"Hey little girl, can you say your name? No? Come on, don't cry. I'll buy you something yummy. Okay?" In Sheffield's eyes, every expression on the little girl's face was so lovely and adorable, melting his heart. He liked the little tyke a lot. That in spite of himself.
Gwyn hiccupped. Although she didn't stop crying, at least she was quieter.
A very different voice called out to them. "Hello! You there!" Just then, three policemen on patrol came over and looked them up and down.
"What's up?" Joshua had a bad feeling about this. 'Are they here responding to a human trafficking report?' he wondered.
"Why is she crying? Are you guys related?" The police looked at each of them carefully, looking for signs of malfeasance.
Terilynn rolled her eyes and said, "Officer, do you need your eyes checked? This is Joshua Fan, Darius Fan's kid. You know—the former mayor?" Thenher hand on Sheffield's shoulder. "And this gentleman here is the current CEO of Theo Group. You seriously think we're human traffickers?"
The three policemen looked at each other, and then one of them said, "I think we need to check IDs, just to be sure. May I have them, please?"
Joshua cooperatively took out his ID card and explained, "The baby is related to my girlfriend. This girl took one look at me and started crying. Afraid of strangers, I guess."
They looked. He was who they said he was. However, that was not enough to prove that he was the son of Darius Fan.
Seeing the still-suspicious look in the policeman's eyes, Terrilynn also took out her ID card to drive the point home. "Here's my ID. My father is Carlos Huo. We own this place!" She gestured to Shining International Plaza. She continued, "Don't believe me? I'll call the manager of the Alioth Building and ask him to come here to confirm it."
They were pretty close to the Alioth Building. So she had to find the nearest manager.
Gwyn's cries had largely subsided, and she was just weeping and fussing now. She pressed her little face against Sheffield's chest, and choked a little.
Finally, the police believed them and left. After sending the police away, Terilynn looked at Sheffield in surprise. "She really stopped crying!" And why should she be surprised? 'I guess they're right, ' she thought. 'Fathers and daughters do have a special bond.'
Sheffield held Gwyn vertically in his arms and gently patted her back. "Maybe she wasn't feeling well." Then he looked down at the baby girl and coaxed her tenderly, "Tell me your name. I'll take you to buy some yummy, okay?"
Gwyn said nothing and leaned her head on his shoulder, looking at Terilynn.
"Please don't mind her. She's got some PTSD…" Terilynn explained.
'PTSD?' With a sympathetic look on his face, Sheffield held the little girl tighter, and asked, "Was she born like this?"
"No, she's been like this for a few months. She's been seeing the doctor all the time, but it hasn't done much good." Carlos had hired the best psychiatrists and psychologists in the world for Gwyn, but to no avail.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. By the way, who is she to you?" It was not until then that Sheffield came to think of this question.
"She is my cousin's daughter. Her parents are very busy. My mom used to take care of her. But she had something come up, so I'm taking care of the toddler," Terilynn lied calmly.
"Oh, I see. It's gotta be challenging, doing that." It was not easy for a girl to hold a little girl, even one as tiny as Gwyn, for too long.
"It's not that hard for me. It's sure hard on her mom, though!" Terilynn blurted out, but then she immediately shut her mouth, fearing that the secret might come out.
Sheffield didn't probe further and asked her opinion. "Mind if I take off with her? Show her some fun things to do?"
"Sounds good. Where do you want to meet up when you're done?" 'If Gwyn could have more contact with her biological father, maybe it will help with her PTSD, ' Terilynn thought.
"Let's meet here later. Don't wander too far," Sheffield said.
"Okay then. Bye bye, Gwyn! Have fun with your uncle Sheffield!" Terilynn waved at the little girl happily.
Gwyn didn't respond. Terilynn had been used to the little girl's silence. But Sheffield was not used to such a scene; he felt sorry for the child.
Then, Sheffield entered the shopping mall with the kid in his arms. As soon as they left, Bennett came to Terilynn from behind and whispered, "Miss Huo, you sure that's okay?" The bodyguard took a look at Sheffield's receding figure.
"Don't worry. He's one of my sister's best friends. Maybe he'll marry her in the future. He won't hurt Gwyn," said Terilynn. Sheffield was Gwyn's biological father. He was the one least likely to hurt the child.
"Want me to tail him?" the bodyguard asked with concern.
"No, I think she'll be okay. I know how it looks, but he's good at martial arts; he can take care of himself!" A few days ago, Carlos had fought with Sheffield, and Sheffield managed to fend the old man off. Terilynn heard the story from Debbie.
"Yes, Miss Huo." Bennett fell silent and just kept his distance from them.
When Joshua and Terilynn were left alone, he finally asked, "Don't you think… Gwyn looks a lot like Sheffield?"
"Seriously?" Terilynn blinked and looked away. "No, not at all."
"Yes, seriously. I saw her face after her mask was removed. She has Sheffield's eyes, his general face shape."
"You're seeing things. I don't think she looks like Sheffield at all. She looks like her dad. Don't talk like that, or it might cause problems!" Terilynn deliberately threatened him.
Joshua also felt it wasn't good to talk about that, so he immediately changed the topic and asked, "Do you think Sheffield could take care of Gwyn? Like does he have the makings of a good father?"
"Well… maybe!" Terilynn was unsure about it. Though Sheffield was the baby's father, he had no experience in taking care of a child. "Forget it. She had powdered milk and some fruit, so she shouldn't be hungry. The only thing he needs to do is not to lose her," she said, shrugging.
Joshua rolled his eyes. "You're definitely not her mom."
"Hey, don't talk like that. I may not treat her like my own kid, but I'm still nice to her. I care about her a lot." She only had one niece so far, so of course, she treated Gwyn very well.
Just like what she did now. She created a chance for the baby to get along with her own father. Wasn't that a nice thing to do?
Joshua looked at her and asked, "Okay. Where are we headed now?"
"To an optician. I have lost a contact lens." She lost it this morning.
"Let's go."
In the shopping mall
Sheffield took Gwyn to the floor with toys and games. When they passed by a large indoor amusement park, he took a look at the little one in his arms and pointed to the place full of children. "Do you want to play in there, Gwyn?"
The little girl just looked in the direction where he pointed. After a long while, she suddenly held his neck tightly and buried her face on his shoulder instead of looking at the amusement playground.
Sheffield was stunned by her reaction, not knowing what she meant. Did she want to go or not?
"How about I take you on the merry-go-round?"
Gwyn didn't respond either.
Sheffield communicated with her patiently. "Check that out. All those kids are enjoying the rides with their parents. Let's ride one together, okay?"
Then he found that the little girl's head, which had been buried in his shoulder, slowly tilted towards the double-decker merry-go-round. She opened one of her eyes and stared at it.
Three minutes later, she finally cast a glance at Sheffield.
Sheffield understood immediately. He smiled and hugged the girl tightly. "Come on. Let's go ride on the horse."
