CHAPTER 17

Shaking her head, Adrianna leaves them for a while so she can clean up her fluffy cat. Since Captain Pluff is still in the healing process after his surgery, that means he cannot take a bath. Adrianna can only wipe her fur until most of the watercolor paint on its fur is gone. But she can still see the faint outline of Lulu's handprints on its belly.

Since her cat cannot take a bath, Adrianna has to bring it to a pet salon and ask them for a suggestion on what to do with its fur. When they step out of the bathroom, Adrianna sees her cousin and his daughter talking seriously in the kitchen. The little girl has a pout on her face while Jackson is lecturing her on what she did.

"What should we do to you now?" Jackson asked.

"...I will eat two snacks every day instead of three."

"Lulu!"

"Then... Lulu will drink less milk. I will also share my snacks with you later."

"You're really..."

Adrianna shakes her head and puts down Captain Pluff so it can go back to the living room again.

"Alright. Stop scolding her. It's not like my cat will die because of it or something."

"But Adrianna—"

"Alright! Dinner time!"

Before they can traumatize the little girl, Adrianna decided to help her and tell them to wash their hands so they can start eating their dinner. Lulu is quick to move and ask Jackson to carry her on the sink as if he's not scolding her just now. The little girl is even humming a song while she's busy washing her hands. By the time they're finished, Adrianna has served their dinner on the table.

The little girl's eyes sparkle in joy when she sees a plate full of fried chicken. After thanking Adrianna, Lulu quickly grabs a huge chicken leg and takes a huge bite on it. She even hums in approval while chewing her food to show how much she likes it.

"Sister Addie, this is so delicious!" Lulu said and smack her lips.

"Tch. You're still loud and talkative while eating your food." Jackson complained but his hand is busy wiping the little girl's lips with a napkin.

"Daddy, this chicken is so delicious! Try it!" Lulu said and put the chicken leg in front of his lips.

Adrianna thought Jackson will refuse the little girl since he doesn't like eating too much fried food. But to her surprise, Jackson takes a huge bite of the chicken leg. Though his face is full of reluctance, her cousin is still chewing the chicken meat until he swallows it.

"You eat Lulu's fried chicken." the little girl complained and shows him the chicken bone in her hand.

"So what? You offer that chicken to me and now you're complaining?"

"But... But... Your bite is so big."

"Of course. Because it's delicious."

"But my chicken..."

"I ate it now. So shut up."

"Huu..."

"..."

Adrianna looks at this father and daughter duo with squinted eyes. She really has a comment for each one of them. First, her cousin is being too shameless by bullying his daughter so much. Adrianna suddenly wants to call her dad and tell him how much she appreciates his patience and love towards her.

And the little girl is so silly too. It's not like Adrianna just cooked a single fried chicken tonight. There is still a lot of chicken on the plate that can fill their stomach. But the little girl looks like she will cry any moment because her daddy ate the chicken in her hand.

Before the little girl cried for real, Adrianna put two more fried chickens on her plate. She also added a homemade gravy on the side so the little girl can truly enjoy its taste. In a blink of an eye, Lulu's sadness has disappeared and she claps her hands in happiness.

"Yehey! Chicken!" the little girl cheered and gives Adrianna a huge smile. "Thank you, sister Addie!"

"Hmm. You're welcome."

Ignoring her daddy, Lulu finally eats her fried chicken in peace. Adrianna doesn't need to know if the little girl likes her cooking. She can already tell by just looking at Lulu's delighted face if it's delicious or not. Pleased with her little guest tonight, Adrianna put another piece of fried chicken on Lulu's plate.

When they finished eating their dinner, Adrianna starts collecting the dirty dishes so she can start washing them. Her dishwasher got broken and she hasn't bought a new one. Lulu wants to help in washing the dishes but Adrianna quickly stops her and said she can get one ice cream bar in her fridge and just watch TV in her living room. Although this little girl is cute, Adrianna discovered Lulu is also a walking disaster.

While washing the plate, her phone chimes twice in a row but she temporarily ignores it. She can guess that it was Garret who sent those messages. He's probably trying to lure her again into his man-made trap.

But she didn't know that Garret is already in front of her door. He ignores again the fact that her cat hates him and simply invites himself to her place. He also brought a bottle of fruit wine and Adrianna's favorite dessert from a famous restaurant. Garret texted Adrianna to inform her that he was already in front of her place but he did not receive any reply.

Adrianna is probably busy in the kitchen. He saw the photo of her dinner on social media and wondered why she cooked a lot tonight. Soon, Garret shamelessly assumed that Adrianna is planning to invite him for dinner. When Garret rings the doorbell, he starts fixing his tie and patiently waits for Adrianna to open the door.

But to his surprise, it is not Adrianna who opens the door but a man. The man looks somewhat familiar but he cannot remember when and where he met him. Before Garret's expression can turn grim, the man closed the door with a bang and it almost hit him on his face.

"Adrianna, you have an unwelcomed visitor!" Jackson shouted through the door.

"Huh? Who is it?" Adrianna replied in a loud voice.

"I can't remember his name again. But it sounds like parrot or garment."

"..."

"Whatever his name is. But yeah, he's here to visit you."