Chapter 3 - Little Angel
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Still, being as thirsty as he was, Grey still accepted the offered glass of water and drank it completely before handing the empty glass to the little girl.
"Thank you for the water, um... Diane, right?"
A big smile came upon the little girl's face as she took the glass and replied,
"Yes! Diane is always happy to help Mommy!"
As Grey giggled at the cuteness of the child while starting to observe the child closely, he sighed to himself as he tried to wrestle against the new realities within his mind.
'Well, the child here isn't at fault. The little girl is already this polite and filial at such a young age. Hmm, hmm, she is a good daughter to have after all! I have always wanted to have a cute daughter of my own to dote on, and this child is even blood related to the new me, so essentially, she is my own, one and true daughter!'
'Although it's a shame to not be able to screw around with the chicks in this lifetime, getting a super cute daughter like her is a nice consolation at least. My mother from the past life would have loved to have such a cute and obedient granddaughter. Besides, I really don't dislike children and desired one so badly whenever my friends boasted about their own. If not for my poor past dating skills and empty pockets, I would have... alas...'
Grey reached out his hand to caress the little head of the girl, patting it softly, making the child's smile even brighter.
"My good child, let Mommy here ask you something, okay?"
"Hmm! Sure, you can, Mommy!"
"Okay... so, what is your Mommy's name??"
"Mommy's name... is Linda Wright."
Grey nodded to himself as his strategy to gain more info worked well. Accepting his new identity and gender as Linda, he tried to forget his past male self to quickly adjust his mindset to that of a female.
Grey, now turned Linda, tried to ask for the next most important information from little Diane,
"Ah, I see. And what about your father?"
"F-Father... *sniff* h-he was called Rory Wright..."
The little girl's eyes began to drip with tears, making Linda panic as she hurriedly reached out to wipe away the tears while silently pondering,
'Okay, although it seems that the timing to ask that was bad, but the crucial information is that... the husband has passed away already. It is a sad thing for the little child, and I don't want to sound like a dick, but... I won't have to get drilled by a dude anymore!!'
'But, the mood became heavy already. Let's put away the hard questions for later and try to make the child comfortable instead.'
Linda made up her mind as she hurriedly spoke,
"Don't cry, don't cry, my dear child. Moomy is still here with you, right?"
"Uuhuuu... Mommy, don't leave Diane. Diane can't live without Mommy..."
"Sure, sure, Mommy would forever be with Diane. Your Mommy promises you, okay?"
"R-Really..? *sniff* Pinky promise??"
"Yes, yes. Pinky promise! Mommy loves my dear Diane too much to go away, you know?"
After coaxing the child for a while, the little girl calmed down, reaching out towards Linda. Linda couldn't bear to refuse her sad daughter and hugged her close to her chest as the two began to talk about the small everyday things.
Linda didn't focus on info gathering anymore, trying her best to make the child cheerful again. Unknowingly, the little child's presence calmed Linda's strained nerves and made her outlook towards her new life a lot more positive than before.
She also swore to do her best in this life for her cute daughter, even if she had to put up with some hardships later.
...
The little girl soon fell asleep on the bed as Linda softly patted her hair lovingly. Just then, the door of the private room opened again, and a middle-aged woman, guided by a nurse, arrived next to Linda's bed.
"Daughter-in-law, are you feeling well now? Thank God that you woke up. W-We can't afford to lose you too... not after losing Rory..."
Upon hearing the black haired middle aged woman speak, Linda's face turned awkward as she processed the information slowly.
'So... the husband is gone already, huh? Hearing it from possibly my mother-in-law confirms it. Poor guy, my best wishes for your new life and to the ex-owner of this body. May the two of you find rest and solace with each other. Don't worry, though, I will take good care of your parents and child."
'And... this seems to be a modern world, similar to my past life. Lucky! I don't need to worry about not having the convenient items like internet, phones, and... a toilet! A pity that the princess and elf couldn't be trained...'
The middle-aged woman held Linda's hand softly and patted her hair as she muttered,
"Child, I know that it has been tough on you since Rory passed away. But my boy wouldn't have wanted to see you in a state like this. You must become stronger. Especially for your daughter Diane, you must hold on and try harder. Don't worry, your father-in-law and I will do our very best to support you. Even if we can't earn much, we won't let you or Diane feel troubled. Linda, my dear, you must strive to live well and... happy from now on."
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