Chapter 142 Sharp-tongued Eloise Richard looked at Eloise, who stood with a dead-serious expression on her tiny face, and couldn't help but chuckle.
He had a gift for smiling like a saint while cutting deep, and clearly, he didn't draw the line at kindergarteners.
"Honey," he said smoothly. "There are all kinds of dads. Technically, he's your stepdad. Do you know what a stepdad is?" As he spoke, he couldn't help but size her up.
She's actually kind of cute. Which means her mom probably isn't bad-looking either. Lucky bastard, that Alistair scored big for a broke nobody.
Alistair smiled. "That's true. And then there's the kind of dad who ditches his own kid at birth, lets someone else raise him, and then gets mad when the kid calls the other guy 'Dad.' Not sure what kink that is, but hey, to each his own." So we're playing the insult gnow? Fine. Let's see how long you can keep that smug face on.
Alistair wasn't even worried. No amount of passive-aggressive poking from Richard could shake the bond between him and Eloise.
1/7 21:57 Chapter 142 Sharp-tongued Eloise She knew everything.
12 min left She knew she wasn't Caroline's biological daughter. She knew Alistair wasn't her birth father either. But in her heart, they were her real parents, the best parents in the world.
Most kids were simple. Whoever loved them, they loved back.
Daniel was no different.
Alistair wasn't blind or naive. He'd raised Daniel from a squishy newborn into a full-blown troublemaker. There was no one who knew that child better than he did.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtHe'd seen the way Daniel looked at him just now. Every flicker of emotion in that little face-he caught it all.
Daniel was a brat, no question. But no kid turned into that on their own. The blsat squarely with the adults around him. And though Alistair had been the one changing diapers and waking up at 3 AM, he'd never truly been Daniel's parent. Just the guy hired to keep him alive.
A glorified nanny didn't get to discipline the heir.
Daniel and Eloise were worlds apart. But Alistair knew that if someone gave Daniel proper guidance, there was still hope. The 2/7 21:57 Chapter 142 Sharp-tongued Eloise kid wasn't a lost cause yet.
12 min left But for that, he'd need real parents. Not Rebecca, who probably didn't know what a moral compass was. Not Richard, whose worldview could best be described as nonexistent.
At Alistair's dig, Rebecca dropped her head in shame. Richard's face darkened immediately. He was just thankful Daniel was too young to grasp the meaning behind Alistair's words.
No matter how much he disliked Rebecca these days, Daniel was still his son. That wasn't going to change.
Wives were replaceable. Kids weren't.
His parents had been over the moon when they heard he was bringing Daniel htonight.
Frustrated by his failed attempt to rile Alistair up, Richard turned to Eloise again. "Honey," he said with mock kindness. "What do you think will happen when your parents have a baby of their own?" Before he could finish, Eloise interrupted sharply, "My mommy and daddy will still love me, even if I get a baby brother or sister.
And I love them too!" Her eyes blazed, fierce and unwavering. She looked ready to leap out of Alistair's arms and bite.
3/7 21:57 Chapter 142 Sharp-tongued Eloise Richard blinked.
12 min left The little girl had the kind of soft, delicate face that usually ran crying into a parent's arms if anyone so much as raised their voice. But she wasn't crying. She wasn't backing down.
Alistair felt a wave of pride.
She's not just cute. She's strong, fierce, untouchable.
But Eloise wasn't done yet.
She turned her glare on Richard. "If you're his daddy, then you need to treat him better. Otherwise, he'll keep trying to steal my daddy! My daddy is my daddy! He's not going back to being your son's daddy, so tell your kid to give it up!" Daniel froze. Maybe it was Eloise's tone. Or maybe it was hearing the truth out loud. Whatever the reason, Daniel burst into tears.
Eloise crossed her arms. "Oh, please, quit crying. My dad's not yours, and you've already got one. You don't get to keep both!" Alistair was speechless.
Is today Eloise Appreciation Day? Because she's absolutely killing 1.
Chapter 142 Sharp-tongued Eloise 12 min left.
He ruffled her hair. "She's right. Daniel, you have a new dad now. You can't havetoo." Daniel watched Alistair walk away, tears still streaming down his face.
He didn't understand everything, but at that moment, something clicked.
It wasn't that Alistair didn't want him anymore. It was that he'd already been replaced. A kid can only have one dad, and now Alistair belonged to someone else. He sniffled hard, biting back more tears.
It's new daddy's fault. He's the reason my old daddy left.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm***** "Mommy," Eloise said later, sipping her juice with a serious expression, "now I know why that boy kept trying to steal my daddy. It's because his daddy is awful.
He even said mean things about my daddy right in front of me. Mommy, I think that boy's really sad. His mommy's not nice. His daddy's even worse."
Caroline had just wrapped up work and joined them at juïge shop br the pedestrian street. Chapter 142 Sharp-tongued Eloise (^-) 12 min left Alistair, practically bursting with pride, retold the entire story, every one of Eloise's mic-drop moments.
Caroline smiled and stroked her daughter's cheek. "You're amazing, Eloise." Eloise beamed. "Mommy, when are you gonna givea baby brother or sister?" Caroline choked a little on her drink.
Most people get hounded by in-laws. I get pressure from my own kid.
Eloise turned to Alistair, eyes sparkling. "Daddy, Mommy always does what you say. Can't you talk her into it?" Alistair laughed.
Yeah... she definitely wasn't fazed by anything Richard said.
"Unbelievable. These days, speople look all polished and respectable on the outside, but m underneath? Scumbags. Groping women old enough to be their mother in front of their own wife and daughter, no less. That's not just trash behavior. That's animal behavior." On their way hfrom the juice shop, a commotion erupted at רן : Chapter 142 Sharp-tongued Eloise 12 min left the front end of the pedestrian street.
A woman was clutching a man's collar, screaming "pervert!" while the surrounding crowd erupted with fury.
And the man? The man was Richard. Face red, veins bulging, he tried to shout his innocence, but it was too late. The woman's son, furious, punched him square in the jaw and dropped him flat.
Rumor had it that the evidence was solid that Richard had groped a m woman nearly twice his age. But honestly, Alistair didn't quite believe it. He suspected Richard was probably innocent. Then again... innocence was relative.
The man was a born schemer. And if life was poetic at all, well, Alistair happened to carry The Schemer's Bane.
That was just bad luck. For Richard, anyway.
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