The little girl was barely two, her hair tied into two tiny pigtails and dressed in a bright red dress. She was round–cheeked, chubby, and absolutely adorable.
“Mama, puppy, puppy~!”
Her young mother gazed at her with a look full of warmth. “Not puppy, sweetheart. That’s Max. His name is
Max.”
“Puppy! Puppy…”
She was just learning to talk, her words coming out wobbly and mispronounced, the soft baby voice so sweet it could melt anyone’s heart.
James watched her and, despite his usual stoic demeanor, felt his heart soften just a little. “Honestly, if you ask me, having a daughter is way better. Boys are no fun at all!”
Briony didn’t answer.
James, puzzled, looked down–and froze.
Briony was crying.
He immediately panicked. “Hey, why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?”
Briony shook her head, quickly wiping at the tears on her cheeks.
But the tears just kept coming.
“Come on, don’t cry. Seriously…” James fumbled awkwardly. “People are going to think I was mean to you or something!”
Briony covered her face, slowly sinking into a crouch. Amidst her muffled sobs, he could just make out her whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
James had no idea what she was apologizing for.
She wept, heartbroken, repeating “I’m sorry” over and over.
James felt his head spin. He raked a hand through his hair, helpless and anxious, then finally sighed and reached out to gently pat Briony’s shoulder.
“All right, all right. You don’t need to apologize. If you need to cry, just cry. I’ll stay here with you. When you’re done, I’ll carry you home, okay?”
Eventually, Briony cried herself out, utterly exhausted. James scooped her up and carried her back to the studio.
By the time they returned, it was already noon. James ordered some takeout.
While Briony was eating, James pulled out his phone and snapped a few photos.
“What are you taking pictures for?” Briony looked up at him.
“Dr. Joyner wants an update,” James replied, opening his messages and sending the photos to Stella.
Stella replied almost instantly: [How is she?]
James was about to type a response when Briony spoke, “Tell her I’m doing fine.”
James glanced at her. “Now you’re embarrassed? You didn’t seem worried about pride when you were bawling by the river like a lost puppy.”
Chapter 104
He typed out “She’s doing fine” and even showed it to Briony before sending.
Briony glanced at the message, then went back to her lunch.
She didn’t eat much, but at least she ate something. James didn’t push her to have more.
After lunch, Briony retreated to the break room to rest.
Once she was asleep, James grabbed his car keys and headed out.
At the pet store, James snapped some photos of the puppies and sent them to Stella.
She replied: [The golden retriever, I think. Bryn’s grandfather used to have one–a golden retriever that went missing years ago. Bryn was heartbroken for a long time.]
James replied: [Got it.]
The golden retriever was just two months old. James paid, signed the adoption papers…
Just then, the shop door swung open, and Irwin walked in, holding Stewart’s hand.
“Wow! Dad, look at all these cute puppies and kittens!”
Stewart glanced down at Irwin, the hint of a smile on his lips. “Yeah.”
James turned around, locking eyes with Stewart for a tense three seconds before Stewart looked away, clearly not interested in making small talk.
James thought, Well, that’s perfect–saves me from having to pretend to be friendly.
“Dad, these kittens are adorable!” Irwin stood in front of a display, pointing at a litter of fluffy ragdoll kittens. “Can we get one for Mom? Please?”
James frowned, looking at Irwin.
Was this kid really trying to buy a kitten for Briony?
Chapter 105
