I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 636

"Uncle Garrett?" Lily's face lit up the moment she saw Garrett Kendall. But when her gaze shifted to Hayden, her bright smile instantly vanished, replaced by a dark, guarded frown.

The expression was identical to Zoe's.

Even Hayden was caught off guard. It had been over half a year since he last really interacted with the little girl, and she was growing up to be a mirror image of her mother. A sudden pang hit him as he thought of Holden; the boy favored him just as strongly.

"I want to go with Uncle Garrett," Lily said, reaching out without a second's hesitation to grab Garrett's hand.

Hayden stepped into their path, blocking the way. Abandoning his usual commanding posture, he crouched down to meet Lily at eye level.

"I heard there's a parent-teacher conference at your school today. Are you sure about this?"

Lily blinked, momentarily torn. He was right. Today was the parent-teacher conference. All the other kids would have their moms and dads there, while she would be showing up with Garrett. The preschool Zoe had transferred her to was a hotbed of playground gossip, and parents were the number one topic of conversation. It was relentless.

"How about Dad takes you today, and we let Uncle Garrett take you next time? Hmm?" Hayden asked, his voice softening.

Garrett internally scoffed. Hayden was shamelessly manipulating a child. If he gave up Lily today, Hayden would just invent another excuse tomorrow.

Zoe walked out just in time to witness the tug-of-war. "That won't be necessary," she said coldly. "Neither of you needs to come with me."

Garrett let out a quiet breath of relief. Yara had also emerged from her room early, dark circles under her eyes betraying a terrible night's sleep. She looked thoroughly displeased, especially when her gaze landed on Hayden.

"We're divorced, and I agree the demands in this file are unreasonable," Hayden lied smoothly, looking the picture of helpless resignation. "I argued with Command HQ, but they refused to budge. They insisted on the original protocol and denied my appeal."

He sounded so sincere and earnest that little Lily listened with wide, confused eyes. From what she could gather, her dad wasn't allowed to leave her mom. She didn't fully understand why, and while she still didn't really like him, she wasn't entirely opposed to it either. She looked up at Zoe, silently signaling that as long as her mom was okay with it, she wouldn't fight it.

Murderous intent flashed in Zoe's beautiful eyes. Hayden wasn't just a scoundrel; he was a pathological liar. She'd be a fool to believe a word he said. Argued with Command HQ? Knowing him, he had probably orchestrated the entire mandate himself.

"Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast first," Zoe said through gritted teeth. "We'll leave for the school after we eat."

Without missing a beat, Hayden reached out and wrapped his hand around Zoe's, acting completely at home and entirely ignoring Garrett's presence.