"Mom, why are you Leo's mom now? Mom, why don't you come home anymore? Why did you leave David and Daddy?" A little boy wept bitterly while clinging to the leg of a woman wearing an irritated expression.
This had happened several times already, and it disgusted the woman whom the child called "Mom."
"Be quiet and wait for your father. Mom and Dad are divorced! Stop being noisy and bothering me!" she snapped, trying to shake off his embrace.
"But I miss you, Mom!" The little boy burst into tears again.
"Shut up, David! Why are you always so noisy and disobedient? Can't you be more like your friend Leo? He's a good and smart boy!"
"Do you really have to treat a six-year-old child like that? He's your own son!" Kevin immediately scooped up his son and glared sharply at Davira—his ex-wife, who had left him to marry his best friend when he was on the verge of bankruptcy.
"It's been a year, and yet you still can't teach him to grow up and understand! How long is he going to keep whining like this?" Davira shoved Kevin hard, then stormed into her car. She didn't even care that her own child was crying hysterically.
Kevin looked at his son with pity. He understood how much David missed Davira. But what could he do? Davira had already remarried his widowed friend. She preferred raising a stepchild over her own flesh and blood.
Kevin feared this wound would scar David's heart well into adulthood. The boy had become withdrawn ever since the divorce.
"Let's go buy toys, okay? Don't cry anymore, sweetheart." Kevin wiped the tears from his son's tiny cheeks.
"Why is Mom so mean to David?" the boy asked in a hoarse voice, his breath hitching as if he could barely breathe.
"Can you stop seeing Mom like this? Don't call her anymore, just like she's been telling you." Kevin pleaded, hoping his little boy would understand.
"Just David and Papa, okay?" he added softly.
Kevin swore that once David could accept the situation, he would never let Davira see him again.
"Is it because David is naughty that Mom left? But David got first place in class!" the boy whimpered.
"David is the best boy and Papa's pride. Don't listen to Mom."
"Can Papa find a new mom for David?"
"A new mom?" Kevin chuckled.
"David wants a new mom who isn't mean and is pretty!" he wailed between sobs.
Kevin laughed at the unexpected request from his son's lips. He carried the little boy to the car without answering the difficult question.
A new mother? Was that a good idea? No, he wasn't ready to fall in love again. The pain Davira had caused still lingered, unhealed. How could he start anew with fresh love?
******
Little David watched his father standing in line to buy him ice cream, hugging the new toys they had just bought.
The boy glanced at other children his age in the shop, happily holding their mothers' hands. David wanted that too. Going out with just his dad was so boring!
"I hate Papa! He won't get me a new mom!" The boy put down his toys and ran off, crying.
"Why am I the only one without a mom?" David sobbed.
He was furious that Kevin hadn't responded to his request for a new mom. Did his father even know how much he was teased at school because his mom had become the mother of his classmate, Leo?
Leo always bragged about how kind his mom was, showing her off at school. But with David, she was cold and unloving.
Lost in his thoughts, David wandered off, losing sight of his father. His sobs grew louder as Kevin's back disappeared from view, and he couldn't remember where the ice cream shop was.
"Papa...!!!" he cried, searching desperately.
Just as he was about to slip on the mall's escalator, a young woman quickly caught and hugged him.
"Oh my God!" the woman gasped. "Why are you alone, sweetheart? That's so dangerous!" She held and kissed little David repeatedly, her voice full of concern.
"Who are you here with? Let me help you find your parents." She carried him to the information center to report a lost child.
David stayed quiet, still sniffling. He studied the woman carefully—pretty, kind, gentle, loving. This was exactly the kind of mom he wanted. He didn't care, she had to be his new mom!
"What's your name, sweetie?"
"David," he answered shortly.
"Such a handsome name! Who are you with? Why are you alone?" she asked, kissing his tiny cheeks again.
"My name is Emily," she told him.
"I'm mad at Papa! He won't get me a new mom! Kids at school say I don't have one!" David rambled. "David's mom left and became someone else's mom!"
"Oh, sweetheart, that's so sad." Emily hugged him. "Don't be upset anymore. Next time, even if you're angry, don't run off, okay? What if someone takes you? Your dad would be so worried, right?" she explained gently.
"But Papa is mean! I want a new mom!"
Emily almost laughed but felt sorry for the boy. She understood—his mother had left and remarried. It must be painful to come from a broken home at such a young age.
After reporting to the information center, Emily held David, who had calmed down a bit. She gave him water and the sandwich she had bought for lunch.
David ate hungrily, exhausted and starving. And… this was the moment he had been waiting for—being fed by a motherly figure!
"Is it good? Were you hungry?"
"Yummy!"
"So smart!" Emily kissed his cheek affectionately.
"I am smart! I got first place in class because I'm good at counting and reading!" David excitedly shared all his kindergarten achievements.
Emily smiled sadly as she listened. Who was his mother? How could she abandon such an adorable, bright child?
Their warm moment was interrupted when a deep, masculine voice called David's name. Not only was the voice attractive, but the man's toned arms and sculpted abs also immediately caught Emily's attention.
She guessed he was the father. The handsome man's eyes were red and swollen, his gaze full of relief when he saw his son safe. Oh God! He was exactly the type of husband Emily had always dreamed of.
Was this man the prince sent to rescue her from her exhausting modeling job? Emily was more than ready to become the wife of a wealthy widower and care for his adorable child!
"Sweetheart, why did you run off? Do you know how worried I was?" The man looked at David, who lowered his head. Look at that—so gentle and loving with his child. He must be kind and patient. Emily was convinced this man was her destined match.
"Thank you for taking care of him," Kevin said, reaching to take David from Emily's arms—but the boy suddenly burst into hysterical tears, clinging to Emily instead.
"Mom has to come home with David! I want a mom like Aunt Emily!"
"David..."
"No! I won't go!"
"David, don't be difficult! Let's go home!" Kevin said firmly, trying to pull his son away.
But instead of obeying, the boy thrashed harder, screaming until his body suddenly convulsed with fever.
"What's wrong with him?" Emily panicked, handing David back to his father.
"Mom has to come home..." the boy whimpered weakly.
"Can you come to the hospital with us? Please, just this once. He's never been like this before." Kevin looked pleadingly at the stranger he had just met.
"Okay," Emily agreed, mesmerized. Forget just one day—she'd stay with him forever if she could!
Honestly, if this weren't an emergency, Emily would've already kissed those sexy lips!
Her body stiffened when Kevin, carrying his son, held her hand tenderly. OMG, this is too much! It felt like they were already the perfect family.
"Call me Kevin," the man said warmly, opening the car door for her.
"I-I'm Emily," she stammered, sitting in the passenger seat.
"Please hold David." Kevin carefully placed his son in Emily's lap, then looked at her intently.
"I owe you so much today, Emily."
Thump! Okay, Emily couldn't breathe. Kevin was too mesmerizing up close. Don't say her name like that if you're not planning to steal his heart!