By Zephyria Angela stared at Winston’s face silently. Seeing the child’s expression, which clearly showed confusion and hesitation, Winston spoke again. This time, slowly, with conviction.
“I’m by your side. No one will hurt you, and you won’t get hurt. I swear, I’ll protect you.”
And he added with intention.
“I promised Yu-jin that.”
Angela showed clear signs of wavering when Daddy’s name came up. Noticing that the child’s heart was turning, Winston continued more strongly.
“I will keep my promise to Yu-jin. I will also keep my promise to you. So trust me.”
Any other child would have given up their stubbornness and relied on him at this point. Because the only person who was saying that he would be on her side right now was the man in front of her.
But Angela was not so easily swayed.
“I can’t trust you.”
The child said stubbornly, still in a trembling voice.
“You only said bad things to Daddy, and you fought with Daddy. I still don’t trust you.”
Those words clearly caught him off guard, but Winston didn’t show it at all, as he usually did. Of course, this time it took more effort than ever for some reason, but anyway, he lied without batting an eye.
“Right now, I’m protecting Daddy and your brother.”
It was practically confinement, but no matter how mature she was, a child couldn’t see through an adult’s lies. Instead, he went on to tell the truth.
“You must have times when you fight with your friends, right? Adults aren’t always on good terms either. Right now, I’m trying to make up with Daddy, and I want to get along with you too. So I hope you’ll trust me too.”
“That’s not an easy thing to do.”
Angela said firmly in a voice that had calmed down as she talked to Winston. Thinking that it was a relief, Winston smiled.
“Then how about this? Give me a chance. Let’s see if I keep my promise at this party.”
At those words, Angela made a tempting expression for the first time. Winston didn’t miss the opportunity and continued.
“It’s simple. If I don’t do well this time, you can hate me and not trust me for the rest of your life. But if I do well, trust me from now on.”
As if asking for an opinion, Winston stared at Angela intently. An answer didn’t come easily, but Winston noticed that it was only a matter of time before the child agreed. Then it’s time to hit a home run for the last time. As he usually did when negotiating, he made the sweetest offer last.“Let’s go see Daddy after the party.”
Angela reacted immediately to those words.
“We just went to see him, though?”
Winston smiled and nodded at the child, whose eyes were shining and cheeks were flushed.
“Daddy was very sad that he couldn’t come to your birthday party. So, he promised that we’d have our own party again after this one.”
“R-really?”
“Yes.”
Now the child was almost completely won over. Winston gently stroked Angela’s cheek.
“So, let’s just do our best at this party. I’ll be with you the whole time. Okay?”
Angela fell into thought again. It was only a matter of two or three seconds, but Winston waited for her answer, inwardly tense.
“…Okay.”
Angela finally nodded and answered. In that instant, Winston kissed the child’s cheek without realizing it.
“Ah, sorry.”
He belatedly came to his senses and quickly apologized, and Angela said it was okay. But Winston clearly saw Angela wiping the cheek her lips had touched with the palm of her hand, wearing a sulky expression.
This is still a huge improvement.
He told himself and turned his head, pretending not to notice. This was just the beginning. If this party went well, Angela’s wariness would ease up even more. In fact, there was almost no chance of anything happening at the party. Who would dare to harm Angela at a party hosted by Winston, especially when he would be with her the whole time?
Convinced that he could use this opportunity to turn the child’s fear into trust in him, he went down the stairs without hesitation.
“Hello, Mr. Campbell.”
“Mr. Campbell, thank you for the invitation.”
“Oh, is this the star of today’s party? She’s so cute.”
As soon as they saw Winston, people called out from here and there, trying to get his attention. Startled by the sudden flood of words and people, the child gripped Winston’s shoulder tightly. He could feel the fabric of his suit being crushed mercilessly, but he didn’t care and instead held the child even tighter in his arms.
“This is my daughter, Angela. I introduced her to you last time.”
At Winston’s words, the people surrounding them laughed exaggeratedly and made a fuss.
“Yes, of course. She’s even cuter than last time.”
“How lovely, any man would fall under the spell of such a cute witch.”
“Thanks to you, our children can enjoy such a wonderful Halloween party too. Thank you, Angela.”
Everyone fawned over Angela and showered her with compliments. Of course, Winston knew very well that this was flattery directed at him, but if it helped Angela gain confidence and feel good, then he would achieve his goal, so he was happy about it.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Angela relaxed and loosened her grip on Winston’s shoulder. Winston smiled and asked, seeing that the child seemed much more comfortable.
“Angie, are you thirsty? Would you like something to drink?”
In that instant, the eyes of the people surrounding them widened. In an atmosphere where they clearly couldn’t believe what they were seeing and hearing, Angela answered demurely.
“I want a chocolate shake. And a chocolate brownie.”
“Of course, you shall have them, Princess.”
He was surprised at how happy he was that she had told him what she wanted. Winston was amazed at himself, but he didn’t bother hiding his joy. He barely managed to stop himself from kissing the child’s cheek again, and then excused himself to the people and left. The people watching his back as he readily walked away with the child in his arms could only stare at each other with dazed expressions.
“Did I just see what I think I saw?”
“No way, that Winston Campbell…”
“I’ve never seen him smile like that before.”
“Me neither.”
Almost the same thought was taking root in their minds as they spoke incoherently.
If we upset that child, Winston Campbell might kill us.
“Could she be his biological child?”
Someone suddenly spoke up. When surprised gazes focused on her, she stammered and continued.
“Of course, there are many people who love adopted children as if they were their own. But when you look at it, doesn’t that child resemble him?”
Everyone understood the meaning of the hidden words. If everyone was thinking the same thing, it might really be true.
“…But, couldn’t she be Harold’s child, as the rumors say?”
At the cautious words, everyone fell silent again. It was taboo. If Winston found out that these words had been exchanged, the aftermath was hard to imagine.
“Does it matter whose child she is? We just need to know that Mr. Campbell loves her that much.”
One of the more perceptive people came to a conclusion, and everyone nodded as if they had been waiting for it. Now their attention was focused on how to win Angela’s heart. Of course, the person in the party hall who wanted that the most was Winston.
* * *
“Haaah.”
Angela let out a sigh of satisfaction after eating a piece of brownie with her chocolate shake. Winston, who was sitting next to her and watching the child with a pleased expression, asked.
“Was it good? Would you like more?”
“No, thank you, but I’m fine, Mr. Campbell.”
Angela gracefully declined his offer.
“I want lemon sherbet this time. I wouldn’t refuse if you brought me a piece.”
Winston immediately got up at those words. Of course, he wouldn’t refuse.
“Of course, Princess. I’ll bring it to you right away.”
He could have just called a waiter to his seat, but Winston acted differently than usual. The child had asked him to ‘bring it to her,’ hadn’t she? It wasn’t a difficult task at all. Winston, who was about to move, stopped and asked with a serious face.
“Will you be okay alone?”
He asked, recalling Angela’s terrified and trembling appearance, and the child nodded reassuringly.
“Of course, Mr. Campbell. Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine. A princess must be able to bear the weight of her crown, you know.”
He still couldn’t understand what the last part meant, but it was clear that Angela’s condition had improved. Winston smiled and then left. Left alone, Angela sat up straight and looked around. People dressed up as vampires, monsters, demons, and all sorts of other things were laughing and chatting.
What is Daddy doing…?
The pleasant feeling she had been having suddenly disappeared and was replaced by loneliness. Several pairs of eyes were watching Angela from behind the child, who had quickly become gloomy.