Chapter 18 She Just Came in So Quietly
The scene showed a small hand clasping a larger one, and the larger hand didn't let go.
Jessica was speechless.
"Let her sleep for now. We'll wake her up when it's time," Gabriel not only didn't move his hand, he actually returned the grip, holding Danielle's small hand with an unintentional tenderness he hadn't anticipated.
Jessica remained silent.
Just one night had passed, and Danielle had not only climbed into someone else's bed to sleep, but she was also holding on and not letting go!
‘Was her four-year-old daughter, whom she'd raised through thick and thin, already ready to rebel?’ Jessica pondered.
"Achoo!" Jessica suddenly sneezed.
Gabriel glanced at her disarray again, "Go take a shower."
"Oh," Jessica sniffled, wiping her nose and turning toward the bathroom, but she froze as she was about to close the door.
Take a shower? There was something unnervingly natural about his commanding tone.
"Achoo!" Another sneeze echoed.
Jessica held back, and in the end, she couldn't bring herself to step back out. Instead, she turned and turned on the shower.
By the time Jessica had taken a shower and quickly prepared some breakfast, Danielle was almost ready to wake up.
The delicious smell of breakfast filled the kitchen, and suddenly, giggles came from the main bedroom.
Jessica stepped out of the kitchen and glanced at the open bedroom door. She spotted little Danielle still in bed with her tousled hair, playfully kicking her bare feet near a man's hands while laughing nonstop.
"Danielle, don't be so impolite. Get up, wash up, and come to have breakfast." Jessica called from outside the door, then hurried back to the kitchen to serve the noodles she had just made.
Danielle quickly sat up in bed, saw that Mommy had left, and turned to Gabriel with another giggle, "Can I come to sleep over here again?"
"Normally, you shouldn't," Gabriel replied with a faint smile, gently scraping his finger across Danielle's nose. He lowered his voice as if whispering a secret, "If your mom isn't around and I haven't left yet, you're welcome to come."
Danielle eagerly nodded, putting one finger to her lips. "Shh," she hissed, and then she giggled happily for quite a while. Fearing that her mother might discover her little secret with Gabriel, she quickly hopped out of bed and ran to her room to wash up.
Jessica placed the breakfast on the dining table and headed towards the main bedroom, saying, "I've seen you getting up and moving around these past few days. You should come and have breakfast with us. I made pasta. I put less salt in your portion, but I'm not sure if it suits your taste."
It had been almost ten days since Gabriel appeared in her home, and this was the first time he had sat at the table for a meal with them. Previously, Jessica had brought soup to his room out of concern that his movement would affect the healing of his wounds.
She felt that he was recovering faster these past couple of days and that he should be able to come out and walk around.
At the breakfast table, Danielle seemed to have something on her mind. She kept sneakily glancing at the man sitting opposite her, a hidden laugh in her eyes as if she had just eaten a whole dozen chocolates and was delighted.
In just one night, Danielle had already shared a secret with an outsider.
Jessica gave Danielle a stern look, and Danielle promptly lowered her head to eat.
