My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 126: Whose Baby is This ? Ours ?

After school, having sprinted all the way home—"blam"—Dennis and Daisy flung the apartment door open. They were a mess, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. They stepped inside and saw Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, and Daphne huddling around the sofa, staring intently at it, while Dulcia sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table and the television. She, too, was looking toward the sofa. They also noticed the bassinet sitting right on top of the coffee table.

Dennis and Daisy slowly walked over to the sofa. They peered down and saw a tiny baby girl lying on a pillow, a bottle tucked into her mouth and a blanket tucked around her body.

"Hey... what the hell—"

"Shh!" Before Dennis could even finish speaking, Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, and Daphne turned to him with their index fingers pressed to their lips, signaling him to be silent because the baby was sleeping. Then Daisy leaned in to look at the infant. Her eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the cute, tiny baby. She motioned for Dahlia to move aside and sat down next to the little one.

"What was her name again? Destiny?" Daisy asked in a barely audible whisper.

Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, and Daphne nodded with wide grins on their faces. Dennis watched as Daisy seemingly joined the others in their desire to raise and nurture the baby they had named Destiny. He slapped his forehead in exasperation, only for everyone—Daisy included this time—to signal him to be quiet again. Finally, as they all turned their attention back to the baby, Dennis looked over at Dulcia. She was sitting cross-legged, propping her chin on her hand with her elbow on her thigh, looking totally grumpy.

Dennis walked over to the TV and sat down next to Dulcia, who immediately leaned against him.

"So you really have no idea who left the baby?" Dennis whispered.

"No clue. Like I said, I went out and looked around, but there wasn’t a trace of anyone. I don’t know who just leaves a baby like that," Dulcia whispered back.

"Hmm... this is weird. Who would have the heart to just abandon a baby... do you know anything about this, Sami?" Dennis asked inside his head.

[Apologies, Master. I do not know, but I will play the surveillance footage from the apartment hallway.]

An interface opened in front of Dennis and Dulcia, showing the footage from around the time the doorbell rang. In the video, a blurry shadow appeared to leave a bassinet in front of the door, ring the bell, and bolt. Next, they saw Dulcia opening the door, circling the hallway, and bringing the baby inside.

Dennis asked for the image to be enhanced, and the figure of someone—whether a man or a woman was unclear—came into view. They were wearing a hoodie, jeans, and a masked head-covering so that their face was not visible. Dennis thought hard as he stared at the frozen, sharpened image.

"What do you think? Was the person who left the baby a man or a woman?" Dennis whispered to Dulcia.

"Hmm... hard to say. The face is covered and it’s not very clear. The build could be either a guy or a girl. It’s confusing," Dulcia whispered while studying the screen.

"Sami, please print out the photo for a police report," Dennis said.

[Certainly, Master.]

"Don’t you dare call the police or Child Protective Services!" Daisy, Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, and Daphne shouted inside Dennis and Dulcia’s heads. Both of them clutched their temples, hit by a sudden wave of dizziness from the collective scream.

"Why? We have to return her to her parents, or at the very least, we have to report this," Dennis said in his head.

"She was abandoned. It’s obvious her parents don’t want to raise her, isn’t it? It would be a tragedy if she just ended up being tossed around the system," Diana replied curtly and with total conviction.

"Exactly, exactly," Dahlia added, nodding her head in agreement.

"What’s the harm in us looking after her and raising her ourselves?" Donna asked.

"I’ve checked the bassinet; there was nothing in it besides a bottle and a blanket. That’s why I made some formula. I happened to have the ingredients to whip some up," Deborah added.

"Please don’t give her away to anyone else. Poor Destiny," Daphne added, pleading.

"I’m with them," Daisy said.

"Hey... whose side are you actually on?" Dennis asked Daisy, who had clearly been panicking while they were still at school and rushing home together.

"I like babies too, and I’ve always wanted a kid," Daisy answered.

"Good grief," Dennis muttered, sounding desperate and annoyed.

Dulcia, who was sitting next to Dennis, rubbed his back; her face seemed to say, "There’s no point in talking; I’ve been protesting since the beginning and they won’t listen." Then, out of desperation, Dennis grabbed the bassinet and started checking it once more. There was nothing inside the carrier except for a thick towel lining the bottom—no information, no birth certificate, or any clue as to whose baby was lying there.

Dennis tried pulling at the towel. From inside the towel, a piece of paper that looked like a page torn from a notebook fluttered down to the floor. Dennis picked up the paper and flipped it over, his eyes widening when he found the sentence,

"I’m sorry for giving my child to you. Please raise her and love her. Thank you."

Dennis showed the paper to Dulcia beside him, whose eyes also went wide as she read it.

"Ugh... what kind of mother has the heart to do this? This is absolutely outrageous," Dulcia whispered, sounding annoyed.

"I don’t know. All of you, look at this," Dennis said, placing the paper on the coffee table.

"Wait... don’t," Dulcia said, trying to stop him.

But Donna was faster than both Dennis and Dulcia. She snatched the paper and read it, a wide grin instantly spreading across her face. She then showed it to the others, including Daisy. Everyone immediately beamed. "Okay, we’re raising her," they said together, as if answering the sentence on the paper.

"Seriously... next time, think first, will you? Now it’s a total mess," Dulcia grumbled, scolding Dennis.

"Ah, you’re right," Dennis replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"The problem is we don’t know who this baby’s parents are. What if they’re dangerous? What if this baby was actually kidnapped? This is going to be a lot of trouble, baby," Dulcia whispered.

"I know. I’m trying to figure out how to handle it right now," Dennis replied, lost in thought.

As Dennis and Dulcia racked their brains, they began to overhear the conversation between Daisy, Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, and Daphne right in front of them—or rather, inside their heads, since everyone was using telepathy to avoid waking Destiny. Their discussion had already moved miles ahead, covering everything from reporting the birth and creating a birth certificate to handling the adoption papers. This only pushed Dennis and Dulcia harder to find a way to identify the baby and figure out their next move.

As Dennis sat there cross-legged, staring down at his fists and lost in thought, a shadow suddenly fell over him. He looked up to see Daisy standing beside him, holding the baby they had named Destiny. She then crouched down next to him.

"What is it?" Dennis asked.

Without saying a word, Daisy handed the blanket-wrapped infant—who had finished her bottle—to Dennis. He had no choice but to take her. His heart hammered against his ribs and his anxiety spiked; in his entire life, he had never once held a baby.

"Daddy, hold Destiny for a second, okay?" Daisy whispered with a wide smile.

"Huh... Daddy... wait a minute... this baby isn’t—"

Before Dennis could finish his sentence, Daisy silenced him with a kiss directly on his lips, leaving him unable to speak. Dennis looked down at the tiny creature he was cradling. He immediately felt a swirl of conflicting emotions in his heart as he gazed at the baby’s face. His heart hammered even faster. He truly felt the baby’s warmth, her weight in his arms, and her scent—a mix of sweetness and milk. It was a brand-new sensation, one he had never experienced before, and he clearly didn’t hate it. Instead, without realizing it, he offered a faint smile as if he were holding his own child.

Of course, Dennis’s expression was caught by Daisy beside him, who then turned toward Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, and Daphne, giving them a thumbs-up, a wide grin, and a wink. Everyone immediately gave a thumbs-up back to Daisy, seeing that Dennis was most likely going to cave because of Destiny. Meanwhile, Dulcia just slapped her forehead; her face seemed to say, "Great, now it’s seven against one. Judging by his face, he’s definitely going to want to raise the baby too," as she kept an eye on him.

Then, without realizing it, Dennis began to sway gently, his hand softly patting the baby’s bottom. He looked exactly like a father cradling his infant daughter.

"So... this is what it feels like to be a dad. This is a completely new sensation for me, and it seems like I actually enjoy being a father... this baby... she’s so cute. (Realizing) Oh no, this is bad, this is real bad. I can’t let myself get carried away. I have to find out who this baby is... but it looks like I can’t rely on Diana for the investigation... she clearly wants to raise Destiny... oh no, I’m already calling her by her name. I’m a total mess," Dennis muttered in his heart, yet his eyes never drifted from Destiny’s face and his smile didn’t fade.