(Serena's POV).
"I don't want to, Mommy! I don't want to! I want to be with Daddy!"
Gracie's tantrum really overwhelmed me when I gave her the understanding that she shouldn't stay overnight at the house of someone she didn't know very well. Even if he was her father, I couldn't just let her.
It started when she suddenly said she wanted to stay at Evan's place without me knowing what Evan had told her.
Evan, who was by her side, just smiled at me as if he felt he had won the bet with me.
I was a bit confused myself, was this what it was like when a daughter met her father and got close, and they always wanted to be together? Since I myself have been fatherless since birth, I don't know the whereabouts of my real father, so I didn't know how it felt to be like Gracie felt.
"Let her be with me," Evan said then. He acted like a righteous man and the intonation of his voice became mature when he talked to me in front of our daughter.
I looked at Gracie hugging his legs, looking adorable but I was also sad that she was getting close to him instead of me. After all, I was her mother who gave birth to her and raised her until now.
But, I also realized at that moment that I couldn't prevent a daughter's closeness to her father.
I squatted down in front of Gracie and stroked her head of hair. "Alright, I'll allow you to stay with your Daddy," I said hoarsely as I said the word 'your Daddy' in front of her for the first time and in front of Evan who must have heard it. "But you also don't forget me, okay?"
"I won't forget Mommy. I promise," she said.
I smiled widely, feeling like I was going to cry like I was going to let her go forever, but hey ... it was only temporary and I knew Evan wouldn't take her away from me.
"Okay, I love you, Gracie," I said.
"I love you too, Mommy."
I wiped away her tears and hugged her while giving her kisses all over her face until she burst out laughing.
Then this time Evan told her to get in the car while he faced me who was definitely going to have something to say to me.
He breathed in and out while I was still staring at my daughter who was already in the car, looking happy and even enjoying her father's luxury car.
"I know you'd be scared if I took her away from you," he began.
"You're not going to take her away, are you?"
"How could I take a child away from her mother, Serena? Even though you've kept her away from me for years, there's no way I'd take revenge," he explained.
"I'm not keeping her away, I'm just trying to move on without someone who never respected me during the marriage in the past," I replied firmly.
At that, he looked at me deeply and meaningfully. "So, you're still angry about that?"
My heart fluttered again at being looked at and asked in such a way. He seemed to be showing me that I shouldn't be angry with him and showing that he was in charge of everything.
Unfortunately, I was not stupid. Of course, I wouldn't obey like I used to.
"I don't think there's anything more to talk about. Gracie should go to bed and not sleep too late, she has school tomorrow and—"
"I know her schedule, Serena. Without you telling me, I've already found out everything about my daughter," he cut me off.
I blew out my breath and nodded and turned to leave him, but suddenly he grabbed my arm and took me in his chest.
Suddenly the rhythm of my heart picked up as he and I were so close, this close. His exhale and mine were in sync, making me unable to move normally. Especially when I couldn't lie that his face was really handsome even though I hadn't been with him for years. This was the face that made me fall in love to the point that I couldn't stop loving him.
"I reiterate, Serena," he said, "I will not let you reject me. I will keep pursuing you until I get you back."
After that, he drove off and got into his car, leaving me as still as a statue.
I immediately shook my head and got into the car with a long sigh and closed my eyes for a moment. Every time I met him, it really brought back what had withered in my heart. I intended to forget him even though I still loved him, but then he came around as if he'd never done anything wrong to me.
I finally went back to my apartment and cleaned myself up to clear my mind. Since Evan's arrival, I really couldn't sleep well, so I had to stay up late until I felt sleepy and I consumed a lot of caffeine.
Then suddenly the doorbell of my apartment chimed and it was unusual for me to hear someone visiting at this time of night.
"Who is it?" I asked myself.
I opened the door and was shocked to see Evan visiting. I swallowed my saliva with difficulty, and my breathing became labored.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "Is Gracie crying?"
He shook his head and I realized that he was dressed casually this time, looking different and strange considering I usually saw him only in a suit.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you, so I decided to come to you in person," he said.
I immediately crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him mockingly. "It's strange that an Evan I knew to be cold and stiff would be this aggressive."
Sometimes I still didn't even understand why he could be this open about what he felt and thought, because sometimes he also became unpredictable; just like in the past when I was his wife.
"You feel weird, huh? But, don't you know that sometimes the human heart can change, Serena?" he asked, which made me pause.