"WHAT? You ran from your fans with this woman holding Skye?" Carlson's new manager asked in disbelief while studying a stolen shot of him, Skye, and the woman they encountered at the mall. "Carlson, I told you to avoid getting caught by the paparazzi now, especially with a kid."

Carlson leaned on the couch and heaved a sigh. He didn't expect that the mall's incident just a few hours ago will spread that fast. "I'm sorry, Robby," he apologized. "But the captions and content weren't negative. It was just—"

"An absurd but helpful theory from the fans," he said and threw the photos on his coffee table. "You're lucky this woman was with you, the public thought she must be your secret girlfriend, and you're just having a quality time with…" He paused then took the photos again. "… with your son."

Before his manager could throw the papers at his face, Carlson raised from the couch and snatched the articles from him. "We don't have a choice but to pay those paparazzi for the copyright of this photo."

"The woman was caught on camera and also Skye!" Robby, a thirty-seven-year-old talent manager that his agency gave him after his case two years ago, looked as if he's gonna lose all his hair by the stress that he caused. "We can't pay all the reporters, Carlson. Your comeback album hasn't been released. We don't have enough funds!"

Carlson felt ashamed of what he did. "If something goes wrong tomorrow, I'll talk to the press—"

"Then, what?" he asked, crossed his arms around his chest and arched his brow at him. "Admit about Skye? Carlson, you knew that you can't tell the press that you pursue fostering care. Even Manager Kim was proven guilty of her false accusations against you. We can't control the minds of other people. They'll find loopholes to you and use it to pull you down again."

"I know…" he said. "I'll deny that it was me. My face is covered in all the photos, I can tell them that it's impossible to be me because I was at the gym during that time and maybe the man is the woman's husband that just looked like me."

Robby stared at him, then after a minute of giving him a measuring look, he sighed and nodded. "Then, who'll testify your alibi that you're in the gym during the time that these photos were taken?"

A smile formed in Carlson's lips. "I have a gym owner friend, and a simple white lie won't ruin our friendship."

"Okay, let's just wait for tomorrow's news," Robby said and turned towards the door, but stopped and looked back at him. "By the way, Carlson. It'll be good for your comeback if you'll avoid visiting the orphanage for a while."

Carlson cocked his head to the side. "Are you asking me to stop spending time with Skye, Rob?" he smirked. "Why do I have this feeling that I am seeing a Manager Kim version 2.0 in you?"

"Don't get me wrong, Carlson. I'm just concern about your career. You waited for this, right?" Rob faced him and looked at him straight in his eyes. "You don't want to experience another downfall, aren't you?"

Carlson looked away from him. "Yeah. Maybe I just forgot again that taking care of my image is what I do for a living," he said and remembered again the things Manager Kim told him in their last argument. She was also standing in front of him, hands on waist, and glaring at him like hell.

'You're nothing without the spotlight, Carlson. Remember that…' those last words from Kim echoed in his mind. It hit him hard in the chest. He was nothing without the spotlight? He never wanted so much attention in his life.

Kim Angeles was his former talent manager for over eight years. They've been together through thick and thin in his journey as a singer. Everyone in the industry thought they have a relationship. But that gossip about them stopped when Carlson decided to foster children and invests most of his time in the orphanage.

"Carlson, I'm not asking you to abandon Skye. I know how emotionally attached you are to the child. Still, you also have an image to protect," Robby said and tapped his shoulder. "Think about it, okay?"

Carlson didn't answer. He went back to the couch and plopped down. Robby told him that he'll leave, but he pretended that he didn't hear him. When he disappeared in the living room, Carlson heaved a sigh. Robby has a point, but it's not his image that he has to protect, but Skye.

He took the photos and looked at them again. His brows furrowed when his gaze shifted to the woman holding Skye. He still doesn't understand how she got Skye's trust that fast. With the way Skye hold on to her, it was as if he has known her before even though it's the first time they see each other.

"Sir Carlson, Sir Robby has left," his housekeeper, Merites, told him. "I have picked up all your laundry and placed them in your wardrobe. I'll be back in three days for housecleaning."

"Thanks," he said. "By the way, Merites, I want to ask you about something…"

The forty-year-old woman looked at him. "What is it, sir?"

"Do you have a child?"

The woman smiled. "I have two daughters. They're both in grade school."

Carlson hesitated to speak. "Is it hard to take care of them? I mean, bringing and picking them up at school?"

"Nothing is hard for a parent that loves his or her children, sir," she smiled at him. "Honestly, I admire your dedication to giving affection and care for homeless children."

Carlson placed the photos inside an empty box when his housekeeper left and put out another small container under the coffee table. He opened it, and once again saw the old photo of a woman holding a newborn baby covered with a bloody blanket in her arms.

***