Become a mother in a night

Chapter 53

Confronted by the accusing glares from both Alex Ye and Lizzy Xia, Michelle Xia couldn't help but wonder if the two had conspired together, their reactions were eerily in sync.
Michelle sat beside her daughter, the weight of her laptop pressing down on her thighs. The moment Lizzy saw her mom emerge with the laptop, her lips puckered up in unmistakable displeasure.
Recalling something Sophie Ye had told her earlier, Lizzy promptly put on an exaggeratedly sad face, eyes moistening and blinking up at Michelle. She patiently waited for Michelle to ask, "What's wrong, Lizzy?" so she could playfully respond.
Michelle fell silent, looking at Lizzy's theatrics. She wondered, *What's gotten into her today? Pretending to be upset just to act cute?* There was an amused helplessness in Michelle's thoughts.
Yet, as she gazed at the young face before her, so reminiscent of her own, all Michelle could do was sigh internally.
In a playful imitation of her daughter's wounded demeanor, Michelle pleaded with a faux sad voice, "Lizzy, can Sissy watch the cartoon and write at the same time?"
Two could play at this game. If acting hurt and cute was the game, she was up for it.
Children are innately genuine, especially around those they adore. Seeing her mother's exaggerated sorrow, Lizzy suddenly felt a twinge of guilt.
Her mom was already accompanying her for the cartoon; was she demanding too much? Michelle wrote articles to earn money. Money that gave them a home, food to eat.
Memories of past conversations with her mom filled Lizzy's mind. Her eyes reddened, and soon, overwhelmed by shame, her head dropped as tears threatened to spill.
Caught off guard by her daughter's reaction, Michelle swiftly set aside her laptop and cradled Lizzy, wiping away the forming tears. She cooed, "Oh, sweetie. Sissy won't write anymore, okay? I'll just watch the cartoon with you. No tears now, okay? Be a good girl."
Yet, Lizzy's emotions took the better of her. The sobs kept coming as she buried her face in the crook of Michelle's neck, continuing to cry with an almost pitiable softness.
Michelle could only think, *I only wanted to tease her a bit. I didn't expect her to be this sensitive.*
She continued to comfort Lizzy. Before, a little cajoling would calm her daughter, but this time it took longer, and Michelle couldn't shake off a feeling of guilt.
Recalling how she had brought tears to her daughter's eyes right in front of Lizzy's biological father intensified Michelle's sense of guilt.
Lifting her eyes to meet Alex's, she found him staring back with an emotionless calm, observing the scene before him.
Michelle was genuinely fearful of Alex reprimanding her for upsetting their daughter. After all, he was Lizzy's father and had every right to chastise her. However, not finding a trace of blame in his gaze, she silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Her light brown eyes looked to Alex with a hint of a plea. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, a gentle affection shining through. There was a touch of vulnerability in her expression, stirring an instinctive desire to comfort her in the observer.
She thought, *If I can't calm Lizzy down, maybe her father has a way.*
Catching Michelle's imploring gaze, Alex felt his heartbeat momentarily falter. Recollecting the wounded look on their daughter's face when he'd picked her up from school earlier that day, he used to think she resembled Michelle a lot, but now he wasn't so sure.
Michelle, seeing no immediate reaction from Alex, ventured to address him, "Mr. Ye?" Her voice was soft and gentle, with a slow pace that sounded both comforting and flirtatious.
Alex remained silent for a moment, clearly recalling the similar tone Michelle had used with Lizzy earlier.
Recognizing her silent plea for help, Alex calmly took Lizzy into his arms, trying to console her. The child's sudden outburst was undeniably linked to Michelle. However, Alex, being a rational person, couldn't find any fault in Michelle's actions and naturally, didn't blame her.
Having cried her heart out, Lizzy was drained. Gradually, her sobs subsided, and a sense of embarrassment took over. *Oh dear, I'm not a crybaby. Why did I cry for so long?* Remembering Michelle's distressed tone and expression, Lizzy felt even guiltier and chose to cling to her father, avoiding eye contact with her mother.
For the rest of the evening, Lizzy stayed close to Alex, engrossed in their cartoons.
Glancing at Lizzy beside Alex and then at her abandoned laptop, Michelle felt a pang of complicated emotions. She didn't really understand those cartoons. Usually, watching them was merely her way of spending time with Lizzy. But now, with Lizzy engrossed in her father's company and not needing her, and worse still, not even allowing her to write, Michelle was at a loss.
Suppressing her feelings, Michelle thought, *To say I don't feel hurt would be a lie.*
Michelle looked up at Lizzy, who was deeply engrossed in an animated film. She then turned her gaze to Alex, who was also watching the same movie. Sensing her gaze, Alex slightly turned his head to look at her, his face expressionless. His eyes seemed to ask if she needed anything.
Michelle didn't really need anything from him; she was simply curious. Could Alex really understand those animated films? She herself watched animated movies but found the plots of the ones Lizzy watched utterly baffling, often questioning the storyline's development.
When they finally finished watching, Michelle felt a sense of liberation. She promptly ushered Lizzy off to bed. In the past few days, Alex had often accompanied Lizzy during her cartoon sessions. However, he would usually leave promptly at 9 pm to resume work in his study. Tonight was different. After the animation ended and Lizzy went to bed, Alex remained in the room.
Seeing Alex still lingering, Michelle was taken aback. She couldn't help but raise her light brown eyes to look at him, her gaze reflecting his silhouette. She wondered, "Is he here to confront me about making his daughter cry?"
She forced a smile, tender and captivating, and gently said, "Mr. Ye, it's getting late. You should get some rest."
Alex simply responded with a nonchalant "Hmm," letting his gaze linger on her face a little longer than usual. He wondered whether to inform Michelle about the irregularities in her work data. He was unsure if she was aware of the issue. Additionally, Michelle probably didn't know that he and Eleanor were the majority shareholders of ScribeSphere. If she did know about the data anomalies, he wouldn't need to tell her. However, if she didn't, he would have to inform her about both matters.
Perhaps his gaze was too intense, as Michelle felt her smile growing strained. Meeting his eyes, she asked somewhat curiously, "Mr. Ye, is there something on my face?"
Alex paused for a moment before calmly stating, "No."
Michelle politely indicated that she had more writing to do, then bid Alex farewell. Reflecting on Alex's behavior that evening, she felt something was off. But then, considering his usual aloof demeanor towards her, wasn't it just typical of him?
Pushing thoughts of Alex aside, Michelle's mind went back to how Lizzy had inexplicably cried earlier that evening and how she had failed to console her. Recalling that Alex had managed to comfort Lizzy in just a short span, she felt a pang of jealousy. It almost felt as if she was raising an ungrateful little wolf.
The next day, Alex Ye came over for breakfast as usual, taking a seat and glancing over at Michelle Xia.
Last night he had some dreams. Upon waking, most of the details had faded, but he vaguely remembered Michelle appearing in some of them, all being harmless scenarios.
Michelle greeted him as usual, and the little girl, Lizzy Xia, chimed in with her sweet voice, "Good morning, Daddy~~"
A small smile crept onto Alex's lips, his voice gentle, "Morning, Lizzy."
Hearing the endearing exchange between father and daughter, Michelle was reminded of how Lizzy seemed distant from her the previous night, intensifying her feeling of having raised an ungrateful child.
Noticing Alex's gaze on her again, Michelle took a moment before looking up with a smile, "Anything on your mind, Mr. Ye?"
Alex Ye: "...No."
He simply noticed her looking a bit off and wanted to check in.
After breakfast, Alex got ready to take Lizzy to kindergarten. Lizzy, as per her routine, first gave Michelle a playful whine for attention and then grabbed Alex's hand to head out.
Arriving in the classroom, Lizzy spotted Sophie Ye and her eyes lit up. She hurried over to sit next to her.
Sophie, ever so caring for her younger sister, wasn't nagging about her mischievous brother today. Instead, she inquired if Lizzy's parents had watched cartoons with her the night before.
Lizzy, remembering her tearful episode, felt a bit embarrassed. She didn't want to share that part with Sophie, fearing her sister might tease her.
She told Sophie, "Mhm! Mommy and Daddy both watched cartoons with Lizzy last night!"
Sophie's face beamed with happiness as if her own parents had watched with her, proudly declaring, "See! I told you this trick would work!"
At that moment, Lizzy looked up to Sophie with complete admiration, nodding vigorously. Thinking about the previous night and recalling how Sophie had told her to ask anything she didn't understand, Lizzy, driven by curiosity, promptly asked, "Sophie, what should I do if Mommy acts all cute and pouty with me?"