Gloria Taylor squeezed the toothpaste out to brush her teeth while paying attention to Tina Clarke.
Tina Clarke brushed her teeth until the toothpaste bubbled up and then, she spitted it out.
Gloria Taylor softened watching the little girl standing on the stool brushing her teeth.
She was so obedient.
Kenny Clarke must have taught her so well that Tina Clarke was this obedient.
She couldn’t help feeling distracted.
Compared to her, Kenny Clarke did more to Tina Clarke.
If Kenny Clarke was more arrogant than he already was, it would be impossible for him to let her in just because Tina Clarke liked her.
He could just ignore and give her no chance.
“Mom, you have to spit it out like this.”
Tina Clarke’s voice brought her back to her senses.
When she looked down, Tina Clarke put in a mouthful of water to rinse her mouth and spitted it out.
Tina Clarke asked her curiously with a pair of big eyes, “Can you spit it out like this?”
“I can.” Gloria Taylor nodded.
“Do it, then.” Tina Clarke didn’t seem to believe her words. She kept staring at her.
Gloria Taylor had to cooperate and gargle the way Tina Clarke did.
Tina Clarke patted her arm, “Great!”
“……” Gloria Taylor said happily, “Really? You did it better than me!”
Tina Clarke was embarrassed. She smiled and jumped off the stool to fiddle with her hairpins.
Gloria Taylor brushed her teeth and washed her face quickly. After that, she went out of the bathroom to do Tina Clarke’s hair.
Tina Clarke could be very demanding about her hair.
“What kind of hairdo do you want?” Gloria Taylor asked.
“I want it braided… like the princess… the long one. I want it like this…”
Tina Clarke explained while shuffling around her hair.
Gloria Taylor didn’t know what kind of hairdo she wanted.
Tina Clarke asked, “Do you know what kind of hairdo I want?”
“I know.” Gloria Taylor replied.
Tina Clarke’s shoulder length hair was dark and smooth. She had bangs covering her forehead.
Gloria Taylor braided Tina Clarke’s hair and left two pigtails hanging down.
She tied her hair and asked Tina Clarke to pick two hairpins to clip the end of the pigtails.
After clipping the pigtails, Gloria Taylor sorted the hairdo out for the last time and said, “It’s done!”
Tina Clarke who stayed put since the beginning couldn’t help touching her head and asked, “Does it look beautiful?”
“Take a look for yourself.” Gloria Taylor said as she took Tina Clarke to the mirror.
Tina Clarke looked into the mirror while touching her hair. She exclaimed happily, “It’s nice!”
Gloria Taylor helped her sorted it out again and said, “Our Tina is the prettiest!”
“Mom, you’re pretty too.” she replied shyly.
Although Tina Clarke had always been calling her ‘Beautiful Sister’ before, this time, Gloria Taylor was really moved.
However, soon, she felt upset.
She knew that it was impossible for her to keep living with Kenny Clarke. if she wanted to fight for Tina Clarke’s custody, she couldn’t compete with Kenny Clarke.
It was absolutely impossible for Kenny Clarke to give Tina Clarke to her.
She suppressed her emotion and led Tina Clarke out, “Let’s go down for breakfast.”
***
Kenny Clarke was already seated on the dining table.
The maids on the side were silent. The atmosphere in the dining room was very tense.
The little girl was very sensitive. She looked scared when she entered the room. She leaned toward Gloria Taylor.
Kenny Clarke who was sitting at the dining table acted like someone owed him money.
Gloria Taylor whispered to Tina Clarke, “Call him daddy and then climb up to kiss him. Tell him you love him.”
Tina Clarke shook her head like a rattle when she heard this.
Gloria Taylor remembered last night Edith Hall said that Kenny Clarke was a terrible man.
It seemed that Tina Clarke was still afraid of him.
Gloria Taylor cheered her up, “Don’t be afraid. If he does something bad to you, Mom will teach him a lesson.”
Tina Clarke vaguely understood the meaning of ‘lesson’. She stepped closer to Kenny Clarke. After two steps, she looked back at Gloria Taylor.
Gloria Taylor gave her an encouraging smile.
Tina Clarke smiled back. She walked toward Kenny Clarke, tilted her head and called out, “Dad.”
Kenny Clarke looked at her sideways and glanced at the pigtails on her head, “Hm.” he replied shortly. Contents belong to NovelDrama.Org
Then, he began eating his breakfast.
Gloria Taylor noticed that Kenny Clarke hadn’t touched his breakfast.
Did he wait for her and Tina Clarke?
Gloria Taylor sat down with a question in her heart.
Tina Clarke was a good girl. She remembered Gloria Taylor’s instruction.
When she saw that Kenny Clarke didn’t give much attention to her, she climbed onto his lap, grabbed his clothes, and kissed him on the lips, “Dad, I love you.”
After that, she stared at Kenny Clarke with a curious face as if waiting for his response.
Gloria Taylor looked at them in amazement.
She didn’t know she used to get along with Kenny Clarke. For the time being, the only person who dared to act unbridled in front of Kenny Clarke was only Tina Clarke.
When Tina Clarke climbed onto him, Kenny Clarke put down his knife and fork and brought his arms around her little body.
He didn’t show any special reaction when the little girl said that she loved him.
He put Tina Clarke to the chair next to him and pointed to her blue and pink dinning set, “Eat.”
Tina Clarke didn’t know whether it was effective or not, but Kenny Clarke surely didn’t get angry.
“Hm!” she nodded happily.
Gloria Taylor could clearly see that Kenny Clarke didn’t reach much to Tina Clarke’s ‘confession’, but it was not difficult to tell that Kenny Clarke loved Tina Clarke.
At this moment, Kenny Clarke suddenly looked up at Gloria Taylor. His eyes fell on her plate. He said in a low voice, “Eat.”
“Me?” Gloria Taylor pointed at herself as if she couldn’t believe what just heard.
Tina Clarke was a 3 years old toddler and she was a 26 years old woman.
“Hm.” he replied faintly. Then, he rolled Tina Clarke’s sleeve, “If you can’t use the fork, you can eat with your hand.”
When Tina Clarke heard it, she quickly grabbed a piece of fruit and put it in her mouth. Then, as if she remembered something, she said to Gloria Taylor, “Mom, you should finish your breakfast. Tina should too.”
“……”