Two hours later, Celeste opened the door and came out of her room. She was holding a teddy bear, and her eyes were all swollen.

The teddy bear was the only gift James had ever given her. Celeste treasured it more than any of her other possessions.

"Mom, I don't want this anymore." Celeste held out the bear, pretending to smile as she pushed it into Naomi's hands. "Mr. James only has two chances left."

"Okay." Naomi didn't know how to comfort her.

"I want to have a birthday party and invite my friends. Can I, Mom?" Celeste asked, looking at Naomi hopefully.

Naturally, Naomi couldn't bring herself to say no. Every year, Celeste celebrated her birthday at home with only her.

James had never shown up, as he had never cared.

Naomi agreed, knowing that Celeste was giving James another chance by doing this.

Celeste kept coughing. Naomi was worried about her health, so she decided to let Celeste take a few days off from kindergarten.

Over the weekend, Naomi brought Celeste to an amusement park. While Celeste played, Naomi sat nearby, looking at potential venues for the party.

Suddenly, she heard Celeste crying.

She looked up and saw Liam trying to snatch something from Celeste. Liam was aggressive and spoiled. He insisted on taking the toy from Celeste's hands. When she wouldn't give it to him, he shoved her hard to the ground.

Naomi rushed over and picked Celeste up. "Apologize!" she demanded, glaring at Liam.

Liam turned his head away and lied, "Why should I apologize? She fell by herself!"

"I saw you push my daughter. You must apologize," Naomi insisted.

Liam looked defiant and ready to argue. But when he saw someone who was approaching from behind them, he suddenly dropped to the floor and burst into loud sobs.

"Liam!" James hurried over to check on him.

He had never before looked at Celeste with such urgency and concern.

Naomi let out a bitter laugh.

Liam clung to James' arm and complained, "Daddy, they bullied me. They stole my toy and hit me."

James' expression darkened in anger. He turned around to confront the party that had offended Liam.

But when he saw that it was Naomi and Celeste, he briefly froze. His gaze instantly shifted from concern to coldness.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Mr. James, he pushed me," Celeste said earnestly. "Mom and I didn't bully him. Mom just wanted him to say sorry."

She stopped crying when she saw James, hoping to get his attention.

James frowned and said, "I see. Are you hurt?"

"No." Celeste shook her head, smiling slightly, thinking that James was showing some concern. To her disappointment, he merely nodded indifferently and left with Liam.

Celeste's eyes dimmed.

A deep sorrow filled Naomi's heart. James' favoritism toward Liam had gone too far. He didn't have to love them, but Naomi thought that it was unfair of him to keep hurting Celeste.

"Stop right there," Naomi said through gritted teeth, stepping in front of them. "He needs to apologize."

James' expression soured. Her behavior, which he deemed unreasonable, irked him.

He sternly warned, "Don't make a scene. He's just a child."

Naomi's heart sank, but she didn't back down. "Mr. Hudson, a child should still answer for his or her actions. He pushed Celeste, so he should apologize. The store has security cameras. We can take a look at the footage if it's necessary."

It was the first time she had ever gone up against James. He looked at her in disbelief, his irritation deepening.

But Naomi stood firm. Celeste had already endured too much. She had to stand up for her daughter this time.

Even if James didn't care, she did. She wouldn't let him side with someone else's child at Celeste's expense.

"I'll apologize on his behalf," James said coldly when Liam refused to say sorry. "He didn't do it on purpose."

"Why, you…" Naomi felt her blood run cold. Was James seriously protecting another woman's child to such an unreasonable extent?

"It's okay. I forgive you. Let's go, Mom." Celeste tugged at Naomi's hand, forcing a smile. But as she turned around, tears fell silently down her face.

Naomi felt the same piercing pain that Celeste was feeling in her heart. She croaked, "Okay."

After that day, James never came home again. It was like Naomi and Celeste had somehow reached a tacit agreement. Neither of them brought him up in their conversation.

As Celeste's birthday drew closer, Naomi helped her prepare invitation cards to hand out at the kindergarten. Celeste happily told her that all the classmates she invited had agreed to come.

Two days before the birthday party, Naomi ran into James and Sophia at the kindergarten.

Liam stood between them, crying with his head down. James and Sophia were comforting him. It turned out that Liam had gotten into trouble, and James had been called in as the parent.

Naomi found the scene ironic. James had never once taken responsibility for Celeste. Yet, he was doing his best to play the role of a good father to someone else's child. It seemed that when one loved another person, they would also love their children unconditionally.

Naomi looked away and turned toward the classroom door just as Celeste walked out.

As she passed by James, Celeste hesitated for a second and politely greeted them. "Mr. James, Ms. Hadley."

James heard her and looked up to glance at her.

"Are you here to pick up your child, Ms. Sloane?" Sophia greeted Naomi warmly.

Naomi nodded and said, "Yeah."

Sophia sighed and lamented, "I envy you, Ms. Sloane. Your daughter is so well-behaved, unlike my son… He's always causing trouble. They're both kids without fathers. How did you raise her so well?"

Naomi stayed silent, but Celeste spoke up first while looking directly at James. "Doesn't he have a dad? Let his dad take better care of him, then," she remarked.

James felt diffident and didn't dare meet Celeste's gaze.

"Please don't say that. James and I are just friends," Sophia said shyly.

Celeste's eyes reddened. She didn't want to hear anymore and quickly said goodbye to them.

"Goodbye, Mr. James. Goodbye, Ms. Hadley." She then led Naomi away briskly.

Naomi could feel James watching her. Even after they had gone far, he was still staring at their retreating backs.

"James Hudson, you have one last chance left," Naomi thought.

That evening, James returned home.

Celeste was feeling dejected. So, Naomi had been keeping her company. They were drawing pictures together.

When they heard the door open, both looked up at the same time.

"Mr. James," Celeste greeted.

"You're back," Naomi said.

They greeted him first. But James merely gave a cold nod and handed a wrapped box to Celeste.

"Is this for me?" Celeste was surprised. This was the second gift she had ever received from him.

"Yes," James replied curtly.

"Thank you, Mr. James." Celeste couldn't hide her excitement and opened the box right away.

Inside was a small toy car built from blocks.

Naomi frowned. She had seen the same gift on Sophia's social media page. It was one of the many presents James had given to Liam.

It turned out that this was something Liam didn't want.

"Teach your child properly and make sure she doesn't speak nonsense again," James scolded Naomi. "And stay away from Sophia."

James had only returned home to issue a warning. He was worried that she might say something she shouldn't to Sophia.

Naomi let out a cold laugh. "Sure."

Noticing that he was still standing in the same spot, she asked dismissively, "Anything else?"

James looked at her. "Transfer Celeste to another kindergarten. She can go anywhere she wants. I'll have someone take care of the admission."

Naomi's heart sank. It seemed that he wanted to sever all ties with them completely.

She looked at Celeste, who had her head down. Soundlessly, her tears fell onto the newly acquired toy car.

"Okay." Naomi knew that there was no point in saying no.

After achieving his goal, James was prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Celeste stood up and ran to him.

Mustering all her courage and with tear stains still fresh on her face, she asked, "Mr. James, the day after tomorrow is my birthday. Can you celebrate it with me? Just this once, please."

Naomi turned her head, unable to bear the sight of the scene before her.

James remained silent as Celeste looked up expectantly, waiting for his answer.

After a long pause, James finally nodded and said, "Alright."

Celeste beamed with joy and wiped away her tears. She ran to the table to grab an invitation card and gave it to him. "The address and time are on here. Please don't be late." she reminded him over and over again.

James put away the card and turned to leave.

"Mom, Mr. James said yes!" Celeste ran over, practically bouncing with excitement.

"I heard him," Naomi said, her smile faint.

Celeste loved James. Just a few simple words from him could make her happy for the entire day. Before bed, she retrieved the teddy bear she had thrown away from her room and placed it beside the toy car.

Naomi was deeply worried, wondering if James would really show up.

If he wasn't going to show up, she would have rather he said no from the start. It was better than raising Celeste's hopes only for them to be brutally crushed again.

James took the invitation card to Sophia, so Liam saw it. Right away, he burst into tears.

"What's wrong?" James and Sophia asked at the same time.

Liam held up the invitation card and said between sobs, "Celeste invited a-all our classmates… b-but she didn't invite m-me."

"Stop crying. If she didn't invite you, it's probably because you bullied her the other day. Apologize to her, and she'll invite you next time," Sophia said as she held Liam and glanced at James.

"No! I want to play with the other kids. I also want to have a birthday party on that day. I want it! I want it!" Liam wailed in Sophia's arms so hysterically that he was almost gasping for breath.

"But it's not your birthday that day," Sophia said helplessly.

"Then let's not make it a birthday party but something else. Please, Mom. I just want to play with my classmates," Liam insisted.

"Be good. Don't cry." Sophia couldn't calm him down, so she started crying herself.

"Stop crying. I'll throw you a party," James said, picking him up. "We'll do it on that day and invite the whole class."

"Really?" Liam wiped his tears and looked at James excitedly.

James nodded.

Liam broke into a grin and hugged him while cheering repeatedly.

Naomi and Celeste were unaware of James' decision. They continued preparing for the birthday party together.

The day before the party, Naomi withdrew Celeste's enrollment from the kindergarten. Once they got home, Celeste kept checking the time, hoping the day would pass faster.

As the birthday drew closer, Naomi's anxiety increased. She feared that James would break his promise again.

That morning, she sent James a message to remind him. It read, "The party starts at 5:00 pm. Don't be late."

This time, James replied almost immediately. "Okay."

Naomi looked at Celeste, who was playing a game on the tablet nearby, and let out a small sigh of relief.

If James actually came, should she still leave?

After lunch, Naomi brought Celeste to the hotel, and they began decorating the suite together.

"Mom, do you think Mr. James will come?" Celeste asked. She was starting to worry, too. Subconsciously, she glanced toward the window every now and then.

Naomi showed her the message from the morning and said, "He probably will."

Celeste smiled and went back to playing with the balloons.

Once the decorations were done, Naomi received a call from a parent. They said that something had come up, and that their child couldn't make it. They exchanged a few polite words before hanging up.

To Naomi's surprise, more and more parents started calling.

"Mom, are none of them coming?" Celeste asked after overhearing the calls. Her cheerful expression faltered, but she said, "It's okay. As long as Mr. James comes, I'm fine. I just want to spend my birthday with Mom and Mr. James."

Naomi's heart went out to Celeste because of her understanding nature. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

She sent another message to James. But this time, he didn't reply.

The time for Celeste's birthday party to start came and went, yet not a single one of her classmates showed up.

Naomi glanced at her phone and saw that Sophia had updated her social media account. She had thrown an enrollment celebration for Liam and invited the entire class. The photos showed all the children and parents together, with James standing in the center.

Sophia's caption read, "Thank you, James, for organizing the party. Liam was thrilled."

Naomi's hand trembled, and her phone slipped to the floor.

James had known it was Celeste's birthday, yet…

Celeste picked up the phone and stared blankly at the photo. This time, she didn't cry.

"Let's eat, Mom," she said, placing the phone on the table and pulling the cake closer. "Help me light the candles."

Naomi's heart hurt so badly that she could hardly breathe. She lit the candles and turned off the lights.

"I hope Mr. James will always be happy. Mom and I have each other. I hope we'll stay together forever," Celeste mumbled.

Listening to Celeste's wish, Naomi couldn't hold back anymore and let her tears flow. When the candles went out, she quickly wiped her face and smiled at Celeste. "Let's eat."

"Mom, from now on, I only want to celebrate my birthday with you. After we finish eating, let's leave." Celeste took a bite of the cake and finally broke down in sobs.

Naomi pulled her daughter into her arms. "Don't cry. I'll take good care of you from now on."

James had exhausted all his chances. She and Celeste would no longer look back.

That night, Naomi and Celeste packed their things and left the villa. They booked the earliest flight to Aberford.

Before boarding, Naomi sent one last message to James. "James Hudson, I wish you a happy life."

Then, she turned off her phone and boarded the plane with Celeste.

From that moment on, they had nothing to do with him anymore.