Layla became even more upset after that.
Elyette was not at all surprised.
Everything would make sense if Layla was the one who took the box; it explained why they couldn’t seem to find out who stole the box because no one would suspect a four-year-old child.
Layla was very dependent at the time, and who would suspect a child who couldn’t take care of herself?
Apart from that, it also explained why the content inside the box was never publicized or used to blackmail Elyette after it was taken.
“Layla, what kind of clothes did that woman wear?” Elyette sat her down on a chair, before wiping her tears away with tissue. When her sobbing had ceased, he continued, “was she a gray coat?”
“How do you know?” Layla looked at him, red–eyed. “Did you get the box back?”
Elyette remained thoughtful for a while, before he decided to tell her the truth. “No, that lady who lied to you had died in a car crush. Whatever‘s in the box had been taken. Don‘t be sad though, what‘s lost is lost.”
“But my brother said that the box contains something really important…” Layla snuffled and lowered her lashes. “I‘m sorry. I shouldn‘t have taken your stuff.”
Elyette felt exceptionally calm as he listened to his daughter‘s apology. Had it been anyone else who took what belonged to him, leading to such an unfortunate outcome, Elyette would have made them pay; but because it was his daughter who did it, he did not intend on blaming her even if the sky was the fall upon them.
Curious to what she was thinking at the time, he asked, “why did you take the box?”
“I hated you, so I took something of yours. I want you to get nervous when you can‘t find it.” Layla pouted regretfully. “If only I knew that it‘s that important, I would have never taken it!”
“Don‘t cry, Layla. Let‘s not tell your mom about this.” Elyette didn‘t want Averie to worry, and judging from how scared Layla appeared to be, she must have kept it from Averie.
He had asked Averie about the box when it went missing at the beginning; Averie would have told him if she knew anything about this.
Layla looked at him. “What about my brother?”
“You can choose not to tell your brother if you don‘t want to.” Elyette looked at her gently and said, “just pretend that nothing happened today. It‘s going to be a new year soon; you and your brother should go have fun with your mother.”
“What about you?” Layla finally let her guard down and felt an indescribable warmth spreading from her chest to throughout her body.
Her father didn‘t seem too bad after all.
“I will be spending new years in my house.” Elyette studied Layla‘s face, which resembled Averie, and asked endearingly, “what new year gift do you want? I will buy it for you before you leave.”
Layla blinked thoughtfully as she contemplated it.
There were plenty of things that she wanted, but most could be obtained from her mother, Mike or Eric.
“I like hair clips. I already have a lot of pretty hair clips but I will still be very happy if I get new ones.” Layla told him the gift that she wanted most and asked, “what new year gift do you want? I can buy you a gift as well. To tell you a secret, I have a lot of money!”
“I want you to call me Dad,” Elyette confessed his wish, “even for once.”
Layla was stunned. She had never called him ‘Dad‘ before and to suddenly start felt somewhat embarrassing. However, she had lost something that belonged to him, and not only did he not blame her, but he also offered to buy her a new year gift. It seemed as though calling him ‘Dad‘ was not too much a thing for him to ask. “Dad,” she looked up at Elyette‘s sophisticated features and muttered shyly.
The only reason Layla would so obediently call him Daddy was because they were the only ones in the room.
If Hayden was there, Layla would never dare to do so.
Hayden hated Elyette so much. Between Hayden and Elyette, she would surely stand with Hayden.
Elyette‘s dark eyes instantly turned into a gentle delight.
“If you don‘t get angry with Robert, I’ll call you Daddy once more.” Layla saw the smiles on Elyette‘s face, so she started bargaining with him, “Robert is still young. I have to protect him.”
Elyette‘s eyes reddened a little. He said hoarsely, “Layla, I’m not angry at Robert. I‘m angry at myself. I wasn‘t thoughtful enough. I did not care enough for Shea.”
“Daddy, this has nothing to do with you,” Layla corrected him sternly. “Shea wanted to save Robert. Even if you didn‘t let her do it, she would still secretly do it. Just like how I wanted to steal your things. I knew it was wrong, but I still wanted to do it.”
Layla‘s analogy was somewhat inappropriate, but she called him Daddy, which suddenly made him find a whole new meaning in life.
Mike had been standing outside the door, eavesdropping on their conversation. Unfortunately, he heard nothing because they were talking softly. Furthermore, Mike was sure that Elyette would not dare to do anything to Layla, so he was chatting on the phone with Chad.
Suddenly, the door opened. Elyette and Layla came out of the room.
“Are you done talking? What did you talk about? Why is Layla crying?” Mike saw Layla‘s reddened eyes. He said nervously, “Layla, did Elyette bully you?”
Layla shook her head. “He said that he wants to give me a gift. I‘m so touched I cried.”
Mike was baffled.
Elyette changed the subject. “It‘s late. Is Hayden still not back? Are his classes that heavy right now?”
Mike said, “Since you care for him so much, why don‘t you go and pick him up?”
Elyette knew that Mike was taking a jab at him, so he said in restrained, “I‘ll make a move.”
After Elyette left, Layla tugged on Mike‘s arm and huffed, “Why are you so fierce to my Daddy!”
“Babe, you‘re actually giving up for him! My God! What did he give you? How could you be bought so easily!” Mike exclaimed.
“Uncle Mike, I don‘t think he‘s that bad. Previously, when Robert was sick, he cared for him a lot.” Layla blushed. She has already accepted Elyette, so when she thought about Elyette she would naturally think of his good side.
“He is indeed not that bad, but Hayden would never acknowledge him. Aren‘t you Hayden‘s copycat?”
“The copycat will grow up too!” Layla said with puffed cheeks. “Anyway, I have already accepted his gift.”
“Layla, if you really want to reconcile with Elyette, your Mommy won‘t stop you. I won‘t stop you either,” Mike said peacefully, “But when Hayden is back, you have to tell him about this yourself. I won‘t dare to interfere in between you siblings.”
Soon after, Hayden was sent home by the bodyguard. Hayden already had dinner, so once he returned home, he went straight to his room.
Layla followed behind him. She tugged on the corner of his shirt. “Hayden, if I were to acknowledge Elyette as our Daddy, will you not play with me ever again?”
Hayden stopped in his tracks. He looked at Layla in surprise. “Have you reconciled with him?”
“I…” Layla stuttered. She did not know where to begin.
Hayden measured Layla‘s face and realized that she was no longer the silly little girl in his memories.
“I won‘t stop you from acknowledging him, but I won‘t do it,” Hayden said coldly, “Of course, now that he has a new son, he won‘t care about me.”
Layla said confusedly, “Hayden, what do you mean by the new son? Are you talking about Robert? Is there a difference between new and old? You and Robert are all his sons, right?”
Hayden was speechless.
“If he were to have another daughter with Mommy in the future, will I be the old daughter then?” Layla said, “Hayden, I don‘t think Daddy is the type of person that only likes new things.”
“He treats you well so you think he is a good person, but he does not treat me that way!” Hayden did not want to think about anything that has to do with Elyette. “Don‘t mention him in front of me, I don‘t want to hear about him.”
“Hayden, when he was bad to you back then, that‘s because he didn‘t know that you‘re his son. It has to be that way.” Although Layla was a little afraid of Hayden getting angry, she did not want to see Hayden and Elyette in such a bad relationship.
“Even if he didn‘t know I was his son, he knows that I am Mommy‘s son,” Hayden retorted,” When he goes mad, he wouldn‘t think about all these.”
“Okay, then. Hayden, I won‘t acknowledge him anymore, but I called him Daddy twice today,” Layla said conflictedly.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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