Reaching their proximity, Nova stopped a meter before them, hands on her hips. "Is that your child?"
Hischild? Ares gazed at Nova. Her eyes were narrowed. She had certainly been waiting for such a moment. He leaned forward, looking at the girl's face. Was she really his spitting image? He would have loved to tease her by agreeing, but that would absolutely backfire.
He turned his head around the park, then looked at Nova. "Hey, watch my reputation here. I'm just watching her for a woman who said she needed the washroom, but..."
He looked at the park's exit.
Nova followed his gaze, then glanced from him to the girl. How impulsive can she be?She doesn't resemble him at all. And better yet, no horns.
"I hope my intuition's wrong. Even so, we should probably wait a little longer."
She went over and crouched in front of the bench, before placing her palm over the child's head. She turned to Ares. "What's her name?"
Crunching his way through the ice-cream cone, Ares replied. "I didn't ask... her."
Nova's gaze drifted back to the girl, a smile forming on her lips. "I'm Celeste. What should I call you?"
Suddenly, the girl's cheeks puffed out. Nova quickly tilted her head to the side.
"Ugh."
Missed it. A second late, and that spat-out ice cream would have hit her face.
She probably hates her because of the attitude she had shown. Well, it's impossible to force love from a child. She went and bought an ice cream for herself, came back, and sat on the bench, waiting for the woman together with Ares.
An hour elapsed, and Ares couldn't see the woman entering the park. Without facing Nova, he asked, "Do women usually take an hour in the bathroom?"
With a slight scowl, Nova replied, "I can't figure whether that's a sincere or rhetoric question."
Ares looked at the child, who was silently nestled between them. Perhaps the most honest quality of a man is his capacity for cruelty.
"Should we turn her over to the police?"
Nova nodded, standing up. They flanked the child, holding her hands, and walked out of the park.
While moving along the street, Nova noticed that almost all eyes were on them. She surreptitiously glanced at Ares.
After walking for five minutes, they crossed the street and entered a police station. There were three police officers behind the ballistic glass front desk.
Ares's eyes flicked to the scrawny one on the left. His brows were furrowed, and the corner of his lips downturned. They definitely had to avoid him.
He led Nova and the child to the officer in the middle, probably the watch commander, who stopped typing and raised his head. "Yes? Do you want to report something?"
For a second, Nova turned to Ares. Why the hell didn't he wait outside? She had to take the lead in the conversation or he would attract attention to himself.
"There's this woman who I think dumped her child on us. I mean, who uses the washroom for over an hour?"
Immediately, a voice that dragged words came from the left. "We're aware of these schemes. You're the child's parents, and you're simply trying to get rid of her smoothly, aren't you?"
He had wrinkled his nose, glaring at them with half-lidded eyes.
Nova snapped her head at him, her cheeks telltale red. "Seriously?"
She beelined to her pocket and fished out her student ID card, holding it up for the officer to see. "We're not yet married, okay? I'm still a student."
The watch officer looked at his scrawny colleague, then sighed, pulling up a form on the computer. "Her name?"
"She doesn't talk," Nova quickly responded.
The officer typed something, before facing them again. "Your names and phone numbers?"
Nova provided her name and number, then bored her gaze onto Ares. He exhaled. She was so obvious.
"Ares Cinder. 555-0666."
Once more, the officer raised his head. "The woman's age range?"
"Mph."
Nova found herself letting out a quick, muffled breath. How far was this officer planning to go with these questions? Her eyes darted around the building.
Seeing this, Ares intervened. "Late twenties. Height of around 175cm. She had worn a red sheath dress, and her nails were polished matte-black."
The moment he finished speaking, and as the officer's nimble fingers moved on the keyboard, a voice came from the left again.
"Hey you, why don't you take that hood off so we can confirm you're not a criminal? We have rules here."
All of a sudden, the watch officer and the other officer beside him on the left stopped what they were doing and locked their eyes on Ares.
'Fuck!'
An abrupt heaviness settled in Nova's joints. Her endeavor to keep him inconspicuous was plainly useless. She pressed her lips together, looking at Ares. He had held the edge of his hood. He can't be serious. She had to stop him.