Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan) novel Chapter 373

Hannah nearly burst out laughing, but managed to keep it in.

I, on the other hand, couldn't hold back and snorted with laughter. It wasn't that I was indulging the kids; Jay's face was just too funny all at once.

"You're picking on him when he's tired and cranky!" I said, pulling Jay close to me in explanation.

Then I turned to Carl with a stern look. "You can't hit Daddy again. That's what naughty kids do. If you hit someone again, Mommy's going to be very upset!"

Seeing me scold him, Carl's lower lip trembled and tears welled up in his eyes. He muttered in protest, "Bad Daddy... I don't want Daddy."

The more I scolded, the more he reached out for a hug.

Jay probably felt better, or maybe he was trying to salvage his pride. He clapped his hands and said, "Daddy hug. Mommy's tired!"

Carl, patting away Jaylan's hand, insisted, "Mommy's not tired. Mommy's strong!"

I couldn't help but laugh as I scooped him up. "Mommy's strong, so are we going to hit people next time?"

Through his teary eyes, he promised me, "No, I won’t hit other people, only Daddy! Daddy's naughty. He made me mad!"

We all lost it then, cracking up at the little charmer's antics.

Seeing us all laugh, Carl joined in with a pretend giggle, patting his chubby hands together and repeating that Daddy was the naughty one.

Jaylan whipped out his phone and started snapping pictures of Carl's chubby face. Carl reached for the phone, and Jaylan teased, "Give Daddy a hug, and you can have it!"

After a moment's thought, Carl finally stretched out his arms to Jaylan, who gave him a peck on the cheek and posed for some selfies with him.

When he saw me watching, he tried to drag me into the photo op.

I stepped back, not in the mood, and said, "You've just made him cry, and now you want pictures? Not happening!" In my mind, I was cursing, thinking about how Jaylan would be the one crying tomorrow. I swore I'd never take another photo with him again, to save myself the trouble of dealing with them later.