***Edited October 2022***

A/N: WOWWW, this is a long-ass chapter :p sorry guys, lol

I don't even know the words to express Piper's delight and excitement for the remainder of Harry's show. She became absolutely overjoyed as soon as she heard him sing the very first lyrics of Carolina, and during her favourite 'la la la' part, she was singing along so loudly that she was almost screaming. And even with how many people were in the audience, Harry still looked back at Piper so many times during the show and smiled at her – and she would always erupt into a fit of delighted giggles whenever he did so. 

I didn't even take one moment to wonder if he ever glanced at me, too – because I was just overwhelmed with happiness at the fact that Piper was having the time of her life because of him. For the remainder of the night, all I wanted to do was thank him for making her so happy.

When the concert was over, Piper was still so ramped up about everything that she didn't even want to leave The Garage. It took her so long to realize that the show had finished, and we had to go home. In the end, what finally got her moving was me telling her that Harry had probably gone home, too.

It was absolute chaos outside once we'd finally left the building. Everyone was still talking animatedly about the concert, some people were still cheering even though the concert was long over, and a few girls were even crying – which I didn't blame them for at all – since the experience of seeing Harry for real is completely overwhelming. In fact, the only reason I wasn't crying was just because of how happy I was for Piper.

"Mummy, how many times do you think he looked at us?!" Piper was still so hyped and energetically bouncing in my arms as I carried her to the car.

"I don't know, Piper," I replied with a soft chuckle.

"He looked at us lots, mummy! Do you think he likes us?"

"I'm sure he likes you very much, pumpkin. Who wouldn't, after all? You're the sweetest little girl in the world," I kissed her cheek.

She giggled. "I think he liked you too, mummy!"

"If you say so, sweetheart," I unlocked the car and opened the back door – setting her down in her booster seat and starting to fasten her seatbelt.

"Mummy, where's my teddy?" She asked me, "I want my teddy."

"Your teddy's in your bag, pumpkin. I'll go get-" I cut myself off with a gasp as I reached behind me and was shocked to discover that Piper's backpack wasn't dangling off my shoulder, "oh my...oh my God..!"

"Are you okay, mummy?" Piper sounded concerned.

I'd put Piper's bag on the floor during the concert...and I left it there.

I fucking left Piper's bag on the floor.

"Damn it...damn it!" I cursed under my breath.

"Mummy, what's wrong?" Piper spoke up again.

"Nothing, darling," I replied quickly before I finished fastening her seatbelt, "you just be a good girl and stay in the car for me, okay? I'll be right back."

"Where are you going, mummy?" Piper asked.

"I'll be right back," I repeated myself and kissed her head, "you'll be okay. I'll be back really soon."

"Okay..." Piper nodded slowly.

I shut the door and locked my car before I turned and ran back towards The Garage – frantically pushing through everyone who was still leaving the building. I just wanted to get Piper's bag, and get back to her as soon as possible.

I wanted to slap myself. So much had happened during the concert that I'd completely forgotten all about the stupid bag.

Idiot, Leah, fucking idiot!

"Uh, I'm sorry, ma'am," a big man who was obviously a bouncer or something for The Garage stopped me before I could get through the door, "you cannot re-enter the building."

"No, you don't understand! I left my daughter's bag in there!" I cried.

"Well, you can buy your daughter a new bag," the bouncer was already getting impatient.

"I can't! She takes that bag to pre-school with her! It's got all her favourite things in there!" I protested, "I promise I won't be long. I'll just run in and get it, give it back to her, and go home! I promise!"

"What part of 'you cannot re-enter the building' do you not understand?" The bouncer asked me through gritted teeth.

"I have to get it back!" I was practically begging him now.

"Well, you shouldn't have left it there in the first place!" The bouncer spat at me, "Now move on!"

I let out an exasperated, shaky sigh – my fingers running stressfully through my hair as I stayed silent for several moments. In the end, I bit my lip and finally gave the bouncer a slow nod – reluctantly mumbling a "thank you" before I backed away from him and started making my way back to the car.

Oh my God.

Piper's teddy bear was in there.

She loves that teddy bear...how the hell can I break it to her?

I was so disappointed in myself. Piper had just had the best night ever...and now I have to spoil it all for her by telling her that she can't get her teddy back.

Good job, Leah.

Good fucking job.

"Hey – wait up!" An all-too familiar voice came up from behind me – forcing me to stop in my tracks and gasp, "Is this your daughter's bag?"

Completely incredulous, I very slowly turned in the direction of the voice – my eyes widening and my jaw plummeting to the ground as soon as I saw him.

Oh.

My.

Fucking.

GOD.

"I heard you outside. That bouncer was really rude," Harry Styles was standing right in front of me with his black shirt and his fucking pink trousers, "all you wanted was to get back a bloody bag."

"Oh my..." I was struck completely speechless, "I...you...y-you're..."

"I hope this is the right one," he held up the pink and lilac Disney Princess bag that was dangling off his long fingers by one strap, "I found it on the floor – around where you and your daughter were during the show. And when I opened it to see if it was named, I did see the name 'Piper Marrone' along with an address in Worthing."

"I...y-yeah, this is it..." I took the bag from him slowly – my breath hitching as I felt my fingers gently brushing against his own, "thank...thank you so much..."

"No problem," he replied with a smile, "how old is your daughter, by the way?"

"She...she's four..." I stuttered, "she turned four in...in March..."

"Cool," his smile grew, "please wish her a belated happy birthday from me. A really belated one."

In my awestricken amazement, I was surprised that I managed to let out a chuckle. "I...I will. I'm sure she'll love that. Thank you."

Ask him to sign the album.

Ask him to sign the damn album.

For Piper.

For Piper...

"Er..." my hand dived into my handbag and began to scramble around for his CD and the marker that I'd brought along with me, "if...i-if it's not too much to ask – since I know you just performed this amazing show for us and all...c-could you please sign this? For my daughter?" I took out his album and showed it to him.

Harry smiled again and nodded. "Of course. Do you have a pen?"

"I do," I replied with a shy giggle as I handed the marker and CD over to him, "I came well-prepared."

Harry chuckled as he took the pen from me. "What, were you planning this meeting or something?"

"No," I giggled again, "it was just in case."

"I see. Good call," he replied with a smirk as he opened up the album and began scrawling on the inside cover, "now, obviously I know Piper's name, but I don't think I ever caught the name of her mother," he glanced up at me, "care to share?"

"Uh...L-Leah," I stammered, "my name is Leah."

He smiled at me. "Leah. Got it," he continued to jot whatever he was writing on the album cover, "did you enjoy the show tonight?"

"Absolutely," I nodded vigorously, "and...th-thank you so much for what you did for Piper tonight. She...she had the time of her life thanks to you."

Harry chuckled quietly as he finished off his message. "No need to thank me. I wouldn't want her to get bored."

"She could never get bored listening to you," I began to gush, "she loves you so much. She listens to your music every day."

"Every day? Really?" He laughed, "That must drive you nuts."

"No way. Never," I replied immediately, "I'm the one who got her into your music in the first place. It's all we both listen to."

"Thank you," he said with a warm smile, "that means a lot."

He finished writing on the album and blew on the ink a few times to dry it out quicker. Once he'd done that, he shut the album and handed it back to me – and I had to stop myself from squealing since that'd just be plain embarrassing.

"Thank you so much," I told him with a soft blush, "Piper will be totally over the moon," I tucked the album back into my bag as carefully as I could, "I'd better get back to her now. She's waiting for me in the car."

"Do you mind if I say hello?" Harry asked, "If she's not asleep, of course."

"Oh, no. She's not asleep. She could never fall asleep after what happened tonight. That's why I'm really looking forward to putting her to bed when we get home," I rolled my eyes – and Harry laughed.

"So I can say hello, then?"

"Uh...yeah, if you want," I gave him a small smile, "my car's over here."

He followed me to my car which was just a few metres away. Piper spotted me returning from the window straight away – but as soon as she saw Harry trailing behind me – her eyes immediately widened, and she honestly could not stop staring out the window at us. She was barely even blinking. But, as soon as we started coming closer – a bright grin slowly began to spread across her face, and she started bouncing excitedly in her car seat. I could even read her lips saying "Harry!" over and over again – and I couldn't help chuckling. I heard Harry chuckling too.

"Mummy, you found Harry!" Was the first thing Piper said to me as I opened her door, "How did you find Harry?"

"He found your bag for you, darling, and he gave it back to me," I told her with a smile, unzipping her backpack and taking out her teddy, "here's your teddy, Piper."

"Yay! My teddy!" She took the bear from my hands with a big smile before looking up at Harry with bright excited eyes – and he immediately smiled at her.

"Hi, Piper. Did you have a good time?" He asked her.

"Yes!" She nodded vigorously, "I liked your pink clothes!"

Harry chuckled. "Thank you. I like them, too."

She was starting to fidget in her seat, and being her mother, I could immediately see that it was because she wanted to hug him. Hoping that Harry would get the hint as well, I slowly reached down and unbuckled her seatbelt, and she immediately started scrambling out of her seat – and I began to get worried that she'd hop out of the car too excitedly and hurt herself.

"Oh – be careful!" Harry caught her to stop her from falling before I could even act, "You don't want to fall out of the car."

I couldn't help feeling warmed by how Harry had acted so quickly to keep her safe. And that warm feeling only deepened as Harry lifted her into his arms and gave her a hug – and she giggled excitedly and wrapped her arms around his neck – hugging him back immediately with her head against his chest. I felt my heart rate increasing rapidly as I watched them. They looked so cute.

"We love you, Harry!" Piper looked up at him happily, "We love you lots!"

"I love you too," he replied with a tender smile – his gorgeous dimples popping up at both sides, "lots and lots."

Oh my God.

Give this man some kids already...he's so fucking good with them.

I then bit down on my bottom lip – not wanting to impose on his time any longer. Time is really valuable to him.

"Piper...sweetie, we have a really long drive ahead of us. We should get going," I told her softly.

"Okay, mummy," Piper nodded – causing Harry to nod as well and hand her back to me, "thank you for finding my bag, Harry!" She beamed at him.

"You're very welcome," he replied with a chuckle, "you be good for your mum, yeah?"

"I will!" She nodded again as I strapped her back into her booster seat.

"Be careful," Harry told me once I'd shut the back door, "it's dark, and it's a long trip to Worthing."

"I know," I sighed and chuckled softly, "thank you, Harry. Thank you so much for everything."

"Thank you for coming tonight," he told me with a smile, "it's definitely a night I won't forget."

"We won't forget it, either," I smiled back at him, "it...it was so amazing to meet you, Harry..."

"I'm just glad I caught you in time to give Piper's bag back," he said, "that bouncer really wasn't nice to you."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I'm just glad I realized that I left it behind before I was about to leave, instead of when I was already back home," I chuckled again.

Harry chuckled as well. "Yeah. That would've sucked," he then cleared his throat quietly and stuck his hands in his pockets, "anyway, it's starting to get a bit cold. You'd better get yourself and Piper home before this night air gets even worse."

"Yeah. You're right," I said with a nod, "you should keep warm, too. Put that flash pink jacket back on."

Harry laughed. "I will."

I thought he was going to say goodbye, but he instead opened the door to the driver's seat for me – leaving me slightly startled at his gentlemanly act.

"Oh...th-thanks," I felt myself blushing all over again as I slid behind the wheel.

"Bye, Leah. Thank you again for being here tonight. Drive safe," he then peered through the window a bit more and smiled at Piper before giving her a little wave, "bye, Piper."

"Bye, Harry!" She waved back and giggled.

He backed away from the car so that I could start up the engine – but I had to take one last moment to glance at him. After all...there was no way in hell I was gonna see him again after this.

He smiled once more and gave me a quick wave – and I had to let out a quiet chuckle as I backed out of the carpark and drove away – just managing to catch glimpses of other people who were at the show tonight staring at my car and talking amongst themselves.

"Mummy, Harry talked to us again! I told you he liked us, mummy!" Piper said victoriously.

I chuckled again. "Yes Piper, you did."

"I saw him talking to you from the window, mummy. He talked to you for a really, really long time. He really likes you," she giggled.

"Oh, please Piper," I rolled my eyes, "don't get too excited. Harry's just nice like that."

"But is he that nice to everyone, mummy? I don't think so," she sang.

"Piper just hug your teddy and try to settle down now, okay?" I looked at her from the rear-view mirror, "It's a long drive back home, pumpkin."

"Do you think we'll see Harry again, mummy?" She asked me.

I sighed. "Piper...I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because his life is very different to ours, sweetheart. He's very, very busy – I've told you this before, darling."

It was Piper's turn to sigh. "Okay."

"But we still had a great time tonight, yes?" I asked her.

She smiled at me and immediately nodded. "It was the best time ever, mummy. The very best time ever."

"Yeah. It was, Piper," I smiled back at her, "it really, really was."

***

Dear Piper and Leah,

Thank you for everything.

Love you.

Ashley ran her fingers over Harry's signature and the 'xx' he'd written beside it in total disbelief.

"Holy shit!" She cried, "I cannot believe this, Leah! I cannot believe you actually met Harry freaking Styles! And what he did for Piper during the show was so fucking cute, I saw the videos and literally died."

"Videos?" My eyes widened slightly, "There's videos of Piper and Harry on the internet?"

"Obviously, Leah! It's Harry Styles and a little kid – that's the fandom's favourite thing ever! Of course people posted videos! They're all over Instagram and Twitter."

"Is it everywhere, Ash?" I asked.

"Everywhere, Leah," she confirmed with a nod, "even some of the tabloids have posted about it."

"No way."

"Yes way," Ashley smiled at me, "those videos are making the whole fandom melt. I've seen so many comments about how adorable everyone thinks Piper is. And you don't have any videos of it yourself, do you? Maybe you could save a couple – get a physical copy of the memory and keep it forever, y'know?"

"Maybe..." I began slowly, "god...I really wish I could take a look, but I have to buy Piper some new clothes for her to wear to kindergarten, before the shops get packed..."

"Hey, it's okay, Leah," said Ashley, "if you absolutely cannot wait to see them, go ahead check on your media feed. I'll take Piper to the shops for you."

"You will?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, it's no problem," she said with a smile, "I know Piper's clothing size and all. I can sort it out."

"Okay," I nodded slowly, "Thanks, Ash, I just...as Piper's mum, I really need to see what people are saying about her, even if I can't stop them from posting about her, y'know?"

"You don't even need to explain yourself, Lee. I'll go get Piper now," she assured me, "and honestly – from what I saw, no-one had anything bad to say about her. Who could say anything negative about that little angel, anyway?"

I chuckled. "True. Thanks again, Ash."

"Sure," she nodded and smiled before turning towards the hallway, "Piper, come on! Aunty Ash is buying you new shoes today!"

"Why?" Piper came toddling into the living room – her blonde hair a tangled mess yet again, "I thought mummy was buying me shoes. Is mummy okay?"

"Yeah, cupcake, your mummy's fine. She just has a few more things to do around the house, but we can't let the shops get too busy, or else we'll be waiting for ages. So, I'm taking you today. Is that alright?"

"Mhmm," Piper nodded, "I'm ready to go."

"No, you're not," I told her firmly, "your hair is a mess, Piper. Please brush it, snug-bug."

"But...but mummyyy..." she began to whine.

"Don't whinge, Piper. Your hair needs to look nice. Go back to your room and brush it, please. And then you can go to the shops with Aunty Ash."

Piper sighed. "Okay."

"Why does she hate hairbrushes so much?" Ashley asked me with a soft chuckle as she trudged back to her bedroom.

"I have no idea," I chuckled softly, "hopefully she'll grow out of it one day."

"I'll go check on her to make sure she's actually brushing," she began to walk towards Piper's room.

"Good idea," I nodded and smiled, "thanks, Ashley."

She disappeared down the hall, and I heard muffled voices coming from Piper's room shortly after – and I was pretty sure that it was mostly Piper whinging about the hairbrush again. Soon enough though, they were both walking back into the living room – with Piper's hair fully brushed and cozily wrapped in her puffy lilac jacket.

"Good girl, snug-bug," I smiled at her and crouched down to her height so that I could press a lingering kiss to her forehead, "you look so beautiful with your hair brushed."

She smiled at me. "Thank you, mummy."

"Now come here. Let me cuddle you," I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight – and she giggled and hugged me back even tighter.

"Bye mummy. I love you," she pressed a big, wet kiss to my cheek – warming my heart instantly as I let out a soft chuckle.

"I love you too, Piper," I then released her and gently ushered her towards Ashley, "you go with Ashley now, okay? I'll see you later."

"Okay, mummy," Piper nodded and smiled again before taking Ashley's hand.

They both waved to me, and I waved back as they made their way towards the front door. And, once they were gone, the first thing I did was whip out my phone and connect to the WiFi – bracing myself as I poised my thumb over my Twitter icon. I followed so many One Direction and Harry Styles fan accounts on Twitter, so I knew that as soon as I opened up the app, the first thing I was gonna see was news, photos and footage from Harry's show.

And...just as I expected, this was the first tweet that I saw on my feed:

Harry saw a little girl at his show last night, and he picked her up and talked to her onstage! Her name is Piper ☺☺☺

It was tweeted with a video of Harry holding Piper in his arms – and I couldn't help stopping for a moment to admire how carefully and securely he was holding her, and the way he looked so patient as he waited for her to get over her shyness. But all those feelings of admiration were quickly replaced with nerves and anxiety as I began to scroll down to the tweet's replies to see the types of things people were saying about Piper.

OH MY GOD 😱😱😱 I'M FUCKING DEAD 😭😭😭 HARRY!!!

OMG, Harry looks like he wants to adopt her!! ❤❤❤ That's so sweet omfg 😍😍😍😍

Why does he have to be so perfect 😭😭😭😭

Awww, look at her!! ❤❤❤ She's so precious!! ❤❤❤❤

Harry 😭😭😭😭 why does it always have to be the kids?? Make me a fucking kid again ffs

She's so adorable!! ❤❤❤❤ she's reminding me so much of Mia from OTRA 😍😍😍😍

Lol, Harry be like "Say 'bye-bye' to your mom, you're my kid now" 😂😂

Ayye, my name is Piper too 🙌🙌🙌

She's so shy, that's so cute omf ❤❤❤

I couldn't help smiling and letting out a soft chuckle. Ashley was right. My little girl was just making everyone melt (unsurprisingly) – and no-one was hating on her at all.

That's a relief...

I continued to scroll through Twitter, and all I saw was just endless tweets upon tweets about Harry and Piper.

Harry met a little girl called Piper at his secret show last night! He was at The Garage in London!

Harry played 'Carolina' for a little girl in the audience because she told him it was her favourite ❤❤❤ fucking cupcake

Harry met a little fan called Piper when he was performing at The Garage in London last night! She told him she liked Carolina and he played it straight away just for her 😍😍😍

Look here's a photo of Harry Styles hugging a cute little toddler...you're welcome.

OH MY GOD LOOK AT THIS BABY, HE'S SO FUCKING SWEET TO THIS LITTLE GIRL AND SHE LOOKS SO HAPPY ❤❤❤❤

Harry made a little girl's day at his secret show last night...he carried her on stage and he played her favourite song on his album (it was Carolina) and she was totally over the moon 😍😍😍😍

However, my jaw immediately dropped as I came across a tweet that was very different from the ones I'd been reading.

Harry met a young fan called Piper at his show last night. He also met Piper's mom after the show.

And the picture that the user had posted with that tweet...was a picture of Harry talking to me outside my car.

"Oh, fuck..!" I cursed quietly, "What the hell?"

It was such a clear picture...which I did not understand at all, since it was already so dark when the show was over. My face could be seen so easily...and with the way Harry was smiling at me, and with how some of the girls in this fandom were like...I was not looking forward to reading any of the comments about me. Biting my lip, I scrolled down to the replies very, very slowly.

Tf, how old is she? Are you sure that's her mom?

Teen Mom alert, perhaps??

She's so fucking young wtf!! Either she was a teen mom or she uses some boss-ass beauty products.

LMAO TEEN MOM XD

Wait wait...why did Harry have to see Piper's mom? What's the story here?
(Reply)
I saw photos of him giving her a toddler's bag...I think it was Piper's and she probably left it in the building by accident.
(Reply)
Yeah, obviously she knew what she was doing... 😒

I'm surprised this chick actually looks younger than Harry 😂😂
(Reply)
Wait a minute, what's that supposed to mean? He's not dating her, is he?

WAIT WHAT IS THIS HIS GIRLFRIEND OR WHAT?!? WHO TF IS SHE

Why tf is Harry talking to this bitch...and why does he look happy...she's just reeling him in with her cute kid

Does he have to smile at her and look into her eyes like that... it hurts 😢

WTF THAT CAN'T BE PIPER'S MOM...SHE'S NOT EVEN BLONDE AND SHE LOOKS FUCKING 21

My eyes widened – my teeth coming out to bite down anxiously on my bottom lip as I read through the tweets. Why the fuck is the fandom always like this whenever they see photos of Harry and another girl? Don't they even care about how much saying these could hurt? Do they not think about the possibility that I've already dealt with enough bullshit about how I was a teenage mother? And for some people to even go so far as to say that I actually planned to leave Piper's bag in The Garage, and that I'm just using Piper to 'reel' Harry in...who the fuck says stuff like that?!

I mean, fuck...that was the first time me and Harry had ever met...how could people even be feeling threatened about this already?

No...no, I should've expected this.

So many people in the fandom get like this, every time new pictures leak of Harry and another girl...

Great. Just fucking great.

However, my spirits were suddenly lifted a little when I ended up actually reading a reply to the last comment that I'd read.

You do realize that hair colour isn't the only thing that determines who your parents are...right?
(Continued reply)
And if she's 21, Piper only looks about 4-5 so her mom would've been about 16-17 when she was born...which is fine??

And my face continued to soften, and I continued to feel less tense as I read some more of the tweets on me & Harry's photo.

Wtf is wrong with you people...if this woman was a teen mom...so what? What's the problem with that?
(Reply)
Yeah, she still seems as loving and caring as any other mom, and that's all that matters. So all of you just shut the fuck up

Who tf cares if she was a teen mom, she took her daughter to see Harry fucking Styles so she's already fucking Mom Goals in my book

Can everyone just stfu about how young she looks, like yes she looks young but what's the big deal? Harry wouldn't judge her so you shouldn't either.

Lmao y'all are freaking out about Harry and this girl and last night was literally the first time Harry met her and her daughter...calm tf down omfg
(Reply)
Ikr...it's like as soon as people see him with a girl they all think he's dating her even if they're just meeting for the first time.
(Reply)
Soon enough, all he'll have to do is look in a random girl's direction, and bitches be like NOO HARRY DON'T DATE 😭😭😭😭 lmfao

I couldn't help breaking out a soft smile at the new replies I'd just read. Sometimes I forget that not everyone in the fandom goes in uproar when new dating rumours spark about Harry. There are still some mature and understanding fans out there.

All the same, though...I'd gotten tired of scrolling through all the endless comments. I don't even care that much about what they said about me...I'm used to being belittled and slandered by other people, anyway. All that matters to me is that they're not saying anything bad about Piper.

I was then about to put my phone away when it suddenly began vibrating in my hand – indicating that I was getting a call. And, checking the Caller ID – I had to let out a loud groan once I realized that it was Heath calling me for the umpteenth time that week.

"What do you want, Heath?" Was the first thing I said after I answered the phone.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Leah?!" He spat back at me.

"Excuse me?" I was already narrowing my eyes, "What do you mean 'what the hell is wrong with me'? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You actually let some stranger pick up and talk to our daughter?! And let people film it and plaster it all over the internet?!"

"He wasn't a stranger, you asshole! Harry is her fucking idol! You make it sound so much worse than it was, Heath, and that is not fair! It's not like I could stop people from posting those videos! But it doesn't even matter...because Piper had the time of her fucking life, unlike what you predicted!"

"Really?! Because all I saw in those videos was a scared little girl who just wanted to go back to her supposedly loving mother," Heath seethed.

"What the fuck?!" I shouted into the phone, "She wasn't scared! She was shy! There's a fucking difference! And you're telling me that you didn't see the huge grin on her face when Harry finished talking to her? Or how happy she was when he hugged her after the show?!"

"What?! What the fuck do you mean, he hugged her after the show?! All I've been seeing are the videos of her and him together at the concert!" he yelled, "Did you actually let him hug her? Seriously?!"

"She wanted to hug him! And he was more than happy to hug her back! What do you have against Harry hugging her, Heath?! It's all she's ever wanted! And he looked way happier to hug her than you ever did!" I was literally fuming right now, "You don't fucking know anything about how much she loves him, Heath! She loves him more than she loves you!"

"Hey! That isn't fucking fair, Leah! You're the one who doesn't let me see her unless you're in desperate need of a babysitter!"

"That's because you act like you hate spending time with her, and don't you dare try to deny it!"

"I don't hate it, Leah! I just hate the way she behaves around me! She's so frigid – it's like she can't wait to get away from me!"

"Well, if she acts like that around you, then you don't act even more frigid, obviously!" I hissed at him.

"Fuck, Leah, I'm still trying to learn!That's why I want a proper custody arrangement with Piper!"

"Well, you know what? You pushing me for proper custody is like me pushing you to pay some fucking Child Support! We haven't talked about that either, have we, Heath?!"

"I'll pay the fucking Child Support once you actually give me some time with her! You're barely even treating me like her father, Leah!"

"Well, you barely even act like it!"

"Am I getting the fucking joint custody or not?!"

"Youa aren't getting any joint custody of my daughter until you can prove that you can actually remember a thing or two about her, and that you can actually be a father to her! It's baby steps or nothing, Heath! Make your fucking choice!"

Heath let out an angry, irritated groan. "Damn it, Leah, you're so fucking stubborn!"

"No, Heath. It's not being stubborn. It's called 'being a parent'. Have you ever heard of it?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Fine. You win, Leah. Whatever you say," he grumbled.

"Good. So, here's what's gonna happen. I'm going to hang up the phone, and I'm going to make lunch for when Piper comes home from the shops. And then, what you're gonna do is stop calling me about this every day, and wait for a time when I want you watch her."

"But Leah-"

"Goodbye," I pressed 'End Call' before he could say another word. I then shoved my phone back into my pocket and let out a long, exasperated sigh.

Thank God that's over.

Seriously, who the fuck was he to judge me about how I let Piper spend time with Harry? If I said no like he would've, she would've cried and sulked for the rest of the night, and everything would've been ruined. All that pressure I put on Aidan to get her tickets would've been for nothing.

He doesn't know her. I know her.

If only he just saw how happy she was last night.

He could really try and learn a trick or two from Harry.

And boy...I wasn't kidding. As sad as it sounds, Harry treated Piper better in one night than Heath had in the two whole months that he'd been in her life. The fact that a fucking celebrity made Piper smile way more than her own father did only made me realize even more how Heath had absolutely no idea how to make her happy.

God...why was I so fucking stupid?

As much as I love my baby girl...it hurts me so much that she's stuck with someone like Heath as her father. He could've been anyone...anyone else. There certainly could've been a good chance of it.

I was running wild when I was 17...I fooled around with dozens of guys. But out of all of them...it was Heath that ended up being the father of my child.

She deserves so much better than him. So, so much better. She deserves a good father...one that would really care for her, and would love her to absolute bits. A little angel like her...she deserves all the love in the whole world. And even though she knows that I love her with all my heart...I still know that, deep-down, she's longing for a father's love, too. A love that she sees every child in her preschool getting...except her. A love that I don't see Heath ever being able to give to her...no matter how hard he tries.

If he ever does genuinely try.

Every morning, I wake up and hope to God that Piper would get the doting father that she fully deserves. But then, I look at her and Heath...and I still don't see a single change.

And, to be honest...I'm starting to lose hope that there will ever be a change.

A/N: Uhm, yeah...I guess this ending was kinda weird...but I didn't know how else to end it :p I hope you at least liked the rest of the chapter anyway :p