Chapter 6 Alaina Collins

A black Maybach drove on the tarred road which had a series of tall sycamore trees on each side all the way to the Collins family's mansion.

The mansion stood tall amidst the darkness, looking more majestic than ever.

Matthew walked into the house to find his father sitting on the sofa in the living room. He bowed and greeted, "Good evening, Dad. Why are you still up?"

With his walking stick in hand, Kristian snorted, "How can a troubled man sleep? If you still consider me as your father, you'd better find yourself a wife who would take care of Candy like a mother would. Get married soon so I don't die filled with regrets. You want me to rest in peace, don't you?"

Matthew let out an exasperated breath. For the past three years, Kristian had been breathing down his neck for him to date someone and then get married. The pressure was getting worse recently.

Matthew calmly explained, "Dad, you know I don't mind marrying any of the women you introduced to me. All of them are the same in my eyes. But not for Candy. She doesn't like any of those women, so I can't marry them."

Kristian hit the marble floor hard with his walking stick and said angrily, "Do you think I was born yesterday? Look at me. I know you are using Candy as an excuse. That little girl never said she disliked those women!"

Matthew pinched the bridge of his nose. With his other hand in his pocket, he said, "Dad, since you have nothing else to say, I'll go upstairs to my daughter."

"Stop right there!"

Kristian painstakingly stood up and walked over to his son aided by his stick. "Since Candy doesn't like any of those women, go find her biological mother! Do you really think you can fool me? I know her mother is not dead! What do you think you are doing trying to bring up a little girl alone? You don't even have a woman by your side! It's only a matter of time before the word gets out that a bachelor has a child. How do you think people will treat her when they find out that she was born out of wedlock? Have you ever thought about the repercussions of your actions?"

As he stared at the stairs before him, Matthew's sharp eyes darkened.

"Fine, Dad! I'll bring a woman home before the end of this month."

"You had better not let me down," Kristian said coldly, pointing his walking stick at his son briefly.

Matthew went upstairs and pushed open the door of the room just beside his. In the room which was decorated with pink, a tender and lovely toddler was sitting on the bed with a kid's illustration book in her little hands. One look at his daughter and Matthew got rid of his coldness and annoyance. "My sweet little princess, why are you still awake?"

At the sound of her father's voice, Alaina Collins, whose nickname was Candy, raised her head. She threw away the book, lifted the yellow Snoopy blanket, and jumped out of bed barefooted. Worried that she would slip and fall, Matthew strode over and picked her up.

Alaina hugged him tightly and flashed a set of white tiny teeth. She then said cutely, "Daddy, I was waiting for you. I haven't seen you for five days. Did you miss me?"

"Of course, I did!" Matthew kissed her soft cheek and said apologetically, "I have just been very busy at work so that I can make more money to buy you all the food, chocolates, snacks, and dolls. You like the sound of that, don't you?"

The little girl pouted and shook her head. "I don't want food, toys, or chocolate anymore. Can you play with me every day instead? The kids in my kindergarten always come to school with their mommy and daddy. But Grandpa takes me to school instead. I'm sad."

Matthew sat down on the edge of the bed with his daughter in his arms. He brushed her curly hair away from her face and said softly, "Food is good for you. If you don't eat, how will you get taller? Sweetheart, I promise to spend more time with you. I'll take you to the zoo this weekend, okay?"

Alaina's eyes lit up and then became a size smaller as she smiled brightly. She gave him a bear hug and said, "Daddy, don't lie to me, okay?"

The toddler began to jump on his thighs happily. She leaned back a little, raised her pinky, and said, "Pinkie swear?"

Matthew smiled and quickly locked his little finger with hers. "Pinkie swear! May I turn into a puppy if I don't take you to the zoo."

Just as they made that pact, the sleeve of Alaina's nightwear slipped down. A red bruise on her arm was revealed. Matthew grabbed her small hand and asked with his eyes widened, "Who did this to you?"

The smile on Alaina's face disappeared. Her head dropped low again as she pouted. "The kids at school are always laughing at me because my parents don't drop me off every day. I told them I had a daddy, but Lynne called me a liar and said I didn't have any parents."

Matthew's brows were slightly relaxed. "So, you fought with her?"

The little girl rubbed her face on his chest and asked sulkily, "Daddy, is my mommy really on Mars? When can I go to meet her?"

Sometime ago, her father had told her that her mother lived on Mars. But the planet was so hot that a kid couldn't survive there. She knew she had to grow up before she could go over to find her mother. But how long would that take? Two years? Three? Maybe five?

A gloom fell on Matthew's face. He held his daughter's hand and looked into her eyes. "Sweetie, do you really want your mommy?"

Alaina nodded hard and said innocently, "Today, my teacher asked us to draw a picture of us with our daddy and mommy. I don't know what Mommy looks like, so I drew only you holding my hand. The teacher scolded me for that. I don't want to be scolded again. Can we go pick Mommy up and bring her home?"

Matthew went silent. After staring at his daughter's teary eyes for a long time, he was reminded of the red eyes of that woman who flirted with him at the dinner party earlier on. Hers was very similar to his daughter's.

Puzzled by her father's long silence, Alaina held his neck and shook him as hard as she could. "Daddy, did you hear me? Can you go pick Mommy up from Mars? I want her."

Being the ever-doting father he was, Matthew couldn't bear to see his child like this. He didn't know what to say, so he just looked at his watch, took her to bed, and tucked her in. He stroked her hair and said, "It's way past your bedtime. Go to sleep now. I'll take you to school tomorrow morning."

Alaina grabbed his index finger with her small hand. Looking up at him, she said seriously, "That's a promise. You must go bring back my mommy from Mars."

Matthew lowered and kissed her on the forehead. "Good night, sweetheart."

"G'night, Daddy," she replied, winking and then smiling at him.

A few minutes later, Matthew quietly walked out of his daughter's room and called his assistant, Bruce Myers.

"I need you to bring me everything you can find on that surrogate from three years ago."

Bruce, who was half asleep, jarred awake in shock. His boss hadn't bothered to learn about the woman he slept with more than three years ago. Everything was kept a secret and was never mentioned for so long. Why did Matthew suddenly ask that he find the woman now? Did something happen?

"Okay, boss. I'll get right to it," Bruce responded, suppressing his curiosity.