22 Be Careful

Crouched, Amelia grabbed on to her daughter's hands and solemnly spoke, "When you return from school, straight go into the apartment and lock up carefully. I don't want you wandering off. Got it? Call me if you are in trouble, alright?"

The nanny was out of the town for this week. Taking an early leave from work was impossible for Amelia. And there was no one else she could find to trust her daughter to.

Even though Evelyn proved to be responsible, she was merely five, and Amelia didn't feel comfortable about leaving her all to herself.

Evelyn smiled and nodded her head.

"Understood, Mom. Rest assured. I am a big girl; I can take care of myself."

Amelia pinched on her daughter's chubby cheeks lightly and stated, "In case of emergency, if you feel scared, just ring the bell of the neighboring aunt's, alright?"

"Noted. Can I leave now?"

Amelia patted on her daughter's back.

"Go off."

With that, Evelyn sprinted through the hallway, down the staircase, and out the apartment building. Her movements came to a halt when she spotted a familiar figure getting into his car.

"Mister!" she exclaimed, grinning widely.

When his eyes met with hers, she left her hand and waved it energetically. He gave her a small wave in response to it.

Then, she rushed off towards her school bus.

On that day, after the school bus dropped her off, her eyes drifted off to the ice-cream van on the opposite. Although her mother told her to go straight home, it wasn't as though this required her to travel far.

And her mom wouldn't know of this.

Making up her mind, she looked at both sides. Seeing that the road was clear, she crossed it. A smile formed on her face at her success.

Then, reaching out into her bag, she took out the coins and asked, "Uncle, can I get a strawberry ice-cream?"

"Got it," answered the man.

Evelyn had to stand on her toes to get a proper view. When the man handed her the cone, she placed the coins on the platform.

Then, waving her hand, she spoke out, "Thank you! Have a good day, Uncle!"

With that, she tried to go to the other side when a bike rode in direction. Hearing the bell, she was caught off guard, and she reacted quickly by jumping back.

But this made her fall back, scrapping her wrist on the road. A wince left her mouth at it. She held the ice-cream high with her other hand, not letting any damage come to it.

"Be careful, kid!"

Rudely leaving those words, the boy was about to ride the bike away when his collar was grabbed, causing him to halt.

He raised his head to see a man sternly staring down at him, intimidating him. Seeing her father there made Evelyn forget about her pain, and she stood up.

"Get down, and apologize," ordered Daniel. There was a hint of suppressed anger in his voice, making the boy almost shudder.

Scared, the boy instantly got down from the bike and said, "I am sorry. I will be careful from the next time."

Evelyn smiled.

"It's okay."

While in her chest, warmth bloomed.

Was this the feeling of her father protecting her?

It was really nice.

She didn't mind getting injured for this.

After that, the boy got on his bike and hurriedly rushed off. Then, Daniel walked over to her and questioned, "Where did you get hurt?"

Raising her wrist, she showed the bleeding injury and said, "Here."

"How do you keep on getting injured so frequently?" he commented, pinching on top of her nose lightly.

Then, he carried her over to his car and dealt with her injury while she concentrated on eating her ice-cream.

Once he was done, he asked, "Don't you have your nanny today?"

"She is busy. Out of town. Today, I am on my own," she said, sounding almost proud.

"On your own? How irresponsible of your mom," he expressed.

This made her feel discontent.

"I will be mad if you talk bad of my mom. I will never ever talk to you if you do it again," she resolutely said, holding her head high and attempting to glare at him.

"You are really protective of your mom, aren't you?"

She proudly nodded.

"My mom is the best!"

He ruffled her hair and asked, "Want to go with me?"

This caused her eyes to sparkle in excitement, and she questioned, "To where?"