Danielle's heart skipped a beat.
"Zachary, I... please don't misunderstand, actually I…"
Before she could finish, Zachary walked past her like the wind, carrying Rain in his arms.
Bang.
The door slammed shut.
Danielle...
Forget it. Let him misunderstand if he wants.
She took a deep breath and reopened the door. Inside the small room, Zachary was feeding a nutrient drink to Rain.
There was also a white box on the table. This white material was really versatile—it could be used to build houses, make clothes, and now even to make boxes.
Danielle curiously stepped forward and opened it. Inside were purple-red noodles.
She looked at Zachary in surprise. Could it be that he bought this for her?
"Did you eat?"
Zachary kept a stern face and didn't look up, but he finally spoke.
"I won't spend your money. Tomorrow I'll go out and hunt beasts. I'll transfer the rest of the money to you later."
Danielle frowned slightly. Her feelings toward Zachary were complicated.
If the original Danielle hadn't forced him while drunk and had a child with him only to abandon them, he wouldn't be in this situation.
With his looks and abilities, he wouldn't have fallen this far. And now that he'd lost his innocence, no other woman would want to marry him properly.
Even though they hadn't spent much time together, Danielle could see that Zachary had no intention of being anyone's second or third husband.
All of this had been caused by the original Danielle, but now that she had taken over this life, she couldn't avoid the responsibility.
Besides… Danielle looked at Zachary's determined face. His strong masculine features made her ears turn slightly red.
She had to admit—she liked his looks.
There's a saying: "Pluck the flower while it blooms; don't wait till the branch is bare."
So...
Danielle cleared her throat. "Zachary, can we talk?"
Zachary's handsome face tightened even more, his lips pressed into a straight line.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Danielle glanced at Rain, who was sneakily eavesdropping from the side, and gave a small smile.
"Let's talk about our future."
Zachary stayed silent for a moment, then placed Rain on the sofa and gently patted his head.
"Stay here and eat, okay? Daddy and... Mommy need to talk about some grown-up stuff."
Rain clearly lacked a sense of security. He clung tightly to Zachary's shirt and looked pitifully at Danielle.
"Daddy, is Mommy going to leave us again? I don't want her to go. Please, Daddy, let Mommy stay."
Danielle saw Zachary's fist clench tightly. She walked over and gently ruffled Rain's hair.
"Don't worry, Rain. Mommy's not going anywhere. We're just going to talk."
Rain's big dark eyes stared straight at Danielle.
"Really, Mommy? You're not going to leave me again this time?"
"I won't."
This poor child had clearly been abandoned too many times.
Danielle felt a sharp ache in her heart, as if she were seeing her own childhood.
Right then, she had a strange feeling—saving Rain felt like saving her younger self.
"Mommy keeps her promises. Now be good and eat your food."
After comforting Rain, Danielle and Zachary stepped out of the room.
The place was too small—there was no space to talk without the child overhearing.
They didn't go far, just stood outside the door.
Zachary's whole body was still tense. He stared at the gray sky in the distance, refusing to even glance at Danielle.
"You've got money now. If you want to leave, just go. I can take care of Rain myself. Don't worry—I won't report you for abandonment."
In the past, if he and Rain hadn't still held onto hope for this woman, they wouldn't have forced her to visit once a month under threat of legal action.
But after what he saw earlier, Zachary had completely given up.
After saying that, he turned and started to walk away.
"Who said I'm leaving?"
Zachary turned around quickly, looking shocked. His usual cold and distant voice was gone.
"You're not leaving?"
"Why should I leave?" Danielle asked back without hesitation.
"But just now, you..."
Zachary couldn't bring himself to mention what Danielle said to Mu Qingfeng earlier. Based on what he knew about her, she would definitely try to get close to Mu Qingfeng now that she had money.
So why... was she staying?
"You heard me right. I said those things to Mu Qingfeng on purpose—so he'd feel guilty and give me more money. I don't like him anymore, so I'm not going to chase after him. From now on, I'll stay and take good care of Rain!"
Danielle spoke firmly, but Zachary still looked like he couldn't believe it.
After a long pause, Zachary finally spoke, though a bit hesitantly.
"Are you serious? But you liked him for so many years..."
Danielle shrugged and replied casually, "I did like him, but falling out of love can happen in a moment—especially now that he's not clean anymore."
Boom.
Zachary didn't know what he thought of, but his face turned red and then pale. He glared at Danielle angrily.
"You crazy woman!"
"Huh?" Danielle looked confused.
"Why are you calling me names?"
But Zachary clearly didn't want to say more. The two of them fell into silence again.
Danielle shifted her feet uncomfortably. "I wanted to talk to you about this place. The conditions here are really bad. I want to move Rain to a better area."
Elysium was divided into three living zones. The one Danielle was in now was the outer lower zone, which was too close to the waste zone. The air, schools, and overall living conditions were terrible.
Danielle wanted to move closer to the center. Even though she couldn't get into the top-tier central zone where the elite lived, she could at least go to the middle zone.
Zachary's face got even paler. "Will you really take good care of Rain? Swear it. If you swear, I'll let you take him."
Before Danielle could answer, the door suddenly opened from inside.
Rain came running out, crying loudly, and jumped into Zachary's arms.
"Daddy, I don't want to leave you. I want to stay with both Mommy and Daddy."
"Mommy, please don't take me away. I don't want to leave Daddy."
His crying was heartbreaking. Zachary held him tightly, trying to comfort him.
"Be good, Rain. Go with Mommy. She can give you a better life."
Danielle was stunned.
"Zachary, you're not coming with us?"
Zachary looked up at her sharply. "Coming with you?"
Rain also stopped crying, looking at Danielle with big, tearful eyes.
Danielle nodded seriously. "Yeah, aren't we a family? Or do you plan to leave us and live freely on your own?"
Rain immediately turned to look at Zachary again.
Zachary...
"I thought you just wanted to take Rain and go."
"You're his father, I'm his mother. How can a child live without both parents?"
Danielle said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Zachary was completely confused.
Father, mother? Living together?
Why didn't Danielle ever talk like this before?