Shattered Illusions Love Lies and Redemption (Lizetta and Remington) novel Chapter 1394

Jerome glanced down, utterly shocked to find a little girl in a hospital gown and a bright red trench coat clinging to him.

The little girl had clearly mistaken him for someone else. After crashing into his legs, she wrapped her tiny arms around his thigh, rubbing her cheek affectionately against his pants as she called out in a sweet, soft voice.

"Mama..."

"Oof!"

At the exact same moment, a distracted Kimberley hadn't anticipated Jerome stopping so abruptly.

She slammed face-first right into his solid back, letting out a soft gasp.

Rubbing her throbbing forehead, Kimberley didn't even have time to wonder why he had frozen before Candy's sweet little voice calling for her mother echoed in the air.

Kimberley's mind short-circuited, all the color instantly draining from her face.

Jerome was equally stunned by the tiny creature calling him 'Mama.'

The little girl had obviously grabbed the wrong person.

But 'Mama'?

Did that mean the mother this little girl was looking for was Kimberley?

Since when did Kimberley have a daughter?

Jerome looked down at the little girl, but since she was practically glued to his leg with her face buried against him, all he could see was the top of her dark hair, styled into two adorable little pigtails bouncing with her every movement.

Jerome had never been a fan of kids. In fact, he usually found them to be an overwhelming nuisance.

But for some inexplicable reason, having this tiny girl clinging to his leg and rubbing against him didn't bother him in the slightest. Instead, it felt like something had struck him right in the chest, filling him with a strange, foreign warmth.

He couldn't even bring himself to peel the child off of him. He just stood there, completely frozen.

Getting no response, Candy finally realized something was wrong.

When she had seen the door open, she assumed her mom was stepping out, so she had lunged forward for a hug.

But why were her mom's legs so hard?

She looked up at Jerome. "Um, I won't walk you out then. She's incredibly clingy with me."

Jerome's gaze remained firmly fixed on Candy, though Kimberley was doing a flawless job of hiding the girl's face.

Her terrified, defensive posture was incredibly suspicious.

He stared at her. "Didn't you say she was your cousin's kid? Why is she calling you Mom?"

Kimberley's breathing hitched, but she forced out a strained laugh to cover her panic.

"My cousin has been swamped with work lately, so I've been taking care of her. Candy just misses her mom so much that she calls everyone Mama. I mean, didn't she just call you Mama too?"

Jerome raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Right then, Karen hurried over from down the hall. Clearly unaware of the tension, she started scolding gently.

"Candy, I told you not to run so fast, how did you... Ah!"

Karen cut herself off with a sharp gasp the moment she noticed the man standing in the doorway. As her eyes landed on his handsome features, she couldn't contain her shock.