The money from that apartment was directly deposited into Jace's and Brianna's bank accounts. They first lived in a condo in Madison while their dream house was still in the process of being constructed. Dawson was too busy in his job, so Aubrey had to step up to manage the building of the house.

She was not an opportunist like Brianna accused her of being one. Jace was aware that half of the cost of building that house came from Aubrey's own savings. His dad told him about it, though Aubrey didn't say a word. And Brianna didn't buy it, of course.

His stepmom is very smart at handling money. She's thrifty, organized, and calculative in her budgeting. Jace knew her investment in a Filipino joint community diner and bar. She also had an investment in two famous fast food restaurants. It's been eleven years since Aubrey stopped sending money to the Philippines to her one and only family when she was still working as a nurse. Her father died of pancreatic cancer. That's the last time Aubrey went home to her country to arrange a funeral. At that time, Dawson told him that he thought Aubrey would not come back. That's why his dad followed Aubrey there. Dawson left them temporarily with a relative to chase after her and propose marriage to her. His dad realized that he had learned to love the babysitter who took care of them so sincerely. And that was only the beginning of their love story. 

"Jace, where is your Daddy?"  Hannah asked a moment later. She was cuddling the teddy bear while sitting on her bed.

"Work. But he will arrive later in the evening. It's Saturday. Sunday is his day-off." Jace hangs Hannah's clothes inside the closet. He took the photo frame and music box from the suitcase too. He put the photo frame on the bedside where the picture of little Hannah and a man that slightly resembled her greeted Jace. That was obviously the little girl's father. Hannah was giggling while sitting on the lap of her father, who was tickling her from behind.
 
"What's his work, Jace?" 

"A pilot."

Again, Hannah's eyes widened. "Does he fly an airplane?"

"Yup," he answered after he sat in front of Hannah. "Here. It's yours." He handed her the music box. It's in the shape of a piano and it's white in color. When Hannah opened the music box, a melody resounded in the air. It was a Disney song, A Whole New World.

"My Daddy used to sing this song to me a lot." Hannah's expression grew sadder and tears fell from her watery eyes. "I can show you the word. Shining, shimmering, splendid..." she sang the song in hushed tones, as if she were a lost girl.

Jace felt pity and sympathy towards Hannah. She's too young to understand the concept of death. Maybe that's why she believed her father would come back. Now she was being dragged by adults who couldn't even properly explain her circumstances. In the meantime, he should at least take care of the kid. He felt responsible for her anyway.

"Tell me princess now when did you last let your heart decide..." Jace continued the song when Hannah stopped. "I can open your eyes, take you wander by wander over sideways and under on a magic carpet ride."

Hannah's mouth hung open while staring at him.

"A whole new world... a new fantastic point of view. No one to tell us no or where to go or say we're only dreaming."

A moment later, Hannah was clapping and giggling while still looking at Jace with full admiration. "You're so good at singing, Jace!"

He pretended to be shy while scratching his nape. "Really?"

Hannah nods her head exaggeratedly. "You will become a great singer! And I will be your number one fan!" She even tapped her chest to emphasize it.

It was strange to hear that coming from a kid just for a few lines of a song. Jace hadn't even told Hannah yet that his dream was to become a musician someday, but the kid still figured it out. 

"Thank you, Hannah. Do you want to become my little sister?"

Hannah's smile disappeared out of the blue. "I won't be your little sister."

"Huh?"

She pouted her lips and bowed her head a little bit. "I don't want you to be my brother. I will marry you when I grow up, Jace. We'll be husband and wife."

Jace was dumbfounded by what he heard. He blinked a few times before he burst into laughter. He only stopped when the little girl hit him on his shoulder with her little fist. She was obviously sulking with the way she frowned.

"Fine! Fine!" He stopped his hands while suppressing his laugh. "You're my little girlfriend then."

"And you are my prince!" Hannah hugged him, almost choking his neck. Jace just sighed whilst shaking his head. He smiled at the kid fondly, then rustled her hair.

JACE welcomed his dad on the porch of their mansion. Dawson got out of the car holding his briefcase. He's still wearing his uniform from the airlines. One of the maids took his baggage from the car's compartment. Jace's father, Dawson Wilkins, is an American British. He had pale blue eyes and an almost reddened head like Jace with his bronze hair. Dawson looked younger than his age. At the age of fifty-four, he still looked fit and dignifieWel

"Welcome home, dear!" Aubrey hugged her husband when she first ran to him. 

Dawson hugged her back tightly after he removed his cap. "I'm home, love. I miss you so much." He pecked her on the lips. Then he put his arm around her when they came closer to the main door.

"Hi, Dad. Welcome home," Jace greeted his dad on the porch when Dawson spotted him.

"I'm home, Jace." Dawson hugged him and then patted his back. "Only one week and you surely grew up, young man." 

Jace laughed wryly at his dad's joke. "You always say that whenever you come home. I'll be an old man in no time."

It was Dawson's turn to laugh. "Where's your sister?" He looked around until his eyes stopped on the little kid hiding behind his son. "Who's this little one?"

"Here." Jace gently pushed Hannah in front of his father. "Brianna shrunk and became an angel." 

Aubrey hit his shoulder.

"Alright, I'm kidding. Meet Hannah, my girlfriend."

His dad raised an eyebrow.

- to be continued -