"Audrey!” President Ethan flung his eyes wide open. The little Audrey rushed to him, and hugged him tightly. Her eyes were still swollen because of the crying.
“Miss old-fashioned! I'm sorry” Audrey pouted her mouth.
Furthermore, Valerie rushed to Nicole and hugged him. He stared at Valerie with his eyes narrowed as he disengaged the hug. “Val, why are your eyes swollen? You don't look okay at all.”
On hearing that, Valerie stole a glance at Ethan, who was feeling uneasy all of a sudden. He never expected to see Nicole with Audrey. “I'm… I'm fine, Nick”.
“No, you're not fine. You know you can, like every other person in the world except me, Valerie.” Nicole asked anxiously.
Ethan cleared his throat noisily, and turned to Audrey. “Baby, how come you are with your uncle Nicole? I thought you came here with your nanny, why are you with him instead?”
Audrey walked to Valerie with tears in her eyes. “Miss old-fashioned, why did you leave me all alone? A lady came over, and she told me she will take me to you. I'm sorry that I followed her, even after you warned me never to leave where I was seated.”
With that, Valerie smiled at her and patted her hair. “It's okay, baby. What's important is that you're here now. At least your Daddy will not have me locked up in jail.”
Nicole freaked out. “Locked up? What the f***…” He paused, and glanced at Audrey. He kept quiet because he would rather not use a swear word in the presence of the little girl.
“You won't blame me. Miss Watson took my daughter all the way from home to this carnival without my consent. If you were in my shoes, what exactly would you have done if you couldn't find your child? I mean, you won't even understand how it feels because you are yet to have a child.” Ethan snapped.
Nicole scoffed. “I was on my way here when I found your daughter at the other end, sulking. Thankfully, I was able to recognize her. You might think I don't have a child, but I see her as my daughter too, cousin.”
“I wasn't thinking straight. All I wanted was my daughter. Thanks for bringing her to me safely.” Ethan arrogantly replied.
Nicole clenched his fist in fury. Without hesitation, Valerie held his hand and smiled at him. “It's okay, Nicole. I'm glad you found her, I don't think it's wise for us to keep talking about this. He is my employer, and he has every right to be angry with me for taking his child to such a crowded place without his consent.”
“He should… he should have trustee you. You would never do anything to harm her. I mean, you can't even hurt a fly, Val.” Nicole glared at Ethan, who held his daughter's hand tight.
Smiling, Valerie grabbed his wrist. “It's been so long since we last saw each other, You promised me ice cream the last time. There's an ice cream parlor over there, you should get one for me.”
“What are you talking about, Valerie? After such a long day, you should take a rest.” Ethan abruptly said.
Turning their gazes at him, he gulped hard. “I mean, you should be stressed out after a long search for Audrey.”
Upon hearing that, Nicole snorted. “Do you really care whether she rests or not? You would have locked her up a few minutes ago if Audrey and I didn't show up. Is that where she'd rest?”
Furiously, Ethan glared at him. He couldn't even understand why he was so angry, seeing how Valerie and Nicole were holding hands. “Fine, she can do whatever she likes. Mr. Brown, drive Audrey and I home now. Audrey needs to rest.”
He walked to the car, and hopped into the car. “Get in, baby.”
The driver drove off, but Ethan couldn't stop sighing in annoyance. The thought that Valerie chose to be with Nicole instead of him made me feel so annoyed with himself.
“This is all my fault. I was so emotional about Audrey that I said mean words to her. If I was a bit softer on her, then she would have chosen to go home with me and Audrey instead of staying out late with Nicole to get ice cream, right?”
All through the drive, he felt so uncomfortable. Thinking about Valerie and Nicole made him feel like he was suffocating. He unbuttoned his shirt, and kept on sighing.
“Daddy, are you okay?” Audrey tapped him, and he flinched in fear.
Gulping hard, he smiled nervously at his little girl, who couldn't stop staring at him confused. She knows her Dad would never take his suit off in the car. “Oh, baby, I'm fine.”
“Are you, really? You don't look okay, daddy.” She pouted her mouth.
Short of words, President Ethan smiled nervously. “I just feel a little hot, that's why.”
“Daddy, do you like Miss old-fashioned?”
Ethan choked immediately, and coughed helplessly. He turned sharply to Audrey, whose eyes were still widened.
“What?”