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Chapter 27 - Babysitting

After thirty minutes of running and chasing, Mason had finally caught Chloe. He wrestled with her and gently threw her on the sofa which made her chuckle in delight. Kelsey watched the two in amazement and smiled. She didn't know that Mason had a soft spot for kids.

Kelsey studied the little girl and she looked nothing like her father. She probably took after her mother's look. When Mason and Chloe's laughters subsided, she called them and let them know that dinner was ready. Georgia prepared some fried stew and brown rice and Kelsey made some chocolate chip cookies while they were chasing each other around the house.

Chloe hurriedly ran to the dinning room and Mason followed suit. Mason sat on the head of the table while Chloe sat on his right. Kelsey took the orange juice in the fridge and sat beside Chloe. They looked like a family dining together and it brought tingles in Kelsey's stomach.

Kelsey helped Chloe scooped some food on her plate and Chloe ate the dish in delight. "You are one beautiful girl." Kelsey commented as she tucked Chloe's hair behind her ear to prevent it from getting dirty while she ate.

Chloe beamed at her and swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking. "You're very beautiful too." She honestly replied. "I'm Chloe, what's your name?" She introduced.

"I'm Kelsey, it's nice to meet you, Chloe." Kelsey sincerely told her. Although Chloe was a daughter of her father from another woman, Kelsey couldn't blame the child at all. No matter what happened, Chloe was still her baby sister. "Finish eating your food, okay? Once your done, I'll make sure to give you some cookies." She offered her and Chloe's eyes popped out in excitement at the mention of sugar. She quickly returned back to her food and ate in delight.

Mason watched the two gorgeous ladies in front of him. He smiled at the picture before him. He didn't know where the thoughts were coming from, but seeing Kelsey with Chloe made him imagine how great of a mother and a wife she would be someday. Regardless of how much he despised committing into a relationship and getting tied down, imagining a life with Kelsey and their future kids made him have second thoughts about marriage. 'Maybe, just maybe, it isn't so bad to have my own family.' He thought to himself.

~ * ~ * ~

After dinner and two hours of playing with Chloe, she had grew tired and fell asleep on the couch. The scolding that Kelsey was waiting for due to the events in the morning was completely forgotten and she didn't want to remind him. They were watching a disney movie and Chloe fell asleep half way through it. She had her head laying on Mason's lap and she was soundly sleeping. Kelsey turned the TV off and sighed.

"She finally fell asleep." She stated and slouched on the couch in exhaustion. She was sitting beside Mason and there were only a few inches between the two of them.

"You probably shouldn't have given her a cookie after dinner." Mason commented making them both chuckle. Despite the long night of taking care of Chloe, they enjoyed her company and had a lot of fun playing with her.

"She seems like a very intelligent and lovable kid." Kelsey honestly said.

"She is. Sir Lucas is very lucky to have her." Mason smiled as he soothingly rubbed Chloe's head with his hand.

Kelsey didn't know why she had asked but the question had just suddenly escaped her mouth. "How come she looks nothing like him?" Once she realized that she had spoken out loud, she quickly placed a hand on her mouth and scolded herself inside. "Sorry, that's not a very nice question, is it?"

Mason shook his head and only shot her a smile. It was normal for many to asked that specific question. He had heard plenty of people asked Lucas about Chloe's features that did not resemble him at all. "Many are curious about that too, it's not only you." He told her. "Sir Lucas had a tough life. If it weren't for Chloe, he probably wouldn't have a reason to live and would have ended his life back then."

Kelsey was patiently listening to Mason's story. She was curious and she wanted to know what really happened to her father and why he had left her and her mother. "What do you mean?" She asked him, hoping he would tell her more.

"Sir Lucas had a family before." Mason said and Kelsey was surprised that Mason knew about her father's former family. "I don't exactly know what happened, but he told me that it was the hardest decision he had to make in his entire life. Leaving his family broke him into so many pieces." Mason informed her and Kelsey couldn't help but have plenty of questions in her mind. 'Why would he leave if it was hard? For what reason did he have to suddenly decide to end things with us?'

"Why did he leave then?" She voiced out her thoughts. Mason glanced at her and saw how curious she was about the topic.

Mason sighed and continued. "Something about protecting them. And he said if he could go back in time, he would've made the same decision." This brought anger in Kelsey's blood. She refrained herself from bursting out and yell. So, she took a deep breath and patiently waited for Mason to continue. She was afraid that if she spoke, the whole truth would come out of her mouth.

"Anyway, Sir Lucas took over his parents' company and conformed into everything they demand of him. He wasn't happy, but it was the only thing he could do to protect his family, at least that's what he told me. He was fixed into an arranged marriage with Miss Carla, Chloe's mother. He declined and didn't want anything to do with her, but she begged him. Apparently, she got pregnant by her ex-boyfriend and he took off before she could even tell him about their child. Sir Lucas was even enrage when he heard about her pregnancy. But she still pleaded that they wedded."

"Please! Please, Lucas! Please, marry me." Carla begged him on her knees. The tears flooded her face as she sobbed and pleaded him. She was desperate and she needed him to take care of her child. Her baby.

"Why?Why would she do that? Was she that desperate?" Kelsey bit back in anger and Mason could tell that she was getting affected by the story of Lucas' life.

"You're my only hope. Please, Lucas! Do it for my child." Carla cried out in desperation.

"She had recently found, that she had stage two breast cancer." Mason answered, which brought guilt in Kelsey's heart. It was as if someone was squeezing her heart repeatedly. "She was already two months pregnant when she found out and she didn't have the heart to abort her own child." Mason informed her as Kelsey tried to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"Miss Carla decided to go through the pregnancy without getting any treatments for her cancer. It was a risk she was willing to take to make sure that Chloe stays alive. Her cancer got worse throughout her pregnancy, but she endured all of it for Chloe."

Lucas would come home after work only to see Carla crawling her way to the kitchen to get some water or vomiting in the bathroom. Sometimes, he would even hear her screaming in pain when she thought that she was alone in the house. Lucas felt like his chest was repeatedly being poked by a needle whenever he saw Carla suffering and in so much pain.

"Eventually, a few days after giving birth, she passed away. She was happy though, that she had the opportunity to see Chloe even for just a while."

"But why did she marry Sir Lucas?" Kelsey asked inaudibly. Her voice was starting to become coarse and she felt her insides starting to crumble upon hearing the tragic story of Chloe's mother.

"Miss Carla wanted to make sure that Chloe has a person she can call a family. She wanted to make sure that she leaves Chloe with a responsible and loving person who would treat her as their own child. Miss Carla made the right choice, because Sir Lucas loves Chloe very much. His dark life had suddenly turn into a bowl of sunshine when Chloe was born. It's safe to say that she had changed his life."

Kelsey felt a tear escaped her eyes and she couldn't hold onto them anymore. The tears flooded her cheeks and she tried controlling her sobs by placing a hand on her mouth to prevent herself from waking Chloe from her peaceful sleep. Her whole body was shaking in shock and in pain for the story she had heard. She was now very well confused if she was to be furious or be grateful at her father who had left her to save another child's life.

Mason watched her in agony as if he could feel her pain. He hated seeing her cry and it was torturing him to see her in pain. He didn't know why she was very much affected by the story but he felt the need to comfort her. He gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. She buried her head between the crook of his shoulder and neck and sobbed on his shirt. Mason rubbed her back soothingly and kissed the top of her head.