Waiting and Hope (Part 3)
“Liu Yue, let me introduce you.”
It took a long time before Ling Yue finally calmed down. She wiped her eyes that were red from crying. She held my hand and led me over to Liu Yue, who was hiding in Leah’s embrace and adamantly refused to come over. She pulled me down. Somewhat concerned, Liu Yue tightly hugged Ling Yue and wiped her mom’s tears with her tiny hands. Liu Yue flashed her teeth at me; she was trying to protect her mom.
I smiled bitterly. I was Liu Yue’s father, yet she had no feelings for me and was, in fact, afraid of me. Where in the world is there a daughter who’s afraid of her father? It was my fault, admittedly. I was never there for my daughter. She didn’t have any awareness back then, so it was only normal that she didn’t remember me. Therefore, I had to be her father more often at her side henceforward.
Ling Yue caressed her daughter’s ears with a smile. Ling Yue then giggled and whispered in her ear, “Liu Yue, he really is your father. He really is. When you were born, you were just a tiny fox. He was there, holding you at the time. Haven’t you always wanted to see your daddy? He is your daddy, your father, Troy Galadriel Rosvenor.”
Liu Yue looked at me doubtfully. I crouched down and revealed a gentle smile. I really wanted to tightly hold her in my arms. However, I was afraid I’d scare her. I carefully reached my hands out. With a chuckle, I said, “Long-time no see, Liu Yue. I haven’t been by your side in a long time. Do you miss Daddy? Daddy hasn’t been with you in a long time. The last time Daddy saw you was when Mommy just gave birth to you. You were so tiny back then and couldn’t yet open your eyes.”
After hearing what her mom said, Liu Yue didn’t look so scared and hostile anymore. Nevertheless, she was still distrustful. She probably relaxed, since she didn’t sense any animosity from me. Ling Yue gave her a push to tell her to come to me. Liu Yue circled around me, scanning me for anything suspicious and then returned to her mom’s embrace. She exclaimed, “He’s not my Daddy! He’s not my daddy! He doesn’t have a tail or ears!”
Ling Yue looked at Liu Yue with a dumbfounded look, “Pftthahaha.”
I, too, hopelessly laughed. Liu Yue was right. I, indeed, didn’t have a tail or ears, but I, without a doubt, was her father. Ling Yue laughed while looking at Liu Yue. She softly explained, “Of course, your father doesn’t have a tail or ears. Your father is a half-elf; he’s not from the Moon Fox Tribe as we are, but look, Honey.”
Ling Yue gently swept up Liu Yue’s hair. The gradient black and red was the perfect combination of Ling Yue and my genes. She went on with a smile, “Look at your hair, Honey. See? This black hair and your eyes are from your father, Honey. See?”
Ling Yue kept her gaze on her. She gave Liu Yue a kiss on the cheeks then smiled: “Honey, he is your father. He’s the gentlest, kindest and strongest person Mommy has ever met. He really loves you. He just had business to attend to. Your Daddy will always be by your side from now…”
“While I can’t always be with you, if you want to see me, you can come and see me whenever you like. Also, I promise to visit you both every month, as long as I’m not busy.”
Liu Yue wasn’t convinced. She wagged her tail behind her back and forth. Though her angry expression identically resembled her mother’s, I could see that she was starting to feel convinced. The tail never lies, after all.
I looked at Liu Yue with a smile. In a seemingly angry tone, she responded, “Do you know how much my Mommy and I missed you at home? I missed you very much, too… Why didn’t you come back? Why weren’t you at home with me and Mommy? We want to be with you… I wanted to see you…”
After asking me a few questions, Liu Yue began to tear up. She wiped her tears while continuing to sob. She cried in front of me. My daughter cried in front of her father. A father can’t accept that. Most importantly, I was the one who made her suffer.
I had no idea how Liu Yue grew so mature in a short month, but I knew I wasn’t by her side when she was growing up. I weakly extended my hand out. The guilt and regret almost robbed me of all my energy I wanted to hug her with.
Liu Yue didn’t make me suffer. She threw herself at me and tightly hugged me. She buried her head in my chest and wept out loud. Her warmth went from my chest to my heart and then to my entire body. I blankly wrapped my arms around her. The warmth almost brought me to tears. I began to worry that I’d hurt her.
Liu Yue was the most precious treasure in the world to me. She was as important as her mom was, so I couldn’t be rough with her! I had to treat her gently, protect her and give her the entirety of my North. I prepared all of it for my children. They should enjoy what others couldn’t. They should enjoy the bliss and beauty that others couldn’t.
Liu Yue leaned into my embrace and tightly gripped my chest. She softly pleaded, “Don’t leave again… Daddy… Don’t leave again… I want to see the place where you live… I want to know more about you. I want to see you more. I want to know more about you… Because you are my Daddy…”
I looked back at my daughter and replied in a soft voice, “Sure, sure, my daughter, my Liu Yue. If you want to come to the palace, have your Mommy bring you whenever you like. The doors to the Imperial Capital in the North will always be open for you. You can come whenever you like. Daddy will come and see you every month. Similarly, you can come to the Imperial Palace whenever you want.”
“Uhm…”
Liu Yue was Ling Yue’s daughter, no doubt about that. She cried in my arms. In the end, though, she just gave a simple response while wagging her tail. I knew she wasn’t ungrateful but purely shy. Nonetheless, the way she wagged her tail told me that she liked me.
I was satisfied with that.
It was only later on that I came to realise what Liu Yue meant when she said, “I want to know more about you. I want to see you more. I want to know more about you…” She wasn’t kidding… Perhaps I should say that I regretted saying that later on…
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Ten years later.
“Daddy.”
I opened my eyes in a daze to see a long furry tail in the distance. The clear moonlight outside of the thin curtains told me that it clearly was still night time. I wasn’t surprised, since I was woken up after just falling asleep. I felt somebody pressing down on my chest, making it a challenge to breathe.
Liu Yue’s eyes were just inches away from my face. I quickly rubbed my eyes. I turned my head to the side to see Nier still asleep. I softly asked, “What’s the matter, Liu Yue?”
After ten years, Liu Yue was no longer the tiny fox. She was mature and charming girl. Further, Ling Yue complained to me on more than one occasion that Liu Yue gradually dressed more and more revealing. Right that moment, I could see her breasts that had yet to fully develop underneath her low-cut sleepwear. She was my biological daughter, though, so there was no chance I’d have lustful thoughts for my grown-up daughter. I’d have to be born a creep, or that was impossible.
I quietly said, “Is something the matter, Liu Yue? If there’s nothing urgent, let’s talk about it tomorrow. It’s not good to wake up your Mommy Nier.”
“I had a nightmare.” Liu Yue kept her gaze on me when she gave her simple response. She then rolled off me then tucked herself into my bed. She looked as though she was an expert in executing the sequence. She buried herself in my arms and looked at me: “So I want to sleep here with you, Daddy.”
“You’re not a kid anymore. If you had a nightmare, wouldn’t it be better to go to Nona or your other sisters? Plus, you girls can chat with each other.”
Bewildered, she replied, “But I want to sleep together with Daddy. Didn’t you hug me, like this, when I had nightmares?”
I hopelessly replied, “That was when you were still young. You’ve grown now.”
“I’m still Daddy’s daughter even if I have grown. That will never change. Additionally, you said some extra stuff to the maid in charge of the bedroom today, and she bashfully laughed afterwards. During the day, you also held hands with Miss Luna. At night, you were acting fishy with Mommy in the kitchen…”
“Stop!”
I was so frightened that I almost shouted. I quickly covered Liu Yue’s mouth and looked at Nier, who was next to me, with terror. Fortunately, she had yet to fully wake. Having lived together for ten years, she wasn’t so vigilant anymore. In addition, Nier was most comfortable and most relaxed when sleeping next to me. Liu Yue looked at me with an eerie smile and, next to my ear, whispered, “Daddy, did I once tell you that I’d definitely be your side. I’ll always be watching you. Always. I’m your daughter, so I will always like you, and I’ll always… be watching you… always, always… always… watching you, you know…”
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