My Repentant Brothers (Madeline Larson)

Gavin was a genius, an academic whiz whose mind worked better than anyone's. Yet, when it came to caring for a baby, he found himself at a loss.

He returned to the room with the supplies and handed the baby blanket to Madeline. "Maddie, are you sure you want to take her home and raise her? I think it's a huge responsibility. It takes a lot of time and effort. "Huh?" Madeline blinked. "Well, you can just hire a nanny for now."

Someone in the adjacent room overheard and scoffed, "So young and already have a kid, but don't know how to care for one? Money isn't everything. A child doesn't thrive on money alone."

Embarrassed, Madeline hugged the baby and walked out.

Gavin said, "And how do you raise a child with no money? Can a child live on air? The person fell silent.

Inside the car, Gavin called someone to arrange for a trusted nanny. Then he started the engine.

Madeline held the baby. "She's such a good-natured little thing-not fussy at all. Aren't babies supposed to cry a lot?"

Gavin replied, "Probably because she's not hungry yet. Once she is, she'll definitely cry" Madeline nodded, thinking that made

sense.

Holding the soft little baby, Madeline noticed the warm scent of milk clinging to her, which brought a cozy feeling to her heart. She felt an instant connection with this child-perhaps it was love at first sight or maybe she just always loved kids. She gently squeezed the baby's hand. "You're so cute, little one."

The baby giggled at Madeline, waving her arms excitedly. Madeline cooed, "Look outside, sweetie! There's so much fun stuff

to see.

Gavin listened to the sounds in the car, feeling a warmth in his heart. He thought, "How wonderful will it be to have a home with Maddie? He had a bit of an ulterior motive. "Maddie, can we keep the baby at our place for now? Let's see if the nanny is reliable before handing her over completely."

"That's fine," Madeline replied, holding the baby. "I don't have much going on these days anyway"

Gavin smiled slightly. "We also need to sort out her paperwork. Her parents didn't have local documents yet. They hadn't even picked a name for her; they only had a foreign one. We might need to choose a Clusian name." Madeline sighed. "They didn't name her? Didn't get the chance?"Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

He replied. "She has a foreign name."

"Oh." Madeline gently stroked the baby's head. "Since you'll be taking care of her, she should take your last name. The last name Newton sounds nice too. You could be her brother or say you're her uncle.

"Newton" It felt strange to Gavin. He didn't want her to have his last name. He looked at Madeline. "What should we call her?"

Madeline thought for a moment and said, "How about Grace? Her parents probably wished for her to grow up safely and happily

"Grace? Sure." Gavin instructed someone to start the paperwork,

To grow up safely, she needed a proper identity. But whether under his name or Madeline's, neither wanted sudden parental roles. Plus, Madeline was still so young

"Let's register her under my name, Madeline suggested, holding the baby snugly. "Whether as siblings or mother-daughter, it works-Tin in my twenties and she's just two months old; it makes sense." Having a baby at home means needing a lot of things: a crib, stroller, and all sorts of baby supplies.

Grace was very attached and had a delightful personality-rarely cried and lan

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being held by Madeline. If she was with Madeline, she'd be calm, but she'd cry endlessly if left with the nanny.

Lucy joked that Grace preferred pretty faces; ugly ones scared her to tears. Madeline found it fascinating that a two-month-old could already tell the difference.

At night.

Madeline sat on the couch holding Grace while watching a TV show. Grace munching on her fingers, drooled messily. Madeline glanced down. 'Grace, no eating fingers-icky!"

Gavin came out of the kitchen with a baby bottle, pressing it to his cheek. "It's warm-should be just right."

Madeline noticed the dark circles under his eyes and chuckled. "These days leave you exhausted, huh? Parenting is tough work; you've been doing so much.

"Prepping bottles, changing diapers, washing dirty blankets... Gavvy, you're quite the dad already."

"Well, if I ever have my own kids, I'll take good care of them too, Gavin replied with a blush.

"Biology doesn't matter-all kids raised with love are family." Madeline fed Grace from the bottle, growing fonder of this adorable child.

Madeline had never wanted children, largely because she feared the pain and wasn't keen on marriage. With Grace around, she felt she could raise her as her own-no childbirth or husband needed. Gavin had no clue about Madeline's thoughts; he just assumed she truly liked the baby. You mentioned my paperwork wasn't clean enough. I've suggested it before. How about I get on yours? "Your file's just a page now. Adding Grace is one thing, adding me won't change much. Most people have several pages-more names, more lively, right?"

"You and me? On the same record? Madeline frowned, "Only blood relatives or spouses can share that, right? Are you proposing marriage to join my records?"

He replied, T'd say yes.

"No way, Madeline replied flatly. "You should rest tonight. Lucy's here to help; you need to take care of yourself.

"I just... Cavin hesitated. "Maddie, having strangers around feels off, and Grace doesn't like this nanny. How about having Mr. and Mrs. Lewis over to help? You haven't seen them in ages. Madeline thought for a moment. "That's actually a great idea."