose to marry me?
Was it because she liked me?
If so, she must have had quite unusual taste.
“Daddy, I want that!” Coco suddenly pointed her chubby little hand at a poster for the latest McDonald’s family meal deal.
Ah, the irresistible appeal of fast food to kids.
“Sure, let’s get it!” I said.
An hour later, Coco and I sat with our heads down on the couch in Aria’s office, looking very much like two kids who had been caught doing something wrong.
The cause of our predicament was the aromatic family meal deal sitting on the coffee table in front of us.
It all started with Coco’s filial piety. She felt that while we were out having fun, her mom was working hard alone, so she wanted to share her “delicious food” with her mom.
Aria’s workplace happened to be near the mall, and I couldn’t bear to refuse the little one’s request. So, we cheerfully went to Aria’s office.
But in Aria’s eyes, Coco’s “delicious food” was nothing but “junk.”
And that’s how we ended up in this interrogation.