Her Precious Baby

Chapter 34

Even Evander has another side to him? Angeline found it hard to believe.

“Ah, I don’t care.”

Floretta had always been quick to expose her father. She pulled up a small stool and said animatedly, “Daddy always looks cool and distant all right, but he behaves like a child when he’s drunk every time, and he’ll always do something that’ll surprise the people around him.”

Angeline was rendered speechless.

“Mr. Roger told me that Daddy got drunk once at a university gathering. Everyone was getting ready to leave when Daddy suddenly sang Three Little Pigs…”

Angeline was dumbstruck at the revelation. She could not even begin to imagine the usually restrained Evander singing nursery rhymes. After all, the image was a striking contrast to his usual self.

Amused, she let out a chuckle, and so did Floretta. “Oh, but Mr. Roger did also mention that it was the only time that he had seen Daddy get drunk.”

Angeline laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. Floretta’s little revelation had warmed her heart. “Thank you, Floretta.”

“Sharing is caring, and especially so when it’s some juicy gossip. Oh, right—”

Bang!

A loud noise of the door getting slammed against the wall ensued. Floretta was so taken aback that she had forgotten to turn off the video call as she hid underneath her chair.

Suddenly, a large hand with slender and bony fingers grabbed her collar. “Were you guys having a nice chat?”

Angeline gulped when she noticed Evander on the screen. She, too, felt a chill running down her spine.

Floretta sniffed his coat. Her face fell as she said, “Daddy, something’s not right with you. There’s woman’s perfume on you, and it’s not Ms. Sherrock’s!” Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Evander raised a brow as he had not expected Floretta to have such a sharp nose. Then he looked at Angeline with a twinkle in his eyes.

Angeline, who was on the video call, shifted uncomfortably as she coughed lightly.

Why do I feel as if I’ve been caught in the act?

“There were more women than men at the party tonight,” Evander lied with a straight face.

Lucky for him, Floretta did not press on, and she soon forgot all about it. She kicked her chubby little legs and struggled as she said, “Daddy, let me go. Mr. Roger told me that. Go look for him and don’t bully me.”

“I told you not to talk with bad people. You haven’t been behaving yourself, haven’t you?”

Evander’s face turned cold as he spanked his daughter.

“Ouch!” Floretta screamed. However, Evander did not actually use any force.

Angeline shuddered as she watched what happened on the screen.

Feeling uncomfortable about witnessing Evander teaching his daughter a lesson, Angeline wanted to disconnect the video call. However, just when she was about to do so, Evander turned his attention to her. His thin lips quirked into half a smile as he mocked, “It seems that you have too much free time on your hand, Ms. Sorelle. Why are you not sleeping at this hour and why are you misguiding my daughter instead?”

Angeline blinked innocently and asked in a low voice, “Mr. Golding, did you think I was the one who asked Floretta to tell the thing about you singing nursery rhymes?”

Evander’s face darkened, and he became cold and distant right away at the mention of nursery rhymes. Angeline could even feel it through the screen. “I hate being used by someone else. Ms. Sorelle, I believe you’re smarter than that.”

Usually, Angeline would try to bear with his disparaging remarks. However, at the thought of being left behind by Evander that night, she was filled with rage.

Hence, on the pretense of having one too many drinks, she mustered all her courage and pounded her desk as she chided, “Mr. Golding, not every woman wants to throw themselves at you to gain something from you. No wonder your wife ran away. You’re such a heartless man, and you’re going to end up all alone and pitiful…”

Evander’s boiling fury was apparent even though there was a screen separating him from Angeline.

Floretta was so stunned that her mouth formed a little O.

My goodness. Angel is so cool..

The little girl lifted her head to look at Evander’s handsome face and could not think of anything else to say. After a while, she carefully asked in a small voice, “Daddy, how does it feel to get scolded by someone else for the first time?”

“Crazy woman!” Evander snapped. He snatched away Floretta’s phone and hung up the video call.

The usual black suits that he wore seemed to complement his mood completely that day. The cold glint in his dark obsidian eyes made him seem inhuman.

Floretta shrunk away, her eyes filled with the sympathy that she felt for Angeline.

“You’re forbidden from asking too many questions,” Evander said in a frigid tone. Then he whisked the girl off her feet and placed her on the bed to put her to sleep.

Noticing the grim look on his face, the little girl clung to his arm and said, “I’m sorry, Daddy. I’ll watch what I say from now on. Please don’t be mad at Angel. She told me she had beer tonight because she was feeling quite down. I just wanted to cheer her up…”

Beer?

Evander raised a brow as his eyes darkened.

No wonder she was so brazen tonight.

He did not answer Floretta. He reached out to switch off the bedside lamp on her nightstand, tucked her in, and said in a much gentler tone, “Go to sleep now. Remember to stay away from alcohol in the future, all right? You’re not to have a single sip.”

“But Angel said —”

The stern look on Evander’s face made Floretta blink her innocent eyes a few times. She bit her tongue and dare not say anything further.

Evander only left her bedroom after making sure that she was asleep.

He made his way to the floor-to-ceiling window. His slender figure stood tall, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Suddenly recalling something, he took out his phone from his pocket and made a call. “Reduce Angeline’s screen time.”

The director of the public service announcement of Starlight Jewelry snapped awake upon getting the order from Evander. “M-Mr. Golding, why are you bringing this up at this hour? Besides, didn’t we agree to let her compete equally with Denise?”

“You got a problem?”

“No!” the director immediately replied with an obsequious smile. “As you wish.”

Evander hung up the phone.

He could not be bothered to deal with Angeline in the past. However, it was different now. He realized she was more daring than any other woman he knew.

I’d like to see how you’re going to keep up with that rotten attitude of yours when you lose the competition.

The next day, Angeline was roused awake by the incessant ringing of her phone. She reached out from under her blanket and felt for her phone to answer it.

On the other end of the phone, Nancy’s solemn voice rang out. “Forget that you stood me up last night, Angeline. How are you still in bed right now? Have you forgotten that today’s the rehearsal for Starlight Jewelry’s PSA?”

Immediately, Angeline sat up from the bed and tousled her already messy hair. “I’m sorry! I was too busy and had forgotten all about that.”

“I’ll give you half an hour. We’ll meet downstairs at your place,” Nancy said before hanging up.

“Ugh…” For reasons unbeknownst to her, Angeline felt as if her head was about to explode.

She rubbed her temples for some time before pulling her blanket aside. Then she headed for the bathroom, got changed, and put on her makeup.

While Angeline waited for Nancy in the living room, her phone pinged with a notification. It was a message that read: Angel, you must be awake now. I just stole my phone back from Daddy’s drawer. Don’t get sad over Daddy snapping at you yesterday. Well, you did scold him too.

Judging by the way the person addressed her, Angeline knew that the text must be from Floretta.