"Who are you, child?"
As Luna stopped eating, father and daughter looked at each other in confusion. Neither of the two could understand what in the world was going on.
It didn't take long for both of them to have their deepest questions answered. Speaking once more, Penelope uttered quite unpleasantly," I called the matrimonial agency, and they told me, there's no way Hasegawa-San here is married, so, if he's not married, then how do you explain this situation?"
Luna didn't say a word to retort Penelope's words as her words sunk way too much inside her. She knew the truth and couldn't refute it. What exactly was she supposed to answer? How was she supposed to defend herself?
Uttering for the second time, Penelope said, "I don't know why you're doing this, or why you're meddling in our date, but you should stop now because I've seen through you and the game you came here to play."
"Penelope, what are you—----------?"
Takumi couldn't take her words any longer and wanted to get back at her, but Luna stopped him as she grabbed her father's hand firmly, making him unable to do anything. Luna was willing to take it all, but wouldn't let her father interfere in the matter one bit.
Continuing where she left off, Penelope pronounced words that angered Takumi to the core. Those words were, "The game you came here to play is now over. It's now time for you to go and look for your real family, child. Let me enjoy my date, in peace."
Gazing at Luna's plate, she added further, "For the food that you've eaten, don't worry as we'll be paying for it. As you're not yet done eating, you can take the plate with you. I'm more than certain the staff here won't mind and will be very understanding about the matter."
"What.did.you.say?"
Takumi was furious and could no longer take Penelope's insolence. Even his daughter holding his hand firmly didn't cut it. Penelope had gone way too far for Takumi to let it pass as if it was nothing.
As he stood up and faced Penelope, he asked the latter, "Would you mind repeating what you just spouted a moment ago?"
For some reason, Penelope was scared of Takumi as his tone had drastically changed as he was confronting her head-on. Penelope's voice was trembling as she uttered the following, "I said there's no way that this girl could be your daughter, as you're not married."
"What did you say right after that statement?" "Would you be so kind as to repeat that for me one more time?"
Trembling even more, she said, "I also said she should look for her real family instead of pestering you."
A moment of silence ensued as the last statement came to a close. A moment later, Takumi uttered, "So you're saying that Luna here is not my daughter, but an imposter. Is that about right?"
"That's right." She nodded as a means to confirm her response to the question.
"Ms. Sainz, I think this isn't going to work. We should stop here."
Takumi uttered the sudden words with sheer coldness and indifference in his tone and voice. Turning to his daughter, Takumi grabbed her small hands and wiped the silent tears that were about to fall off. "Don't cry, my angel, and I'm sorry!"
"You had a bad time because of me, sorry."
There was nothing more Takumi could do at this moment but sincerely apologize to his daughter for Penelope's behavior. Retorting to her father, Luna uttered, "Don't apologize to me, Daddy because you did nothing worth apologizing for!"
"I was the one who asked you to take me along with you on your date. I decided to come, and I'm glad that I did."
Staring at Penelope, Luna uttered, "You badmouthed me in front of Daddy and said such mean things, but regardless of your behavior and insolence, my father was still courteous toward you." "You were right about one thing alone in everything that you said a moment ago."
___
"Takumi Hasegawa is not married, that much is true, however, he is my dad and that is because he adopted me and made me part of his family." "I insisted on tagging along on your date because I wanted to know the kind of person my dad would be entangling his life with and judge whether she would be an excellent life partner for him, but you failed the test."
"Not only were you insolent, but you were also extremely disrespectful toward my father by regarding him as a liar." "There's no way you're marrying my father and becoming my mommy."
"So lady, I think you've extended your stay more than enough and should leave now."
Penelope was stunned by the way Luna, a six-year-old child, was addressing her. What stunned her even more, however, was the fact that she was out of tune by not analyzing the situation carefully.
Wanting to turn things around, she said, "Hasegawa-San, disregard my words just now and forget everything I spouted in a moment of anger!" Looking at Luna, she said further, "And Luna, forgive me for hurting your feelings, and give me another chance, please!"
' She's just a child. She certainly will be soothed by just this, right? '
"Forget everything, you say?" "Would you do the same if you were in my shoes?"
Takumi asked Penelope, who didn't know the way to respond to the question. Stating even more, Takumi said, "If I were to disregard what you did today, that would be disrespectful to my daughter."
In retort to this, Penelope asked, "Can't you forgive me just this once?" "I promise never to behave like this again."
Retorting hypothetically to Penelope, Takumi said, "Do you know what the worst mistake you've made today is?"
—
"The worst mistake you've made today was to treat my daughter as an orphan, and for that mistake of yours, I'm not about to forgive you."
Not stating any more than necessary, Takumi picked his daughter up in his arms and looking back, he said to Penelope, "You'll be paying for this meal as a means to make up for today's insolence. Goodbye, and I hope our paths will never cross again!"
Leaving the restaurant, Takumi didn't utter a single word during the ride that took approximately more than an hour. Once home, Takumi apologized to his daughter once more for making her have an unpleasant time at the restaurant due to Penelope.
Retorting, Luna uttered, "I didn't have a bad time today, Daddy. Yes, it indeed hurt when that lady referred to me as an orphan, but you defended me and called me your daughter."
"Because you are, Luna. You're my beloved daughter."
Grinning to the phrase, Luna continued her statement, "The moment you defended me, I felt slightly better and contended. Besides, if I didn't go with you, you would have been blinded by her personality and would have ended up marrying her, wouldn't you?"
"No, that wouldn't have happened."
???
Luna was stunned by her father's sudden response. What exactly did her father meant by this? She was soon to find out.
"Even if you didn't come with me today, I had a plan up my sleeve to condone today's date."
"You had?"
"Yes, but thanks to you, I didn't have to resolve that, so thank you."
—
The following day, at the G Consortium, the moment Takumi arrived, Saunji took him aside to have a word with him.
"How did it go yesterday?"
—
"Why aren't you saying anything?" "Don't tell me it went badly, and you're now engaged and about to get married!"
Not able to contain himself any longer, Takumi bursts into laughter in front of his colleague and friend. Saunji was confused as to the reason why his friend had suddenly started laughing out of nowhere.
"Forgive me, Saunji for laughing, but I couldn't contain myself!" "I couldn't help it, seeing your reaction."
There was a long silence between the two. When the silence finally broke down, Takumi uttered before Saunji who was still waiting for an answer from him, "Don't you worry, Saunji, because I'm not getting married anytime soon!"
Contended with the answer, he then asked, "Does that mean your plan was a success!"
"I didn't get to put it in motion."
Hours later, after working hours, Takumi told Saunji everything, from the moment he arrived at the restaurant to the time of departing, mentioning between the lines how his daughter, Luna, was of great help.
When he was done explaining everything, Saunji asked, "Do you think your parents will be satisfied with this outcome?"
There was a long silence yet again before Takumi answered his friend's question. "My dad would support me in the decision I made. As for my dear mother, I'm not so sure."
"I bet that Ms. Sainz or the Matrimony agency must have already filled her in on everything that happened today, and she must be furious with me."
"What are you going to do?"
"What can I do?" "I'm going to brace myself and see this through."