Page 232 of His Sunshine Baby

“I don’t know how to swim… and I don’t have a swimsuit…”

“Alright, then we can buy you a swimsuit, and Daddy can teach you to swim, okay?”

She nods with a big smile, her eyes turning to the pool again. It’s cute how she can barely manage to hide her excitement. We take the elevator to my apartment, and when she walks in, she doesn’t dare to walk away from me, even after we take our shoes off.

“This is… Daddy’s house?”

“Yes. Go on. Don’t you want to explore it?”

“But… you live alone, Daddy?”

“Yes. Your uncles come sometimes. But your mom is the only girl who came here before you.”

“Really?”

With excitement, she finally walks in, looking at everything around her. Now that I think about it… maybe Estelle was even conceived here. Not a lot of things have changed since then. I like a somber, neat style. Liam always says my apartment looks like it’s for sale, since it’s so clean you wouldn’t have guessed that someone lives here… Well, I usually only come here to shower and sleep.

“Daddy! There are so many rooms!”

I hear her running from one room to another, and I laugh. That place really is big. Way too damn big for just myself, actually. I remember I bought it because I had the means to get the best, but for one man alone, it’s ridiculously big. What was I thinking? I understand Damian better now. He just lived in the place above his office, with just one bedroom, and waited until he had a wife and children to get a huge family house.

“Estelle, come see the view!”

She comes out of one of the rooms while I put our shopping bags in a corner. I take her to the balcony, which offers an incredible view of Silver City, its buildings, and the sea, on the left. She’s silent, but I can tell she’s stunned.

“Daddy… It’s so big, like a forest of buildings…”

I nod and take a seat next to her. Elena loved this view too. I remember sitting here so many times with her, watching it while listening to her music. Even when it rained, she would lie on the couch and face the glass wall to watch it. Estelle goes to the edge of the balcony, looking at everything for a long time, sometimes commenting about some funny-shaped building, asking me what is this or that, and making me point out our company, the hospital where her mom is, and her auntie Nora’s house.

“I miss Mommy already,” she says, turning to me with a sad little face all of a sudden.

I open my arms, and she comes to sit on my lap. I gently tuck her blonde hair behind her ears, looking at my daughter up close.

“I miss her too, little star.”

“Do you think Mommy can leave the hospital soon?”

I nod.

“Of course. Your mom is super strong.”

“How soon? Tomorrow?”

“I don’t know, baby. That’s for the doctors to decide.”

“Okay.”

But I can tell she’s unhappy, looking down. How do I cheer up a four-year-old, especially without her mom?

“You’ll stay with me until Mommy gets out, okay? And we will go and see her every day, I promise.”

“Really?” she asks, her eyes shining again.

“I promise. Meanwhile, we can do anything you want: go to the sea, to the movies, to your auntie’s house…”

Estelle smiles wide again, making me feel I did something right.

“Can we eat more pizza?”

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