Chapter 76
Valeria bit her lip. Her gaze wavered for a second.
A three-month-old Samoyed-golden retriever mix… It was indeed the puppy she had rescued
from the rain.
She remembered he had said, “I’m not keeping it. I hate dogs. Jane, if you drop that mutt at my apartment, I’ll throw it in the trash.”
But he kept it.
Selena, still remembering when she found their own dog Potato under Sebastian’s car, asked innocently, “Mr. Grant, did you rescue Nemo? He’s so pretty.”
Sebastian’s voice was calm, with a slight rasp. “Someone else found him and dropped him off at my place.”
Selena didn’t really understand.
Then, she reached out her hand. Nemo didn’t need any command-he seemed to really enjoy playing with her. Nemo lifted his paw and placed it gently in her palm.
Valeria stood barely three feet away from Sebastian. And for the first time, as “Valeria”, heard him mention her past self as Jane. She wasn’t a friend or an ex, just someone else.
“Mr. Grant, thank you for letting us stay here last night to get out of the rain.”
Selena had said the words Valeria hadn’t dared to say. So Valeria simply played mute.
Sebastian glanced at Valeria before he turned to Selena. “I’ll send you two home.”
she
Just then, Valeria finally spoke. “There’s no need, really. It’s Sunday, and the sun’s out. I was planning to take her to the zoo anyway. A cab from here is perfect.”
After that, she stepped into the elevator with Selena. Selena didn’t forget to turn around and wave as she said, “Goodbye, Mr. Grant. Bye, Nemo.”
The moment the elevator doors slid shut, Valeria crouched down. “Lenny, do you remember
dad.” what I told you before? You can’t tell Mr. Grant that he looks like your
Valeria had never expected to see Sebastian again. And she had never hidden anything from Selena, either.
When it came to Selena’s father, she had wrapped the truth in a fairy tale. The idea of death was too foreign, too sad, and too heavy for a child to carry.
Valeria didn’t want to plant the weight of a sad lie like “her father was gone” in Selena’s heart
When Selena was very young, she once called Shane “Daddy.”
Shane had teased her, saying, “If I marry your mom, you’ll have to call me Daddy.”
Valeria had stepped in immediately, saying, “Mr. Cooper, please don’t joke like that.”
Shane handled everything when it came to getting her enrolled-he took care of the paperwork to establish her residency and got her into preschool.
The preschool she was enrolled in fed directly into Salmade Primary School-a well- established school with strong academics. Graduating from there would open up more options for middle school. Even kids from elite families, like Leo, started there as a foundation.
Valeria and Shane each got what they needed out of the arrangement. But no matter what, she wasn’t going to let Selena call just any man “Daddy.”
She didn’t want her daughter to have a father. Valeria had always believed she could raise Selena on her own and raise Selena well.
But as Selena grew older, year by year, the truth would eventually catch up. She would come to realize that “Daddy’s working far away” was just a lie.
In Valeria’s drawer, tucked inside her cardholder, was a single photo. It was taken one late night when Valeria held Selena close, reading a bedtime story.
And in that quiet moment, Selena asked a question, one born purely from innocent curiosity. Because everyone else had a dad-everyone but her. So, Valeria told Selena the man in the photo was her father.
“Mommy, do you not like Mr. Grant?” Selena asked. Even a six-year-old could sense something wasn’t quite right.
“Lenny, can you promise me something?”
It was Valeria’s way of gently steering away from a question she wasn’t ready to answer. When it came to Sebastian, Valeria couldn’t say if it was a question of like or dislike.
from such a young age. So she could only tell Selena that Selena’s father was working far away.
When Selena was very young, she once called Shane “Daddy.”
Shane had teased her, saying, “If I marry your mom, you’ll have to call me Daddy.”
Valeria had stepped in immediately, saying, “Mr. Cooper, please don’t joke like that.”
Shane handled everything when it came to getting her enrolled-he took care of the paperwork to establish her residency and got her into preschool.
The preschool she was enrolled in fed directly into Salmade Primary School-a well- established school with strong academics. Graduating from there would open up more options for middle school. Even kids from elite families, like Leo, started there as a foundation.
Valeria and Shane each got what they needed out of the arrangement. But no matter what, she wasn’t going to let Selena call just any man “Daddy.”
She didn’t want her daughter to have a father. Valeria had always believed she could raise Selena on her own and raise Selena well.
But as Selena grew older, year by year, the truth would eventually catch up. She would come to realize that “Daddy’s working far away” was just a lie.
In Valeria’s drawer, tucked inside her cardholder, was a single photo. It was taken one late night when Valeria held Selena close, reading a bedtime story.
And in that quiet moment, Selena asked a question, one born purely from innocent curiosity. Because everyone else had a dad-everyone but her. So, Valeria told Selena the man in the photo was her father.
“Mommy, do you not like Mr. Grant?” Selena asked. Even a six-year-old could sense something wasn’t quite right.
“Lenny, can you promise me something?”
It was Valeria’s way of gently steering away from a question she wasn’t ready to answer. When it came to Sebastian, Valeria couldn’t say if it was a question of like or dislike.
