"Of course," Damien said. "What do you need help with?"

The little girl looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Mister, can you tell me where this place is?" she asked. "My watch ran out of battery, so I can’t call anyone. I think I got off at the wrong subway station."

Lost? Damien frowned. "You’re here alone?"

Candy nodded. A small hand drifted unconsciously to her ear. It still hurts. "I was trying to find my mommy," she admitted softly. "But I think I got lost."

The last few words came out in a whisper.

She was only three years old.

After everything that had happened at home—and now finding herself alone in an unfamiliar place—she could feel the tears building despite her best efforts.

Her little face crumpled.

Damien’s heart softened instantly. Without thinking, he opened his arms. Candy launched herself into them. He caught her easily. The tiny body pressed against his chest felt impossibly small.

"It’s okay," he said quietly. One hand settled on the back of her head. "I’ll help you."

Candy sniffled.

"Do you remember your mother’s phone number?"

A few tears escaped before she nodded. "I do."

"Then let’s call her."

Candy immediately shook her head. "No."

Damien blinked. "No?"

"Mommy’s working." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "If she finds out I snuck out and got lost, she’ll worry."

For a moment, Damien simply stared at her. She couldn’t have been more than three years old. Yet she spoke clearly, thought logically, and worried more about her mother’s feelings than her own.

Remarkable.

The more he spoke to her, the more he found himself liking her.

Without another word, he carried her toward his car.

The assistant waiting nearby looked horrified.

"Mr. Vaughn," he said cautiously, "the conference starts in twenty minutes."

Candy immediately stiffened. She looked from the assistant to Damien. Then her shoulders drooped. "Mister..." Her voice turned small. "Am I making you late for work?"

Damien looked down at her.

"Maybe you should just leave me here," she continued. "I can take the subway home by myself."

The suggestion was absurd. She was three years old. There was no universe in which he was letting her wander through the city alone.

More importantly...

He wasn’t quite ready to hand her over yet.

The realization caught him off guard.

He reached out and lightly pinched her soft cheek. "It’s not important." Candy blinked. "The meeting can wait." A smile touched Damien’s lips. "Getting you home comes first."

Candy’s eyes instantly turned red again.

Nobody had ever said something like that to her before.

Strong. Reliable. Safe.

Being near him made her feel protected in a way she couldn’t explain. Slowly, she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. "Mister?"

"Hm?"

"Can you hold me a little longer?" Damien froze. Candy lowered her head. "I’ve never been hugged by a daddy before."

The words struck him unexpectedly.

"All the other kids have daddies."

Her voice grew quieter.

"But not me."

Something tightened painfully inside Damien’s chest. He gently smoothed a hand over her hair. "What happened to your father?"

Candy thought for a moment. "Mommy says he got sick and died." Her expression remained innocent. "I never got to meet him."

Damien fell silent. He wasn’t sure what to say. Then suddenly, Candy lifted both hands and grabbed his face. Her tiny palms pressed against his cheeks as she stared at him with complete seriousness. "Even if I don’t have a daddy, I’m not a bastard."

Damien blinked.

Candy continued stubbornly, "That’s a bad word." She puffed out her cheeks. "People who say bad words aren’t nice people." Then she nodded firmly. "So I don’t care what they think."

Her eyes sparkled. "And someday, I’ll have a daddy too."

The fierce determination on her little face was almost comical.

Damien felt his heart melt. If someone had told him yesterday that a three-year-old would have him wrapped around her finger, he would’ve laughed.

Yet here he was.

Completely defenseless.

"If anyone calls you that again," he said, "call me."

Candy’s eyes widened.

"I’ll handle it."

The little girl practically bounced in his arms. "Really?"

Damien nodded. "Really."

"Then give me your number!"

He laughed despite himself. "You’ll forget it."

"I won’t."

"You haven’t even started school yet."

Candy immediately puffed out her chest. "I have a very good memory."

Amusement flashed across Damien’s face. "Is that so?"

"Yes!"

"Fine." He settled back against the seat. "I’ll only say it once."

Candy nodded solemnly. "I’m ready."

Damien recited the number. The moment he finished, Candy repeated every digit back perfectly.

Not a single mistake.

The assistant nearly choked.

Damien stared at her. "...Impressive."

Candy grinned proudly. "I told you." Then she pointed at him. "When I get home, I’ll call you."

"Will you?"

"You have to answer."

Damien couldn’t help smiling. "Alright."

The drive passed quickly. Most of it was spent listening to Candy chatter. By the time they arrived at the apartment complex, Damien felt strangely reluctant to leave. He carried her toward the building entrance.

Before they reached it, a man came running toward them.

"Candy!" The man was drenched in sweat. Relief and panic battled across his face. "Where have you been?" He grabbed his knees, struggling to catch his breath. "You nearly scared me to death!" His gaze shifted toward Damien. "Oh—"

Embarrassment immediately followed. "Thank you." He bowed quickly. "I’m sorry for the trouble."

The man had a noticeable limp. His faded courier uniform was soaked through, and years of hard labor showed clearly on his weathered face.

Damien didn’t immediately hand Candy over. Instead, he looked down at her. "Do you know him?"

Candy looked guilty. "He’s my uncle."

Only then did Damien relax. He carefully set her down. Her uncle immediately pulled her into a hug. The sight made Damien feel oddly relieved.

The first thing Candy did after getting home was charge her watch. The moment it powered on, she opened the messaging app. Then she carefully typed: This is Candy. I saved your number. You can save mine too. Thank you, Mister. ❤️

Although she was only three years old, Cecelia had spent years teaching her whenever she had free time. Candy could already read simple books, recognize hundreds of words, and type basic messages.

A few minutes later, Damien’s phone buzzed. He glanced down. Then he stared.

A long moment passed.

His assistant glanced over. "Mr. Vaughn?"

Damien showed him the screen. The assistant nearly dropped his phone.

"A three-year-old wrote that?"

Damien wasn’t entirely convinced himself. Memorizing an eleven-digit number was one thing. Sending a complete text message was another. The child was exceptionally bright.

But as his gaze lingered on the message, another thought surfaced. The Vaughn family occupied a very visible position in society.

Too visible.

Allowing strangers unrestricted access to him wasn’t wise. No matter how much he liked the little girl.

After a brief pause, he locked his phone without replying.

Almost at the same time, Cecelia rushed home. The moment she stepped through the door, she heard shouting. Her brother and sister-in-law were still arguing about Candy’s disappearance. The argument stopped immediately when they saw her.

"Aren’t you supposed to be at work?" her sister-in-law demanded.

Cecelia ignored the question. She walked straight to Candy, then pulled her daughter into her arms. Only after holding her for several minutes did she finally relax. When she was certain Candy was alright, she reached into her bag. A marriage certificate landed on the dining table. "I was going to tell you tonight."

The room fell silent.

"But since everyone’s here..." She looked directly at her sister-in-law. "I got married."

Both of them froze.

"What?" Her sister-in-law snatched up the certificate. "You got married? You don’t even have a boyfriend!"

Her eyes widened as she saw Damien’s photograph. The man in the picture was young. Handsome. Elegant. Far beyond anything she’d imagined. Disbelief flashed across her face.

"Who is this?" She turned to Cecelia. "What does he do? Where is he? Why didn’t you bring him home?"

Cecelia had anticipated every question.

"He’s in sales." The lie came smoothly. "He’s busy." She reached for the certificate. "I thought my brother would be working today, so I wasn’t planning to introduce him yet."

The woman still looked suspicious. Cecelia didn’t care. She had one final announcement. "Candy and I are moving out."

Her brother immediately looked concerned. But before he could speak, his wife grabbed his arm, silencing him.

An hour later, Cecelia and Candy climbed into a taxi with two suitcases. Everything they owned fit inside them. As the city drifted past outside the window, Candy looked up. "Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Is my new daddy nice?"

Cecelia nearly laughed.

"When did you meet him? Does he know about me?" Candy hesitated. Then asked quietly, "Will he hate me like Auntie does?"

The question stabbed straight through Cecelia’s heart. She pulled her daughter into her arms. Only now was she realizing how deeply those wounds ran. "There is no new daddy."

Candy blinked. "What?"

"The marriage isn’t real." Cecelia brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I asked a friend to help me."

Candy’s eyes grew round. "A friend?"

"It was the fastest way to convince your aunt and uncle to let us leave." She kissed the top of her daughter’s head. "From now on, it’ll just be us. No one will look down on you. No one will hurt you.

"I promise."

Candy listened carefully. Then, slowly, her eyes lit up.

There was no new husband. No new daddy.

Which meant...

The handsome, kind man she’d met today still had a chance.

A secret smile spread across her face. And for the first time all day, Candy felt excited about the future.