Chapter 308 Dad Kisses Mom
Gabriel got back before ten.
Danielle, half-asleep on the couch, perked up when she heard the door. She dashed over, grabbed Gabriel's leg, and yelled, "Happy New Year, Uncle Spencer!"
Jessica smirked. "Danielle, it's not midnight yet. You're jumping the gun!"
"Oh." Danielle, still groggy, glanced at Jessica, then up at Gabriel, who had just scooped her up. "I'll say it later then!"
Gabriel laughed. "Staying up late just to wish me a Happy New Year?"
"Yep!" Danielle clung to his neck. "I wanna be the first to wish Uncle Spencer a Happy New Year so I can be his favorite little darling!"
Jessica almost lost it at Danielle's words. "You slept through the night in H City and didn't wake up to hug me first. Now you're staying up just to be Uncle Spencer's little darling? Danielle, that's so unfair!"
Danielle blinked at Jessica, then at Gabriel, and whispered, "Mommy, are you jealous?"
Gabriel, holding Danielle, walked over to Jessica, both of them eyeing her.
Jessica, feeling a bit weirded out, asked, "What are you two looking at?"
"Maybe," Gabriel finally answered Danielle's question.
Danielle giggled, "Mommy is jealous!"
Jessica was speechless.
She thought, 'What a weirdo!'
'Can childishness be contagious?'
'Gabriel's actually playing along with Danielle.'
Jessica rolled her eyes and was about to walk away when Gabriel's arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her back.
She was stunned. When she turned around, she saw Gabriel holding Danielle with one hand and pulling her back with the other. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "Let's see what a normal jealous expression looks like on Danielle's mom."
She thought again, 'What does he mean by a normal jealous expression?'
'When has she ever been abnormally jealous?'
'Wait, when has she ever been jealous?'
'Does blocking his number and WhatsApp count?'
She looked up at him, puzzled, only to see Danielle covering her eyes with her little hands.
Just as Gabriel kissed her.
She smirked. "Gabriel, you're setting a bad example for the kid."
Gabriel, still holding her, looked down at Danielle, who was peeking through her fingers. "It's normal for Daddy to kiss Mommy, right?"
"Right!" Danielle laughed, then covered her eyes completely as if embarrassed.
Gabriel took the chance to kiss Jessica again. She tried to pull away but he held her tight.
"What do you mean, Daddy kissing Mommy?" Jessica's face turned a suspicious shade of red. "Those words carry too much weight, you..."
Gabriel's phone suddenly vibrated. Jessica quickly took Danielle into her arms. "You should get that."
He glanced at her before picking up the phone. Jessica thought she saw a moment of hesitation and focus when he saw the caller ID before he answered.
Danielle, snuggled in Jessica's arms, whispered about her fight with Tommy at preschool. Jessica listened closely, barely noticing Gabriel's phone call.
When Danielle mentioned that the principal and teachers now knew Gabriel was her dad, Jessica looked at Gabriel in surprise.
He had just finished his call and put down his phone. Noticing her gaze, he turned to her.
Danielle whispered, "Now the teachers and classmates know I have a dad. Mommy, can I stop calling him Uncle Spencer and just call him Daddy?"
Before Jessica could answer, Gabriel noticed something on the coffee table, picked up a black velvet box, and asked, "What's this?"
Jessica, suddenly nervous despite having prepared for days, replied, "A New Year's gift."
Before she finished speaking, Gabriel's long, slender fingers had already opened the black velvet box, revealing a pair of dark silver cufflinks shining under the light.
The cufflinks had no brand markings and didn't resemble any brand. They were clearly handmade, crafted from top-quality platinum, understated yet elegant, and would complement any suit.
On the less noticeable edges of the cufflinks, one side was carefully engraved with an "H" and the other with a "J."
The materials for the cufflinks were bought by Jessica during a previous shopping trip. When Gabriel asked what she had bought, she had hidden it from him.
The platinum was top-notch, costing her over two thousand dollars for a small piece. Although the price and design couldn't compare to Gabriel's expensive cufflinks, this was the most serious, successful, and satisfying pair Jessica had made since learning the craft by chance.
Gabriel, after seeing the cufflinks, seemed to realize what she had bought during their shopping trip.
"You made these?"
"Yes, I learned how to make them by chance at a jewelry store abroad. They're not as perfect as those made by designers, but you can keep them as a memento. You don't have to..."
Before she could finish, Gabriel, who hadn't taken off his suit jacket, had already attached the cufflinks to his sleeves.
Jessica had intended to be modest, thinking he could keep them at home as a memento and not wear them out.
But they actually looked quite good!
Of course, the wearer's looks and aura added to the simple cufflinks, but Jessica's sense of accomplishment was instantly filled.
"Good," Gabriel praised, "Why did you suddenly decide to give me this?"
Jessica blinked. "To commemorate I successfully sleeping with my sugar daddy."
Gabriel raised an eyebrow, "So this isn't a New Year's gift but a memento of you successfully sleeping with me?"
Danielle, looking confused, asked, "Mommy, what are you talking about?"
Jessica quickly composed herself. "Nothing, just adult talk. Kids shouldn't listen."
Danielle, full of curiosity, looked at Jessica, not easily fooled, and asked, "I wasn't listening, but I understood. But I often sleep with Mommy, but you never gave me a memento."
Jessica fell silent.
