Chapter 275
Chapter 275
At the foot of their apartment block.
Fiona was strolling around, pushing a baby stroller with little Angela inside, observing the surrounding
scenery.
"Look Angela, there's a bird, see the bird? It can fly."
"And there's a little white puppy, isn't it cute?"
From a distance, Roxanne was watching Fiona and Angela with a soft gaze.
Walking towards them, Roxanne was conversing with Harrison.
"Fiona is a very patient and loving nanny. She's only been with Angela for a couple of months, but
they've bonded really well. Fiona is very professional too. She's a certified nutritionist, an early
childhood education expert, and she's even studied child psychology. She speaks three languages too.
With Fiona and the other babysitter helping out, I can rest easy. You can too, Harrison. I assure you,
Angela will be well taken care of."
Harrison walked beside Roxanne.
Despite being so close to her, he felt a sense of distance that he had never felt before.
She seemed so unfamiliar, so distant.
His mind was a whirlwind of emotions. Yet, on the surface, he maintained his calm and composed
demeanor.
"You must have put a lot of thought into finding Fiona," he remarked.
"Not really," Roxanne replied. "Dominic recommended her. After Angela was born, Dominic did a lot for
us."
A sharp pain pierced Harrison's heart at the mention of Dominic.
He halted in his tracks, turning to face her, "Roxanne, are you going to be with Dominic?"
Roxanne paused too, turning to face him.
After a moment of contemplation, she responded firmly.
"Mr. Rodriguez, we agreed not to discuss anything other than Angela, especially not our personal
matters. From now on, I hope you won't concern yourself with my personal life."
His words silenced by her blunt response, Harrison followed her towards Fiona and Angela, his heart
heavy with defeat.
He tried to lighten the mood by asking, "So, how much does Fiona make a month? She seems very
professional."
Roxanne shrugged, "Around three thousand dollars. It's not too much for me to handle since my
company's been doing well."
"I'll give you two hundred thousand each month for Fiona's salary and Angela's child support," Harrison
offered.
"No need, Harrison. You've already provided plenty of compensation," Roxanne refused.
"I insist," Harrison pressed. "It's the least I can do."
He had an ulterior motive. By making monthly payments, he could find an excuse to chat with her on
WhatsApp, in case she decided to ignore him.
Reaching Fiona, Roxanne bent down to kiss Angela, then lifted her up and handed her to Harrison,
"You wanted to hold her, didn't you?"
Harrison indeed wanted to hold his daughter, but the surge of emotions left him momentarily paralyzed.
Roxanne moved Angela closer to him, teaching her to recognize people.
"Angela, this is your daddy. Say hi to daddy."
At two months old, Angela didn't really understand.
When Harrison finally gathered his courage to hold Angela, she seemed a bit discomforted by his
unfamiliar scent.
Roxanne quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, Angela. This is your daddy. He's not a bad person. Daddy
loves you very much, doesn't he?"
She looked at Harrison, waiting for him to affirm her words.
Harrison, being a novice at parenting, didn't catch on immediately.
Roxanne prompted him, "You need to talk to Angela more. Let her get familiar with your voice."
Harrison understood and began to speak to Angela in a soft, cooing tone.
"Yes, Angela. Daddy loves you very much."
Roxanne was pleased. At least Harrison was showing some fatherly love.
She smiled, "Angela, remember daddy's voice, okay? He'll come to see you often."
Harrison echoed, "Yes, daddy will come to see you often. I love your little hands and feet."
Angela seemed to relax in Harrison's arms, her little mouth no longer puckered in distress.
She looked at Harrison, studying him.
Harrison met her gaze, their first real eye contact.
His eyes misted over, but he quickly regained his composure, not allowing Roxanne to see his
emotional state.
Fiona, however, noticed everything.
A man who tears up at the sight of his own daughter has got to be a good one, right?
There was no telling what had gone wrong between Roxanne and Angela’s dad, causing their divorce.
They were such a picture-perfect couple!
Roxanne began to recount some anecdotes about Angela to Harrison.
It seemed as though only when talking about Angela could she have so much to say to him.
Harrison listened.
Both of them centered around Angela, naturally drawing them closer.
Harrison only had to slightly lower his head to kiss Roxanne's cheek.
He held Angela as her father.
She spoke to him about Angela as her mother.
Look at them.
They looked just like a family.
As if they had never divorced, never separated.
Yet they were two separate households, two separate lives, never to return to how it once was.
Harrison didn't know whether to feel happy or sad that Roxanne so openly allowed him to be close to
Angela.
His whole demeanor of dignified calm exuded profound loneliness, defeat and sadness.
Suddenly, Angela began to cry.
Roxanne took her and checked – she hadn’t wet or soiled herself.
She said, “She might be hungry, Mr. Rodriguez, I’m going to take her upstairs to feed her. Feel free to
visit Angela anytime, or I can have Fiona bring her to you.”
Looking at Angela in her arms, making sucking noises with her little mouth.
She was indeed hungry.
Harrison simply responded, “Okay, go ahead, we'll be in touch.” Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
Roxanne succinctly nodded, “Okay, we'll be in touch.”
As she turned around, holding Angela, the simple and candid smile on her face faded away.
A trace of pain surfaced in her experienced eyes.
She didn’t want Fiona to see her in this state.
Pretending to lower her head, she rubbed her cheek against Angela’s, soothing the little one’s crying.
“Angela, don’t cry. We’re going upstairs to have some milk, okay?”
The tears on her cheeks were Angela’s, and her own.
Mixed together, no one noticed.
Finally, she managed to face Harrison with a calm demeanor.
Finally!
Her emotions were somewhat collapsing.
She didn’t want Fiona to see, so while waiting for the elevator, she kept her face buried in Angela's,
seemingly sharing tender moments with Angel.