Noah got in his car, whistling happily. He can't contain his happiness for the fact that his lovely daughter—will be staying with him for the next two to five years! If he can find a way to keep Nicole in Switzerland, he would.

He was grinning to himself as he glanced at his watch, gripping the steering wheel of his sports car. After leaving the conference room, the lawyers from his side and Nicole's side stayed in the conference room for about an hour to settle some documents.

​​

Nicole is as sly as ever. Keeping everything within her reach! That's why his lawyers, who had sat down to talk with him after Nicole's lawyers left, still advised him to continue the plan to get shared custody of Lucille.

Doesn't matter if right now Nicole was sending Lucille to him because in the papers, Nicole still got full custody and when shit hit the fan, he will still have no hold with his daughter. The rules of law will be against him, and he can't resort to something outside the law to keep his daughter—well, he could, but won't do it.

He wants normalcy in Lucille's life, decent civility between him and Nicole. He's willing to give in to Nicole's wishes if it means Lucille will get a normal childhood as she can get— in the kind of family they have.

His daughter is smart. She would understand him if he explained everything. But, she's still a kid. And more than anything, he wanted Lucille to be a kid. Not to worry about adult greed and selfishness.

He wanted his daughter to be a child, enjoying her childhood, knowing that both her parents love her deeply, even when they can't be together.

That's all he wanted for his child. And he will do everything in his power to make it happen. Even if it means, breaking every bone in Nicole's greedy body.

The thought of his ex-wife didn't dampen Noah's excitement over Lucille's coming to stay with him. He's too excited and glanced at his watch again. It's almost noon time now on the other side of the world. He wondered if he could call her during her lunchtime to tell her the good news.

He wanted to tell her the good news. He's sure that Jess would be ecstatic as well, and come to think of it, probably even Luke. His daughter is loved by many. She's quite a charmer.

Thinking of Jess and Luke getting excited to have Lucille around, Lucille must not know her mother's decision yet, for she hasn't called him. He can't wait for her to call and be hyped up with the thought of living near Jess and Luke.

The drive home didn't take long since it's almost midnight. Traffic was light. He arrived home in less than thirty minutes from work. He was still whistling when he got on the elevator and when it reached his floor, he had an overwhelming urge to go to Jess's apartment even though he knew no one was home.

When he entered his own apartment, his mood lit up. He scanned his house and took a mental note on what to add or change in his house to make sure that it would be a comfortable place for Lucille.

He threw his car keys on the ceramic bowl on the console table in the foyer and headed directly to Lucille's room. He has the stay-out house cleaner clean the room and make sure that it is kept the way Lucille's left it.

Looking around the room, he wondered what he could add to the room. A bigger study desk and definitely a bigger closet since she loves shopping. He shook his head in amusement, thinking the last time she was here.

He walked to her closet and opened it. An array of colorful dresses were in the closet. She bought those dresses—half of them, she didn't have a chance to wear. She left them here because she knew her mother would not like it if she would take back to Shanghai all those dresses.

Nicole is big on buying only the necessary things. On the other hand, he let Lucille have her fun since he's big in believing kids should have fun. And Lucille had fun playing dress-up with those dresses. He has the money to buy those frilly dresses, so why not?

He scanned the room one last time before he stepped out of the room and went to his own bedroom. And the moment he entered his room, he heaved a deep sigh. He didn't remember his room to be this lonely.

Taking a moment to think how Jess' absence could leave his house and his heart feeling empty, he left the bedroom and chose to stay in his study. He might even sleep there tonight or the rest of the nights that Jess wasn't home because he has a feeling that his longing for her would overflow if he laid down on his bed and his arms would be empty.

Heading to the study, a smile spread on his face. He received a photo message from Jess. He opened the photo as he opened the door to his study.

Jess sent a photo of herself, sitting in a coffee shop. She took a picture of her reflection from the glass window.

He quickly dialed her number and she answered on the second ring. "Hey baby, I miss your pretty face. The house felt cold."

"Turn on the heater."

She said in a serious tone that made him throw his head in laughter. She can be such a wise-ass.

"It's because you ain't here. You silly girl," he said, chuckling.

"Coffee doesn't taste right in this coffee shop." She opened her video to show Noah her unfinished cup of coffee.

"Why? What's wrong with their coffee?" He asked, opening his camera too.

"There's nothing wrong with the coffee. I think it doesn't taste as good because you ain't here."

Noah gawked at her smug expression. He couldn't believe she would play with his heartstring.

"You—" he uttered in disbelief. "Minx, stop playing with my poor heart."