Chapter 2

When we got home, I made him something to eat. He had a great appetite and ate everything up, bite by bite.

After dinner, I bathed him.

I stripped him down and plopped him into the tub. His skin was so soft, he looked just like a little mochi ball, so adorable that my heart fluttered at the sight.

After his bath, I slipped him into the little dinosaur pajamas I'd picked out just for Ryan. They were a bit big, so I had to roll up the sleeves and pant legs several times.

He stood in front of me, looking up with his little face, and suddenly spoke in that sweet, childish voice. It was the first thing he ever said to me. He said, "Honey."

I thought I was having auditory hallucinations at that time.

"Baby, what did you just call me?" I asked.

He reached out his little arms, asking for a hug, and repeated it, clear as day, "Honey."

I burst out laughing. "Who taught you that? You little rascal, do you even know what honey means?"

I scooped him up and bounced him a little. "You can't just call me that, silly. You should call me Aunt Sophia."

He buried his head in my neck and, in a soft, stubborn voice, called out again, "Honey."

I just thought the kid was hilarious. He must've learned it from that unreliable dad of his.

But now that I think about it. That wasn't just some innocent kid talk at all. It was the brutal truth staring me in the face.

I actually picked up the wrong kid. I left my own nephew at kindergarten. And ended up kidnapping some random kid and letting him crash at my place for the night.

I was doomed. It felt like my entire worldview, everything I thought I knew, just collapsed and turned to dust in that moment.

I shuffled over to the bed, my legs barely holding me up.

The little guy lying there was probably woken up by the sound of my phone crashing to the floor. He rubbed his eyes, his long lashes fluttering as he slowly blinked awake.

His eyes were still hazy with sleep, a little misty, and honestly, almost too pretty to be real.

As soon as he saw me, his whole face lit up with a sweet smile. "Honey, good morning."

He said it while crawling over on all fours, latching onto my arm like a baby koala, nuzzling his soft cheek against me.

I thought I was dreaming.

I gave my thigh a good pinch. The sting of pain confirmed that this was all really happening.

I really did end up with a kid I didn't even know. And now this little guy was totally stuck to me like glue.

I looked at those dinosaur pajamas, way too big for him, and then at his absurdly beautiful little face.

This kid's parents must be ridiculously good-looking to have a child who turns out so stunning.

It was not the time to think about this.

The real question was what the hell I was supposed to do now.

Seeing how incredibly cute he was, I didn't bother to confirm carefully and just took him home.

The police officer probably wouldn't buy my story and might even suspect me of being a child trafficker, which could get me arrested.

There I was, a 25-year-old single woman with looks and a bright future ahead, and I ended up getting slapped with handcuffs and eating jail food over some ridiculous misunderstanding.

No way. My life was just getting started.

"Honey, I'm hungry." The little guy in my arms wiggled and spoke up, his sweet baby voice snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked down at the little guy.

He gazed up at me, his big eyes wide and sparkling, overflowing with innocence and dependence.

My defenses melted in an instant.

Never mind, even if the world was falling apart, I need to make sure the kid eats first.

And, I need to figure out how to get some details from him.

His name, his parents' names, their phone number, anything that could help me understand who he was and where he belonged.

If I could just reach his family and send this little miracle back, then I'd be off the hook.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself.

"Baby, how about you don't call me Honey for now, okay?" I tried to reason with him. "Can you tell me what your name is?"

His smile froze, and he looked up at me, his lips starting to tremble.

"Aren't you my honey?" His eyes went red, tears welling up and threatening to fall. "Daddy said, if I found you, you'd be my honey."

His dad actually said some really disturbing things to him.

"Who's your dad?" I pressed, hoping this was the clue I needed.

The little guy sniffled, his voice all small and pitiful. "He's just my daddy, that's all."

That was about as helpful as nothing. I tried a different tack. "So, what's your name?"

"Alex Cooper," he blurted out. He answered that one fast.

His name echoed in my mind as I searched my memory, trying to place it.

There really was a powerful family in this city named Cooper.

A chilling thought shot through my head, and I instantly shut it down, refusing to think any further.

"Alex, do you remember your mom and dad's phone number?" I asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.

Alex shook his head, then nodded.

My heart leaped. "You remembered?"

He held up one finger and piped up in that sweet little voice, "Daddy said, my phone number is just your number, honey."

My blood pressure was through the roof.

The child's father instilled some strange things in him.

Forget it, there was no way I could keep talking today.

Accepting my fate, I dragged myself up and went to the kitchen to warm up some milk for him and made a heart-shaped egg.

Watching him at the table, his little legs swinging and munching away so happily, my feelings were all over the place.

Honestly, this kid just made me want to spoil him rotten.

If things weren't so complicated right now, I'd seriously just keep him and raise him like my own son.

But no way. I'd got to get him back to his family, or my sister would literally come at me with a knife.

After breakfast, I decided to go with Plan B.

Since I couldn't get anything out of him, I just took him back to the kindergarten! The teachers there helped contact his parents. That should do the trick.

I got him back into that little suit from yesterday, just threw on a hoodie myself, grabbed my car keys, and got ready to head out.

Alex totally went along with everything I said, but his tiny hand stayed locked around mine, like he was scared I'd vanish if he let go for even a second.

I sighed and walked him over to the door.

Just as my hand touched the doorknob, a sudden, urgent pounding rang out, echoing through the apartment.

My heart shot straight up into my throat.

I guessed it might be his family who knocked on the door.

There was a reason why he only showed up now.

Andrew Cooper had been in an important international merger meeting overseas that night, so his phone was either off or set to Do Not Disturb.

He'd arranged for a reliable assistant to pick up Alex. When the assistant arrived at the kindergarten and realized the little guy was missing, he totally freaked out.

He immediately contacted the kindergarten, and the teacher replied, "Alex has already been picked up by his auntie."

The assistant tried to reach Andrew right away to confirm, but his phone was unreachable. He was still in the meeting.

After a moment's thought, he sprang into action, pulling up the kindergarten's security cameras, sending people out to look for Alex all over the place, and blowing up Andrew's phone nonstop.

That was why it took so long. As soon as the meeting ended, Andrew finally got the news about Alex and caught a red-eye back home without a second thought.