" Are you angry I came without telling you? Aren't you happy to see me?" She asked in a low voice, trying to fight the tears that were threatening to fall, as she was now on the verge of tears. Did she really make a mistake by coming back?
Being the pampered and sheltered child that she was, she had never experienced any form of hardship and the only heartbreak she had ever experienced was the one she had gotten from news of her beloved mother's death. All her every need and want was catered for and she never had to get her hands dirty unnecessarily. Thus, she didn't have a thick layered skin to withstand the harsh lessons life taught people. She was so fragile. Breakable. Hell, she couldn't even handle rejection. Not that she ever had to, she never got rejected as it seemed that it was her who actually did the rejecting. So if her father was to say he didn't want her here, she would definitely be heartbroken for sure.
" What are you even saying? Of course I'm happy to see my little girl! Why wouldn't I be? And I'm certainly not angry, maybe a little surprised but definitely not angry. Don't think negatively like that about your own father." Her father answered with a long speech, and flashed her a loving smile which made her smile as well. Heaving a sigh of relief, she had been worrying for nothing. Perhaps she was just overthinking things, but she felt that there was something bothering her father. He looked stressed and had very visible gray strands of hair on his head. Normally, he would dye his hair back black because he didn't like having white hairs on his head. He had been dyeing his hair since it started turning white at the age of thirty-six, which he considered an extremely young age to get white hairs and says it makes him look older than he actually was. Her eyes were still scanning him to find out what's bothering him but got nothing, as her father really knew how to shield his emotions.
"You scared me, Dad! I almost thought you didn't want me--" She wasn't able to finish her sentence when he cut in.
" You have such a wild imagination, do you know that? You always think of the craziest things." He laughed and she gave him another big hug. This time he was wise enough to hug her back before her thoughts starts flying all over the place. What he said earlier was true, it wasn't like he didn't want her back. Who on Earth wouldn't want to see their own daughter? He loved her so much, even though he would often say that he didn't have a favorite child, it was clear that she was his.
It's just that he didn't want her to see him in the situation he was in right now, the problem he created for himself. He knew how much pride and respect she had for him and didn't want to lost it. Her respect. Her love. They would be gone if she found out the truth. He was balls deep in debt and was literally buried in contract loans he had to pay back. He was also about to lose their house to one of his creditors, who he owed a huge amount of money to. And he had no one else to blame for his misfortune, except himself and his gambling habits. It was all thanks to his gambling addiction and he didn't want his daughter to watch him lose everything him and his wife worked hard for. Ever since his wife pass away, his life had been a complete mess. And from one problem to the other, he found himself getting addicted to alcohol and gambling. That was one of the main reasons he sent her away to live with her aunt, so she would have to see him like this. The little ones might not understand a thing, but Andrea would definitely understand, and she would hate him for it.
Just the thought of his eldest hating him for his foolish mistakes was already heartbreaking enough that he couldn't help, but hate himself for it.
" Look at you, my god! my baby is so beautiful! I might have to stop letting men into the house because once they see you, I'm sure they wouldn't want to ever leave." He said with a proud smile as he tried to push the negative thoughts aside, and lighten up the mood.
" See, I told sister Andy that we might have to put a bag over her head." Adrian said to his father as he cut into their conversation.
" That wouldn't be a bad idea, son." Marco agreed with his son.
" What?!! You agree with him?!" She asked in shock. " You do know your son wants to put a bag over my face, right?" She asked to clarify. Did they really want to cover up her face with a bag?! What a horrible thing to do!
" Why not? It would save me the stress of rejecting so much suitors." Marco said to his daughter, who had disbelief written all over her face. The smile on his face widen when he saw the look she was giving him and her brother.