A/N: Erica is Taerin. I hope you're not confuse.

~JIYONG~

I couldn’t divert my gaze from Erica’s face for several long seconds. Honestly, her announcement had caught me off guard, but what I found even more disturbing was the protective, almost possessive way she was holding on the baby.

“Don’t you have an audition to go to?” I asked. “I thought you were anxious to get your old life back, chasing your dream to make it big. Your career is always your number one, remember?”

“Well, yeah. But not at the moment.” Erica responded nonchalantly. “Besides, how are you proposing of taking care of Hayi while you drive? I didn’t see any proper safety seat in your car. Maybe you were planning to toss Hayi into the back seat and let fend for herself.”

I bristled at her sarcastic tone. In my race to reach Jeonju before she disappeared again, my only thought had been fixated to one goal, finding my daughter. I hadn’t considered the need for a car seat to transport the baby home.

“And where would I find a car seat?” I asked.

“There’s a baby store in the mall a couple blocks away. You could drive there now.” She suggested.

“And while I’m driving around looking for a store that probably doesn’t exist, you’ll take Hayi and run.” I countered in a cynical tone. “Nope. I don’t think so. But nice try though, Erica. News flash, I’m not that dumb.”

Erica shrugged her shoulders.

I continued to analyze the woman in front of me. I didn’t trust her. Not anymore. Not after she took my daughter away from me. I gave her my trust and she threw it away just like that. And for her to be acting as if she genuinely cared for Hayi, made me even more suspicious of her.

“You’re not serious about coming back to Seoul, are you?” My question startled her, and she met my gaze head-on.

“Of course, I am.” She responded, anger edging her tone.

“I thought you couldn’t wait to get out of my life and Hayi’s.”

The baby shifted in her arms as if to remind us both of her presence. “Hayi’s only two weeks old. She needs me.”

I felt my pulse racing, as the tension emanated from me. I was fighting an internal battle. This Erica who was standing in front of me was certainly making my blood boiled with her confusing actions. Did she honestly think she could fool me again? “How long will it take to get the baby ready?” I asked abruptly, deciding to ignore the turmoil inside of me. “We have a long drive ahead.”

She looked so relief. “Half an hour, maybe more.” She said, and without waiting for a reply she swept past me into the hallway.

I let out the breath trapped in my lungs. I didn’t know what to make of Erica’s behaviors. She sounded so sincere just now when she’d said the baby needed her.

It had to be an act! Giving birth couldn’t possibly have brought about such a dramatic and profound transformation, awake