My Child and I Married a Billionaire

Chapter 7: Damien Got Blocked

Editor: Henyee Translations

As a gleaming Bentley pulled up outside the daycare, Damien stepped out with his assistant, his expression dark and forbidding. Candy, who had been anxiously watching from the window, immediately rushed toward the classroom door. "My daddy’s here! Daddy!"

The daycare director and Candy’s teacher froze when they saw him.

This wasn’t an elite preschool. Most of the children came from ordinary working families who needed affordable childcare while they were at work. No one had expected one of their students to have a father who was not only handsome, but obviously wealthy as well.

Maybe they shouldn’t have called him. If he decided to hold them responsible for what had happened, things could get very troublesome.

The teacher quickly picked Candy up just as Damien reached the classroom door. Then he saw her injury. Her usually rosy face was pale. Her lips had lost all color. She looked listless as she leaned against the teacher’s shoulder. One small arm was wrapped in gauze already stained bright red with blood.

The moment she saw him, the tears she had been holding back burst free. "Daddy, I need a hug."

Although she wasn’t related to him, the sight of an injured child instantly made Damien’s anger surge. "What happened?"

He took Candy into his arms and carefully examined her injury. For a moment, he genuinely wanted to shut the entire daycare down.

The director hurried forward. "They’re little children. Bumps and scrapes happen all the time." She forced a smile. "Please don’t worry. The nurse already checked her. It’s only a small cut. She’ll be fine in a few days."

A small cut? Was this woman blind? The blood had already soaked through the bandages, yet she spoke as though it were nothing. How could people like this be running a daycare?

Before Damien could say another word, his assistant had already stepped aside and started making calls.

Once they were in the car, Candy curled up against Damien’s chest and looked up at him. Only then did she finally feel safe.

"Mister, thank you for coming." Her voice was soft. "Did I pull you away from work again?"

By now, blood had stained Damien’s white shirt, but he didn’t seem to care. He gently tapped her cheek. "Not at all." Then he asked, "Didn’t I tell you that you could call me anytime?" His expression softened. "Now tell me. How did you get hurt?"

Candy didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she stared out the window. Her expression was unusually serious. "Mister..." She hesitated. "Do children without fathers always get looked down on?"

The question hit Damien like a punch to the chest.

She was so young. Yet she was already asking questions that cut straight to the heart. His voice softened. "Why would you think that?" Then he asked carefully, "Did someone say something to you?"

Not wanting to cause trouble for her mother, Candy shook her head. "I just think Mommy has it really hard." She lowered her gaze. "My daddy helped make me, but he doesn’t take care of me."

Her small voice grew quieter.

"Mommy has to do everything by herself."

She paused.

"My aunt always says I’m a burden."

Another pause.

"She says I’m bad luck." Her fingers tightened around her sleeve. "And sometimes she calls me a stray nobody wanted."

The words came out so matter-of-factly that Damien felt his heart tighten.

Candy looked out the window again. "Sometimes I think..." She swallowed. "If I wasn’t here, maybe Mommy would have a much better life."

For a moment, Damien didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t understand it. What kind of man could bring a child into the world and then abandon her completely?

After a long silence, he finally said, "Your mother chose to have you because she loves you." Candy looked at him. "Don’t listen to what other people say." His voice was calm and steady. "Nothing matters more than you and your mother’s happiness."

Candy nodded slightly. Then, after a while, she suddenly asked, "Mister, what’s a wedding gift?"

The abrupt change in topic caught Damien completely off guard. For a moment, he didn’t know how to answer. "What made you think about that?"

"My aunt says any woman who gets married without receiving a wedding gift is stupid." Candy frowned. "She says she must have rocks in her head and no self-respect." She blinked. "So I wanted to know what it means."

Damien thought for a moment. "It’s a traditional gift a groom gives when he gets married." He was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "Did your mother get married again?"

"No." Candy shook her head.

The blood loss had left her exhausted. Before long, she grew quiet. Then she fell asleep.

At the hospital, Candy was taken away to have her wound stitched. While waiting outside, Damien found himself thinking about Cecelia. She was also a single mother raising a daughter alone.

Had she faced the same difficulties? She hadn’t asked him for a wedding gift either. Had her family criticized her for it?

He had never been married. To be honest, he knew very little about those kinds of family matters.

"Ryan."

His assistant immediately stepped forward. "Yes, Mr. Vaughn?"

"When people get married..." Damien paused. "Is a wedding gift really that important?"

Ryan nearly stumbled. He had never expected Damien to become so invested in a little girl he had met by chance. Not only had he postponed work twice for her, he had personally come to pick her up and was now seriously contemplating her questions.

"From what I understand, yes." Ryan thought carefully before answering. "It’s a tradition that’s been around Veridia for generations." He continued, "For many families, marriage isn’t considered complete without the proper formalities."

Then he added, "If a woman from a respectable family marries without any of them, people will definitely talk." freeweɓnovel.cøm

A faint frown appeared between Damien’s brows. "What’s the usual gift in Veridia these days?"

Ryan froze. Why was he asking that? Did he intend to give Cecelia Archer a wedding gift?

Ryan had personally handled their marriage registration. He knew perfectly well that the marriage wasn’t real. Still, he wisely kept those thoughts to himself. Instead, he listed several common gifts.

Damien listened quietly. Then he pulled out his phone. Whatever Cecelia’s reasons for seeking him out, he still owed her for what had happened years ago. The sooner he settled the debt, the sooner everything could be put behind them.

Meanwhile, Cecelia had spent the entire afternoon running around. Only now did she finally have time to sit down, drink some water, and check her phone.

A few minutes earlier, she had received a WhatsApp friend request.

The note read: This is Damien.

The name matched the one on her marriage certificate.

Why did he suddenly want to add her?

Assuming he had something important to discuss, she accepted the request.

Cecelia: Hello. Is there something you need?

A second later, a transfer request popped up.

Seventy thousand dollars.

Then another message arrived.

Damien: I’ve already transferred another seventy thousand dollars to your Google Pay account. Together, this is your wedding gift. Take it.

Cecelia stared at the string of zeros. For a moment, she genuinely thought she was hallucinating. They had agreed to divorce in a month. Why was he suddenly giving her a wedding gift?

And such a huge amount, too.

What exactly was he trying to do? Could he possibly be serious? Did he actually intend to make the marriage real?

There was no denying that Damien was handsome. Generous, too. But Cecelia had absolutely no intention of marrying him for real. It wasn’t because she looked down on his profession.

Quite the opposite.

A man like Damien would never lack admirers. She, on the other hand, was just an ordinary woman trying to raise her daughter and live a peaceful life. She didn’t want to become entangled with anyone. And she certainly couldn’t afford to gamble with her heart.

Without hesitation, she rejected the transfer. Then she contacted Google Pay customer support and arranged for the transferred money to be returned as well.

Finally, she sent him a message.

Cecelia: Mr. Damien, I think you’ve misunderstood. I truly only asked for a temporary favor and nothing more. I’m sorry.

A few moments later, Damien’s phone buzzed. He looked down. The Google Pay transfer had been returned. So had the WhatsApp transfer.

She had rejected the money again.

Didn’t she need money? Did she really want nothing from him except a favor?

For the first time in a long while, Damien found himself unable to understand someone.

He disliked complicated dealings. Especially with women. More than that, he disliked unresolved issues. If a problem existed, he preferred to solve it immediately.

So he decided to simply ask her what she wanted. His fingers moved across the screen. He typed out a message. Then he pressed send.

The message failed.

Damien stared at the screen. Then he stared some more.

Message could not be delivered.

A moment later, realization dawned.

Cecelia Archer had blocked him.