Chapter 28

Later in the evening, Daniel was still taken away.
Upon hearing this news, I still couldn't calm down. I felt sorry for Daniel and yet, how could a mother be unkind to her own child?
Maybe my worries are unfounded.
However, I couldn't sleep at night and went downstairs to the kitchen to get some water. I was startled to see someone sitting on the couch.
Brian? He hadn't changed his clothes and the lights were off, he just sat there quietly. His whole body was enveloped in darkness, appearing especially lonely.
"Why can't you sleep?" he spoke up when he saw me.
"I can't fall asleep," I walked over and sat beside him. "What about you?"
He remained silent, his mood low.
"Worried about Daniel?" I cautiously asked him.
He looked uncomfortable, lowered his eyes, and spoke softly: "He didn't bring his teddy bear to cuddle with at night."
I was stunned and didn't say anything for a while.
I usually think Brian is too strict with Daniel, rarely smiling, and Daniel is a bit afraid of him.
He can't really be considered a gentle father. Yet, he knows that Daniel needs to cuddle his teddy bear every night.
I didn't know how to comfort a wounded father, so I silently stayed by his side.
"Do you want to bring the teddy bear to him?" I tentatively asked him.
He glanced at me and stood up. "You go to sleep; I'll go out for a bit."
"I'll accompany you."
He hesitated for a second. "Good."
I thought Cecilia's place was far from us, but it's actually only an hour's drive. And Brian clearly knows the route well.
"Have you been here many times?" I asked him.
"Yes," he replied without hiding anything. After a while, he said again, "When Daniel was sick and crying for his mom, I always brought him here in the middle of the night, hoping Cecilia would just take a look at the child."
"And then?"
"She refused to see him," he said casually, recounting those past experiences.
I listened silently. I remembered when my mom scolded me.
She always said, "Vanessa, I raised you up on my own. Do you know how hard it was for me? Do you know I haven't slept in a month because you kept me up at night? If you ever dare to abandon your mom when you grow up..."
And Brian? He is a man who hasn't even been married, yet he has been raising a child alone for four years. In those four years, facing the child's demand for a mother, how lonely and helpless he must have been.
At this moment, I genuinely feel sorry for this man.