Chapter 1Daddy, Gone Viral

The A-list actor Aaron Brown was going to be my son’s “Dad for a Day.”

The entire internet was holding its breath for him.

But when the live camera finally landed on my son, the chat exploded.

【Be honest, Aaron. Did you make a donation to a sperm bank a few years back?】

【OMG, what an adorable little marshmallow! He’s literally a miniature Aaron Brown.】

Thanks to his cute face and impossibly calm demeanor, my son and the movie star became the internet’s new favorite duo.

I was in the middle of haggling with the production team over my son’s appearance fee when he suddenly toddled over to me—just another staff member in the crowd—wrapped his arms around my legs, and chirped in his sweet, milky voice:

“Mama!”

Across the room, Aaron Brown, the man I’d ghosted three years ago, looked like he’d been struck by lightning.

* * *

Backstage, the production team was scrambling.

It was the first day of the reboot for the reality show Dad for a Day, and for the first time ever, it was being broadcast live. But the child star they had booked was a no-show, and the program was minutes away from a disastrous dead-air debut.

After hearing the automated message, “The number you have dialed is currently unavailable,” for the hundredth time, the director slammed his script on the floor in a fit of rage.

The impact was so forceful it sent the tower of building blocks my son, Finn, had just finished constructing, tumbling to the ground.

The clatter of plastic drew everyone’s attention. Based on years of experience with child-centric reality shows, they all braced for the inevitable—a high-pitched, ear-splitting scream from a toddler in his sensitive phase for order, turning the already chaotic backstage into a living nightmare.

But Finn just blinked his big, curious eyes, stunned for a single second.

Then, he picked up the fallen script from the floor, wobbled over to the director, handed it back to him, and calmly returned to his blocks to start rebuilding his castle.

No tears. No tantrums. Just pure, unadulterated chill.

The director looked as if he’d found his savior. He dropped to his knees in front of me, where I was busy applying foundation to an actress.

“Leah, I’m begging you! You have to help us out!”

To reassure me, he promised, “The camera angles and the tasks will be super kid-friendly, I swear. No malicious editing, no online hate mobs. We’ll protect him.”

That wasn’t what I was worried about.

Finn’s emotional stability rivaled that of a capybara. Even if the producers had the guts to try and stir up drama, they wouldn’t be able to get a single negative clip of him. As for his looks, I was even less concerned. I occasionally posted photos of him online, and the comments were always a flood of excitement:

【OP, just ask me the question! You know the one!】

【YES! Your kid can absolutely be a child model!】

…

What I was worried about was running into a certain someone who was also scheduled to be on this show.