My husband doesn't love me or our daughter. It's been six years since she was born, but he's never held her.

The doctors say he has an emotional disorder, and that he doesn't know how to express the way he feels.

But when his true love returns, he smiles at us for the first time. He even brings our daughter a gift.

I think it's because he's finally seen sense… until she and I see the photo he uses as his phone's wallpaper.

In it, his eyes are crinkled as he smiles. He has one arm around a little girl whose front tooth is missing, and he holds his true love's hand with the other.

My daughter tugs on my hand, and her eyes redden. "Mommy, do you think we should leave? Should we give Daddy three final chances? Let's leave him if he still doesn't want us after that."

I gently stroked my daughter Daisy Reeves's head and nodded. Then, I put my phone back in its place and pretended nothing had happened. Yet, no matter how I tried, the bitterness still filled my chest.

Eventually, I sighed and coaxed Daisy back to her room. After all, I had promised her to give her father, Connor Reeves, three more chances. So, Daisy still treated him like her father, just like before.

Daisy even brought home a plaster doll she made in kindergarten for Father's Day. She timidly asked me, "Do you think Daddy will like my gift?"

I saw the dried-up clay in Daisy's fingernails that wouldn't be washed away even with scrubbing. With a heavy heart, I gently cleaned her hands. Noticing the tiny cuts on her delicate fingers, I patted her head and assured her, "Daddy's going to love it."

Sure enough, Daisy's whole face lit up when she heard that. In truth, she wasn't naturally good at making clay figures. However, after spotting one on the shelf in Connor's study, she figured he liked them, so she started learning at her kindergarten.

She had probably ruined countless attempts before finally making one successful figurine.

That night, Daisy sat on the couch waiting until midnight, but Connor didn't return. When I went to carry her back to bed, I accidentally woke her up. She asked groggily, "Is Daddy home?"

I shook my head. "Mommy's taking you to bed first. I'll wake you up when Daddy comes home."

"No, I want to wait for Daddy right here!" Daisy refused to sleep and curled up on the couch, nodding off as she waited.

Finally, the front door creaked open—Connor was home.

Daisy jumped off the couch right away, excitedly holding up her plaster doll with both hands. She beamed, saying, "Happy Father's Day, Daddy!"

Connor visibly froze for a second. Then, he reached out stiffly and took the gift, muttering a rough "thanks".

Daisy's eyes lit up instantly, and she eagerly asked, "Daddy, do you like it?"

However, Connor didn't answer. Instead, he just walked straight into his study without another word. Daisy tried to follow, but he snapped, "How many times have I told you not to come into my study?"

She flinched, trembling slightly as she mumbled, "Okay, Daddy… I got it."

She looked up, trying to gauge Connor's reaction, only to see him casually toss the plaster doll on the desk. Then, he took another clumsily woven string bracelet and hung it carefully on his bookshelf.

Daisy's eyes reddened, and she blurted out, "Daddy, did Hazel give you that?"

Connor's hand froze midair. His expression shifted into something uneasy.

Daisy seemed to instantly understand something and quickly backed out of the study. She muttered, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I promise I'll never go into your study again."

I watched from the side, feeling an unbearable pain in my chest. Daisy was only six years old, yet she had already learned how to read people's moods, just to keep Connor in her life as her father.

Connor had two chances left.

That night, Daisy didn't cry. She just asked me, "Mommy, you said Daddy has trouble showing emotions and doesn't know how to love us… But why does he like Hazel so much? Do you think that… maybe one day, he'll like me the way he likes Hazel?"

Facing her hopeful gaze, I suddenly felt stumped, not knowing how to respond. Was I supposed to tell her that Faye Snyder and Hazel were Connor's exceptions?

Faye was his "one that got away", and Hazel was Faye's daughter. Those two didn't have to do anything to earn Connor's affection, while Daisy and I couldn't melt the coldness in his heart no matter how hard we tried.

His study was filled with gifts from Daisy and me, but he never looked at them. They just sat there in the corners collecting dust. Yet, he treasured Hazel's gifts like they were made of gold.

I didn't want to lie to Daisy, so I started thinking about how to explain without hurting her. Before I could say anything, she hugged me in silence, like she already understood.

I made another mental note that night, thinking, "Connor, you have two chances left."

…

After that day, Daisy truly never stepped foot into Connor's study again. She acted like she didn't care as much anymore, but whenever Connor came home, her eyes still instinctively trailed after him.

However, whenever he tried to speak to her, she'd shrink back and look terrified. Seeing that, he stopped trying and would just walk away without another word.

Then came Daisy's birthday. She finally built up the courage to ask, "Daddy, can you spend my birthday with me?"

Connor was fiddling with the crooked friendship bracelet on his bookshelf when he heard her question. He frowned and asked, "When's your birthday again?"

Even though he didn't remember, Daisy wasn't hurt. Instead, she answered sincerely, "My birthday's the day after tomorrow. Can we celebrate it together, Daddy?"

Connor thought for a moment and shook his head. "I've got something going on that day."

Hearing this answer, Daisy didn't cry or throw a tantrum. She just lowered her head and softly defended him, "Daddy works really hard, and I should try to be more understanding."

She turned to me and suggested, "Mommy, let's celebrate with Grandma instead."

As I looked at how sweet and mature she was trying to be, my heart ached all over again. I pulled her into my arms and said, "Okay. We'll celebrate with Grandma."

…

When her birthday came, Daisy tried her best to hide her disappointment. Even so, my mother-in-law, Esther Chambers, still noticed something was wrong. "Sweet Daisy, why do you look so sad? Did someone upset you? Tell me."

Daisy shook her head vigorously. "I'm not sad."

Esther gently rubbed her head and asked, "Let me guess… Is it because Daddy didn't come, and you miss him?"

Daisy froze when Esther hit the mark. She didn't know how to argue with that, so she just kept defending Connor, saying, "Daddy's just really busy. Please don't blame him, Grandma."

Esthe replied, "Daisy, you're such a good girl. How could your daddy not show up for your birthday? I'll call him right now. He wouldn't dare ignore me."

I saw the hope flash back into Daisy's eyes. She asked eagerly, "Will he really come?"

Esther pretended to scold Connor on the phone, though she never actually dialed. However, Daisy didn't notice, and her little face turned rosy with joy.

Esther reassured Daisy, "Don't worry. Your daddy said he'll be here soon."

I didn't expose the lie. I only wanted Daisy to enjoy her birthday happily.

I said, "Daisy's art competition is next week, and I bet she'll win first place again."

Esther praised her, "Daisy is so talented! Connor's company needs a child art prodigy—why not let Daisy be the one?"

Never having received Connor's approval before, Daisy looked at me uncertainly. "Mommy, do you think I can do it?"

I encouraged her, "You can definitely do it, Daisy."

After dinner, Daisy needed to use the bathroom, and Esther went with her. But barely two minutes passed before I heard Daisy scream.

In her tiny, trembling voice, she shouted, "I'm Daddy's daughter! Not you!"

I rushed out immediately and saw Hazel, Faye's daughter, pushing Daisy. My maternal instincts kicked in, and I lunged forward to catch Daisy in my arms. I demanded, "Why did you push Daisy?"

Just when I turned to look, Hazel wiped at her eyes and started to cry, pointing straight at Daisy. She whined, "Daisy was mean to me first, so I pushed her. Daddy Connor, you need to help me!"

I stepped forward to lower Hazel's pointing finger. "You're already lying at your age? Daisy didn't say anything like that!"

When Daisy was three years old, Connor once took her to the supermarket but didn't change her diaper in time. She ended up crying for hours while strangers stared on. Ever since then, she hated being pointed at.

Daisy cowered in my arms. Sensing her fear, I glared at Hazel. "Put your hand down. Don't point at Daisy."

Hazel clearly understood, but she stubbornly raised her finger even higher. Just as I took a step forward, Connor brushed past me and stood in front of Hazel, shielding her.

"Averie Hudson, what are you doing?" he snapped.

Hazel clung to his shirt and burst into sobs. "Daddy Connor, I didn't do anything, but Daisy called me a bastard…"

Connor's eyes flashed with anger. He picked up Hazel and spoke in a gentle tone that Daisy and I had never heard from him before, "Hazel, you're not a bastard. I'll always be your Daddy Connor.

"Your mommy gave birth to you all alone overseas, and it's my fault I couldn't take care of you from the beginning."

I had only known that Hazel was born while Faye was living abroad. But now it was clear—Connor was Hazel's biological father. It finally made sense why he adored her so much.

His true love had endured hardship to give birth to his daughter, and it was only natural for him to cherish her.

Daisy heard everything and wriggled out of my arms. Her voice was shaky as she stared at the scene in front of her, whimpering, "Daddy, you're my daddy. Please don't be Hazel's daddy…"

For a brief moment, Connor fell silent, like Daisy's teary eyes had struck a nerve. Then, Hazel tucked her head into his neck for comfort, and he immediately snapped back.

His tone turned sharp and cold as he said, "Daisy, that's enough. Go home."

At that moment, I saw the light in Daisy's eyes go out. Right then, Esther walked out of the house. It was clear she and Faye had come to some sort of agreement. They linked arms like a picture-perfect pair of in-laws.

Faye saw Hazel crying but didn't take her from Connor's arms. Instead, she went over to comfort the little girl.

Connor and Faye spoke to Hazel in low, gentle voices, soothing her together. He even took a birthday hat from Faye's hand and placed it gently on Hazel's head.