The loud growl echoed off the marble countertops.
Edward's hand froze mid-air. He looked down at the cashmere bundle, his expression twisting into a mix of disbelief and deep annoyance.
Hayley wanted the floor to swallow her whole. Being wrapped like a mummy made the humiliation ten times worse. She blinked up at him, trying to look apologetic.
But the hunger was real. Her infant stomach contracted painfully, and the damp, cold diaper was making her skin crawl. The adult logic in her brain tried to suppress it, but the biological demands of the baby body won.
Her lower lip trembled. A small, pathetic whimper escaped her throat.
The whimper quickly escalated. Within seconds, Hayley was crying loudly, her face scrunching up in genuine distress.
Edward dragged his hands down his face. The noise was drilling directly into his skull. He leaned over the counter, getting right in her face.
"Cry one more time," he hissed, his voice dropping to a lethal, quiet register, "and I will throw you in the dumpster downstairs."
The sheer malice in his eyes triggered Hayley's adult survival instincts.
She gasped, choking on her own spit. The crying stopped instantly. Not a slow fade, but a sudden, unnatural silence.
She held her breath, her chest frozen, her eyes wide with terror.
Edward narrowed his eyes. The sudden silence was too perfect. Too calculated.
He leaned closer, his face inches from hers. His gray-blue eyes searched her face, analyzing the fear in her expression.
"You..." he started, his voice slow and dangerous. "You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"
System Warning! the voice in Hayley's head screamed. Identity compromise imminent! If he suspects adult cognition, you will be institutionalized!
Cold sweat broke out on Hayley's forehead. She had to fix this. She had to act like a stupid, irrational baby.
She sucked in a massive breath and let out an ear-splitting, chaotic shriek.
She thrashed her body wildly inside the cashmere blanket, kicking her legs and shaking her head from side to side. She forced the tears to flow like a river, screaming with zero rhythm or reason.
Edward flinched hard, slapping his hands over his ears. The sheer volume of the noise shattered his suspicion. No rational being, adult or otherwise, would make a sound that obnoxious.
He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. Arguing with a baby was pointless.
He pushed off the counter and stalked over to the massive kitchen island. He stared at the row of high-tech bottle warmers, sterilizers, and formula dispensers like they were alien artifacts.
He grabbed a plastic bottle. He didn't bother checking the instructions. He turned on the hot water tap, filled the bottle halfway, and grabbed the tin of formula.
He scooped three massive, unmeasured spoonfuls of powder into the water. He screwed the cap on, barely twisting it tight, and shook it violently.
He walked back to the bar, his face set in a grimace. He grabbed Hayley's chin with his large hand, squeezing her cheeks to force her mouth open.
He shoved the nipple in.
The water was too hot, and the powder had formed thick, gooey clumps that immediately blocked the hole. Hayley sucked hard, but nothing came out.
She gagged on the hot plastic, spitting the nipple out. She let out a furious yell, glaring at him.
Edward scowled. He pulled the bottle back and looked at the nipple. Seeing the blockage, he shook the bottle again, harder this time.
Because the cap wasn't screwed on properly, the pressure forced the hot, sticky milk out.
A stream of white liquid shot through the air and hit Edward directly on the bridge of his nose.
Edward stopped breathing.
He froze, the warm, sticky liquid dripping slowly down his nose and splashing onto his lips. For a terrifying second, the urge to follow through on his threat and hurl the offending creature across the room was overwhelming. His hands twitched with dark intent. But then he looked down. The baby was blinking up at him in pure, unadulterated confusion, her tiny hands grasping at the empty air where the bottle used to be. The sheer, ridiculous absurdity of the situation slammed into him, forcefully deflating his murderous rage into a long, agonizingly suffering sigh.
He wiped the milk off his face with the back of his hand. He tightened the cap until the plastic creaked, shook it once more, and shoved it back into Hayley's mouth.
It tasted awful. It was gritty and too warm. But Hayley was starving. She clamped her gums down and drank greedily, the loud swallowing sounds filling the quiet room.
Edward watched her eat. The tension in his shoulders slowly drained away. He let out a long, heavy sigh, resting his forehead against his hand.
