Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 34

For a moment, the woman and the little girl just stared at each other in utter silence.

"Stella Kane."

A warm, deep voice came from behind them.

Hester turned around. Jasper had walked out and was standing just a few steps away.

Meeting her gaze, Jasper clarified, "She's trying to say her name is Stella Kane. She just has a bit of trouble with her pronunciation."

"Dada!" Gigi's eyes instantly lit up. She let go of Hester and ran straight for her father.

Jasper scooped his daughter up into his arms and looked at Hester. "Ms. Carrington, I hope Gigi didn't give you any trouble."

Hester stood up. "Not at all. She's absolutely adorable."

The little girl pointed a tiny finger right at Hester. "Mama~"

Jasper froze, then slowly turned his head to look at Hester.

Hester shifted her weight, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Gigi, this is a nice lady," Jasper corrected his daughter with endless patience. "Remember what we talked about? When we meet a new lady, we say 'Hello.' We can't just call people Mama."

"Mama!" The little girl stubbornly kept her finger pointed at Hester. "Mama~"

Hester gave a helpless smile. "She's still so little, Mr. Kane, please don't worry about it. She probably just felt a connection and used the word she knows."

"Gigi is incredibly shy around strangers. Outside of me, she almost never speaks to anyone." Jasper looked at Hester, his eyes soft. "It seems she really does like you."

Hester nodded, not reading too much into it, and smiled. "I really like her too."

"Well, isn't that just fate!" The woman clapped her hands together, beaming. "Maybe it's meant to be! Are you single, Miss? If you are, you should really consider Mr. Kane! He's successful, handsome, and Gigi is such a good girl!"

Seeing his daughter desperately trying to follow Hester, Jasper felt completely out of his depth. He had raised her for years, and this was the very first time she had ever shown such intense affection for someone other than him.

He offered an apologetic smile. "She's never acted like this before. I'm so sorry if she's making you uncomfortable."

"You're overthinking it, Mr. Kane. I think she's precious. I really do like her."

Jasper let out a quiet sigh of relief. "As long as you don't find us annoying."

"She's an absolute sweetheart." Hester looked at Gigi, reaching out to gently stroke her hair. Her voice softened. "Be a good girl, Gigi. I have to go take care of some things today, but when I'm not so busy, I'll come back and visit you, okay?"

Though she clearly didn't want Hester to leave, Gigi obediently nodded.

Hester said her goodbyes, got into her car, and drove toward the DNA testing clinic. She picked up the report and checked the time—4:00 PM.

She called Neil to confirm Julian was still at the office, then drove straight to Weston Corp.