Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 1399

"Let's have a daughter in the future," Jimmie said softly.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Luella was so startled she choked, coughing violently. She frantically chugged a glass of water to force the food down. Once she finally caught her breath, she stared at him in sheer disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"I said, let's have a daughter in the future," Jimmie replied, calmly wiping her mouth with a napkin, his expression entirely serious. "I don't want a son. I want a girl."

Luella looked at him like he had lost his mind.

Was he okay?

First of all, they weren't even married yet. Second, wasn't the gender of a baby determined by genetics?

And finally... Since when was he the type to favor girls over boys?!

"A girl?" Jared tilted his head back, asking curiously. "Sis, are you going to give me a little sister?"

What kind of chaotic logic was this? Any daughter she had would have to call him 'Uncle,' not 'Brother.'

Ahhhhh. Why did this whole conversation feel so morally dubious?!

"Eat your breakfast." Luella shoved a piece of bread into Jared's mouth to shut him up, then turned her incredulous glare onto Jimmie. "The gender of the baby is determined by the father, Mr. Movie Star."

"If you start taking good care of your health now, I suppose there's a chance I could give you a daughter."

Luella's lips twitched into a teasing smirk. "Good luck with that."

You could influence that?

Jimmie immediately set his silverware down and pulled out his phone to text Juniper.

[Juniper, I want a daughter. How do I prep for that?]

Juniper: [?]

Jimmie: [Yeah, I only want a girl.]

Juniper: [I'm a doctor, not the Stork, okay.]

She honestly hadn't done any research into that particular field of pseudo-science.

Also.

He hadn't even managed to marry the woman yet, and he was already researching how to engineer a daughter?

Juniper: [Listen to me, your priority right now is getting Luella to marry you. Worry about the rest later.]

Jimmie looked up from his phone at Luella. He knew exactly why she was hesitating to get the license.

She was terrified of ruining his career.

But what she didn't realize was that, forced to choose between his career and her, he would choose her every single time.

After breakfast.

"Understood."

Jared was the picture of perfect obedience, clenching his little fists as he swore, "If anyone tries to bully my sister, I'll beat them up."

"Good boy!"

After praising the kid, Jimmie pulled Luella into a tight embrace, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Wait for me to get back. We'll handle the internet mess together."

"Just go already. Stop dragging it out." Luella gave him a light shove, then grabbed Jared's hand and turned on her heel.

Jared stumbled, nearly falling over as he was yanked away. He stammered, "S-Sis, you just didn't want him to see you crying, right?"

"People who know too much end up silenced."

"Oh."

Jared clamped his mouth shut, too terrified to utter another word.

Meanwhile.

In a hidden corner not far away, a paparazzi reporter frantically snapped photos of the duo.

When the lens zoomed in on the little boy standing next to Luella, the reporter's brain practically short-circuited.

Holy crap. Is Jimmie Tate seriously becoming a step-dad?