Nathan felt a strange jolt when the woman bumped into him. He glanced toward her, but she had her back turned, adjusting the bags in her hands. When she finally looked at him, he instinctively turned away, suddenly unsure of himself.
"Sorry," Vicky said softly, then quickly walked away.
He stood still for a moment, confused by the odd flutter in his chest. Shaking it off, he made his way to the warehouse.
Inside, one of his employees approached with a clipboard.
"Sir, these are the damaged goods. The market needs 500 delivered by tomorrow morning. Please sign here," the man explained.
"Alright. Call me before the delivery—I want to inspect some of them for my upcoming product line," Nathan replied, taking the pen.
"Yes, Sir," the man nodded, but then froze, his eyes locked on something. A smile crept onto his face.
"Uh… Sir, there's… an earring stuck to your shirt."
Nathan looked down and found a delicate earring clinging to his fabric. He gently removed it, his mind flashing back to the moment he collided with that girl—Vicky.
The worker chuckled. "I've never seen my boss like this."
"Neither have I," another muttered with a grin.
Nathan, silent, slipped the earring into his pocket.
Later that afternoon, Nathan headed to his car. Just across the street, Vicky was holding shopping bags while Faith was skipping along beside her. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew Faith's paper doll into the road.
"My baby-paper!" she gasped and darted after it, unaware of the oncoming traffic.
"Faith!" Vicky shrieked, panic surging through her.
Nathan saw the child sprinting into danger at the same time. Without thinking, both he and Vicky ran toward Faith. Just as a car honked loudly, they each grabbed her from opposite sides and yanked her to safety.
All three stood breathless.
"You okay?" Nathan and Vicky asked in unison.
Faith grinned. "What could happen to me with my bestie and Mr. Charming here?"
Vicky's heart was still racing. "Faith! Why did you run into the road like that?"
"I was getting my baby-paper," Faith said innocently.
"Don't ever do that again. What if something happened to you? Do you want Mommy to cry?" Vicky scolded, her voice trembling.
Nathan blinked—Mommy?
Faith pouted. "No… I'm sorry, Mommy."
"Next time, just call me, and I'll get it for you."
"Okay, stop scolding me…" Faith huffed. Then she turned to Nathan, "Aren't you gonna scold me too, Mr. Charming?"
Nathan smiled gently. "No, I think Mommy handled it. But you should always listen to her. She gives enough shoutings for the whole nation."
Vicky gave him a look—half amused, half confused.
"I promise I won't make Mommy sad," Faith said. "And bestie always says to be thankful, so now… you both have to kiss me!"
Nathan and Vicky stared at her.
"What?"
"Mr. Charming on this cheek, bestie on the other," Faith demanded, standing proudly.
The adults looked at each other, hesitant and flustered. They leaned in at the same time—but Faith jumped back.
And just like that, their lips met.
Frozen. Breathless. Awkward.
Faith burst out laughing.
"I—I'm sorry?" Vicky stammered, eyes wide, voice as thin as air.
Nathan, speechless, turned away and walked off.
Vicky gave Faith a dramatic frown. "You're in so much trouble, missy."
Still giggling, Faith grabbed her hand and skipped along.
Back at home, Vicky helped Emily unpack groceries while Faith ran to her mother's apartment next door. When she was done, she went straight to Evan's room.
"Evan!" she called.
"Hey! Guess what?" he grinned, holding something shiny.
"What happened? You told me to rush home, I was worried. You didn't even wait for us!"
"Ta-da!" he exclaimed, proudly holding up a silver medal.
"Oh, the results came out?"
"Yeah! I came second—the girl from Windhoek Private took first. But next time, I'll beat her. Just wait and watch."
"This is amazing! Keep it up!" Vicky hugged him tightly. "I'm so proud of you."