Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right
Hello 343

Chapter 343

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I knew I had to say something, but the words that came out were more offhand than thoughtful. "I might not be one now, but who knows about the future?"

Thorsten burst out laughing, and Milly, still nestled in his arms, giggled along with him.

"Daddy, this lady is nice. She played with me." Milly chimed in.

This kid definitely thought I was a rockstar.

Her mom, though? Yeah, not so much. Sasha's face darkened, and she gave me this look like she was already convinced I was Thorsten's latest fling or something,

"Well then, from now on, you can always come replace this lady to play." Thorsten said, like I'd somehow become a regular in their lives.

I opened my mouth, unsure what to say. Arguing in front of Milly didn't feel right, so I just brushed it off like he was humoring her.

Then Thorsten walked up to me, still holding Milly, "Got time to play with my daughter? You can name your price."

Wait-was he seriously asking me to babysit? Did he think everyone had as much free time as he did?

Refusing him outright would've been super awkward, especially with Milly watching, so I forced a smile. You're joking, right? I'll play with her, but you don't need to pay me." Thorsten nodded, then turned to Sasha, who was standing there looking anxious. "Get her contact info. Anytime she's free, take Milly to meet her.

Sasha immediately nodded. "Of course, Thorsten. I didn't realize you knew this beautiful lady."

The jealousy dripping from her words was almost too obvious.

Thorsten didn't even acknowledge her comment, and Sasha made no move to actually get my number. It was pretty clear she wasn't taking any of thi seriously

"Alright, didn't we say we were going to have lobster today? Let's go, Daddy's taking you to eat," Thorsten said, kissing Milly again. His love for her was undeniable, and it made me think of Cole. Cole was older than me, yet here was his much younger sister-and his stepmother, who wasn't much older than us either. I couldn't imagine what it was like for him to be part of this mix.

"I want her to come too," Milly suddenly said, looking up at me.

This girl was really warming up to me fast.

Before I could even respond, Sasha, clearly flustered, jumped in. "She's busy today, sweetie. We'll see her some other time, okay?"

"No, I want her to come," Milly insisted.

'Please, don't drag me into this, I silently begged her.

I was just about to come up with an excuse to let her down easy, but Thorsten, ever the troublemaker,

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Chapter 343

smirked and said, "Come along if you're free."

Even if I had all the free time in the world, there was no way I was going.

I jumped at the first excuse I could replace. "Thank you, Mr. Drago, but I need to stay with Matthew."

Thorsten grinned like he'd expected that answer. "Well, in that case, we won't push it. Funny enough, we were just talking about you earlier."

Talking about me? What could they have been saying?

I wasn't about to ask, and Thorsten didn't explain. He just turned back to Milly, soothing her as they walked off.

Sasha followed close behind, but the way they looked together-her trailing a step behind with that uneasy look-you'd think she was walking with her father and daughter, not her partner and child. It was such a strange scene. After they left, I headed to Matthew's room.

He must've been tired from talking to Thorsten because his eyes were closed, resting.

I didn't want to disturb him, so I quiet sat beside his bed, keeping him company.

As I watched him, the silver strands....s hair caught my eye, and my mind wandered back to the man he was ten years ago, and everything he'd done for me.

Lost in thought, I suddenly heard him murmur, "Rea."

"Matthew," I whispered softly, leaning closer, but his eyes stayed shut.

He didn't respond, like he'd said my name in his sleep.

I hesitated, then cautiously called again, "Matthew..."

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