Zane’s eyebrows furrowed when he noticed the little girl crying in the hotel parking lot. Jana had been talking in his ears for the past few minutes, and it felt as if he would be deaf in a few minutes if he didn’t find any way to shut her up.

“Zane, I’m starving…” Jana pouted before clinging to his arm more. “Can we swing by the—”

“Will,” he called his assistant, who was following close by. “Please bring Ms. Smith to her appointment.”

He could still hear Jana stomping her feet as he ran across the parking lot to talk to the little girl. He noticed that it was the same child who had given him the strawberry lollipop earlier. Zane couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the girl’s parents. How could they be so irresponsible, letting their child wander like that?

“Hello, why are you crying?” he asked as he knelt in front of the kid, unsure what to do. “Why are you in the parking lot? It’s dangerous out here…”

“Mister Handsome!” The girl’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw him. She immediately ran towards him and hugged him by the neck, still sniffling. “My nanny is forcing me to sleep, but I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna!”

He softly laughed before placing a gentle hand on the girl’s back. Then, he stood up and grabbed her hand. “Look, it’s dangerous to be out here in the parking lot. A little girl like you is quite hard to miss.”

The child pouted. “But I’m looking for my mommy…”

He let out a deep breath and looked at her sad eyes. “Where’s your mommy, then? Maybe this uncle can help you look for her. Or maybe your daddy’s around…”

He glanced around the desolate parking lot. His Ferrari has long been gone, probably because Will doesn’t want to put up with Jana’s tantrums any longer. But aside from a few other luxury cars parked around, he couldn’t see anyone who might help him find this kid’s parents.

“I don’t have a daddy. Mommy said he’s in heaven now…” the kid said, still frowning.

A slight pang hit Zane’s chest. Strange as it was, he felt troubled by what the child said. After all, he grew up without a father either, and his married life wasn’t a better environment, especially for a child like her.

He couldn’t help but wonder if things would’ve been different if he had a child with Alexa. Would she stop being so jealous of everybody? Would she stop her antics, or would she still leave?

He grimaced when he remembered telling her that he didn’t want to have any kids. He won't know the answer anymore, partly because of his own fault.

“Mister, I’m really hungry too…” The girl tugged at his sleeve, making him look back at her once again.

He sighed, picking up the child. “I’ll take you to the hotel’s resto, okay? Then we’ll look for your mother.”

The kid just obediently clung to his neck, without even hesitating. Was he that comfortable to be around? After all, Alexa had always looked like she had seen a monster whenever he was near. Deep inside, he hated it. Even though he rarely showed any emotions in front of her, he hated how she treated him like he was the worst person to have around.

“What’s your mother’s work, anyway?” he asked, curious about how a parent could leave their child in the hands of other people. “She really shouldn’t leave you to the care of strangers…”

“My mom is the most awesome person I’ve ever known!” she bragged. “And she like, owns like this many businesses!” she continued, holding her ten fingers up.

He chuckled. “You know, this Uncle owns like, that many businesses too,” he bragged. “I also own a huge playground for kids like you,” he said, remembering the daycare and playground center he recently bought.

The girl’s eyes glimmered. “Can we go there now?”

He jokingly pinched the girl’s cheek. “Not now, because we have to look for your parents first. Maybe some other time. I’ll give your mom my number so you can call me anytime.”

“Okay!”

The kid was quiet, and Zane kind of liked it that way. After all, his head had been throbbing since he woke up, and he hadn't had enough rest the past few days. He hated fussy and whiny people, which was why he hated Jana’s company lately.

“Didn’t your mommy tell you not to talk to strangers?” he asked as he guided her down to the hotel’s restaurant.

“She did, but I feel comfortable with you, Uncle Handsome,” the girl replied before running off to grab some ice cream. It's a good thing he caught her by the collar of her shirt, or else she would disappear in the sea of people once again.

“Flattery won’t work on me, little miss, but I like your point.”

He silently asked the hotel manager to prepare a private room for him and ordered food for the girl from the kids’ menu, telling him that the child had been wandering around looking for her mother. The child, on the other hand, just swayed her feet while coloring an activity sheet the hotel provided for her.

“Young master, I didn’t know you ran off to help a child,” Will half-scolded him when he called. “Miss Smith was fuming.”

“It’s fine, she’ll get over it,” he answered, massaging his temples. “Please cancel my meeting this evening. I’ll stay with her until her parents show up.”

“Will do, Mr. Williams.”

Zane glanced again at the girl, remembering that he hadn’t asked her what her name was. He took the seat in front of her and watched her color the elephant drawing purple. “What’s your name, anyway?”

“I’m Ari.”

Before he could say anything else, the manager knocked on the door to his room, with a few people behind her. He immediately recognized Ari’s nanny, who was bawling her eyes out.

“Mr. Williams, I’ve found the kid’s guardians,” he said. He nodded and led them to the room where Ari was.

The girl immediately ran towards the nanny and embraced her by the waist. One of the men with her walked up to Zane, making him curious as to who the girl’s parents were. Someone with as many people as this won't be just an ordinary office worker.

“Sir, Miss Ari’s mother would like to invite you to dinner to thank you for helping us.”