Chapter 1253 - 654: Extra Story: President Qiao Coaxes His Daughter to Accept Him as Her Daddy_2

Chapter 1253: Chapter 654: Extra Story: President Qiao Coaxes His Daughter to Accept Him as Her Daddy_2

"I was complimenting you... You really have made a lot of progress. You’re nothing like the old Alice anymore."

She pouted. "I know in your mind I used to be that spoiled, overbearing, useless rich girl that everyone hated."

"But it was that version of you that locked up my heart."

She had thought he’d say a whole bunch of sweet things to coax her, but that one line alone made her anger vanish in an instant.

He pulled her onto his lap.

She looped her arms around his neck, actually feeling a little moved inside.

He looked deep into her eyes. "When I say you’ve made progress, I don’t mean your princess temper from before. I mean you’re so much more mature now than you used to be."

Alice muttered, "So you’re嫌我年龄大了吗?"

Chester raised an eyebrow. "How do you always manage to twist it that way?"

"Then you tell me." She stared straight at him, demanding he speak properly.

He spoke slowly, voice soft. "Back then, in my eyes you were always just a kid. But now, in my eyes you’re already a woman."

"If I was still a kid back then, then for the crime of you raping a minor, they could’ve locked you up for hundreds of years."

He burst out laughing and lowered his head to give her a deep kiss.

She had long since shed her shyness and tilted her head up to meet his kiss.

He lifted her into his arms.

She clung to him like an octopus, still kissing him deeply.

He carried her over to the big bed in the bedroom, and the two of them tumbled onto it together.

Sitting in the car, Alice kept thinking about how she should explain "Uncle" becoming "Daddy" to Rachel.

Alice was worried sick over it, while the man beside her calmly read through his paperwork.

"Chester..."

"Mm?" The man didn’t even lift his head.

Alice hooked her arm through his, complaining in frustration, "How do you still have the mood to deal with work at a time like this?"

Chester set the file aside and looked up at Alice. "What’s wrong?"

Alice let out her anxiety. "In a bit, how are we supposed to explain our... our relationship to Rachel?"

Chester took her restless, slightly trembling hand in his. "I told you... all you need to do is stay obediently by my side, and I’ll take care of every single one of your worries."

"Then how are you planning to explain it to Rachel?"

"Rachel’s already three. We’ll just tell her straight out and she’ll understand."

"But she’s always called you Uncle. Suddenly switching to Daddy—won’t that be too hard for Rachel to accept?"

Chester pinched Alice’s cheek. "Baby, even you’re willing to accept me now—how could your daughter not be willing to accept me?"

Alice shot him a sideways look, kicking him while he was down. "That’s not certain. Rachel keeps asking me who her daddy is, you know!"

"And what did you tell her?"

"The last time she asked, I told her her daddy and I had an amicable divorce."

Chester’s brows drew together. "How could you say that? That makes me sound like some heartless jerk, plus you’re slapping on a charge of abandoning his own child."

Alice grinned smugly. "Heartless jerk—that’s not wrong, is it?"

Chester’s face went dark.

Alice had always been too scared to really offend Chester, so she instantly put on a fawning, coquettish smile. "Okay, okay, when I said that to Rachel it was just a stopgap. I couldn’t exactly tell her Uncle is actually Daddy, right? At most, when you explain it to Rachel later, I’ll stand by and help say some nice things about you."

Chester gave a faint smile, his palm wrapping tightly around Alice’s hand, his voice low and far-reaching. "These years, raising Rachel all by yourself, I know you’ve had a really hard time."

Alice leaned against Chester’s shoulder and shook her head. "I’m actually fine. At least I’ve never had to worry about money. The only thing that bothered me was my reputation... That whole episode of scheming every which way to marry Howard Geoffrey was already bad enough, and I never thought I’d end up with an extra illegitimate daughter after that... People outside have always said I’m promiscuous. Thankfully these past couple of years I’ve kept a low profile and focused on my kid, and worked hard to shift my focus onto my career, so those nasty rumors didn’t keep spreading nonstop."

"I’m sorry. Everything you went through was because of me." Chester kissed Alice’s forehead with aching tenderness.

Alice gazed at Chester with deep feeling, her voice a little hoarse. "Now that everything’s proven, all that I went through in the past was worth it."

Chester lowered his head to her again and captured her lips in a deep kiss.

She answered him with equal depth.

After the kiss, they looked at each other and shared a faint smile.

He wrapped his arms around her, letting her rest in his embrace, and promised softly, "I won’t let you suffer another bit."

"I believe you."

"Promise me you’ll grow your hair out."

She tipped her head back. "Can I not? I think short hair’s great. It doesn’t need much styling and it makes a person look sharp and seasoned."

"Hm?"

His expression darkened.

She instantly pasted on a smile and obediently said, "But I still like long hair... Mm, I’ll grow it out."

"Good girl."

In front of the villa’s main gate, Alice drew in a deep breath.

Chester took her hand and walked straight into the villa.

It was the weekend, so Rachel wasn’t at kindergarten and was currently on the sofa playing, surrounded by everyone.

Christine Quinn and Mrs. Geoffrey had already noticed the two of them holding hands, and both of their lips were curved in a smile.

Alice was thin-skinned and a bit embarrassed, so she nestled meekly by Chester’s side.

Aunt PA saw them and gave a quiet reminder. "Rachel, look who’s back?"

Rachel lifted her head from the pile of toys and, seeing them, broke into a brilliant smile and scrambled down from the sofa.

After not seeing her daughter for two days, Alice missed her terribly. She bent down, ready to welcome her little girl.

Her daughter ran toward them happily, seemingly about to fling herself into Alice’s arms, but at the last second Rachel’s pair of chubby little hands hugged Chester’s legs instead, and she shouted excitedly, "Uncle!"

Alice froze for a second, then straightened up, feeling a bit awkward.

Her daughter didn’t even look at her, just clung tightly to Chester and rubbed her face against his thigh. "I missed you so much."

Alice stared speechlessly at her daughter, who was shamelessly acting spoiled with Chester, and wondered if these years of raising this child had all been for nothing.