Chapter 313: Sweet Moment [1]
Ophelia remained silent, completely confused and slightly terrified.
The words Noah had just spoken felt less like reality and more like something straight out of a nightmare.
She immediately looked toward her mother.
Akari was looking away, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. She looked almost like a young maiden who had just fallen in love.
’No... this can’t be real.’
Ophelia desperately tried to convince herself otherwise. She swallowed nervously before speaking.
"Mother... tell me this is false."
Her voice trembled slightly. She was clearly shaken. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Noah had actually asked her to call him Daddy.
There was absolutely no way in hell she was going to call him that. Akari, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, finally turned toward her daughter.
She seemed to understand exactly what Ophelia was going through. Yet, instead of trying to comfort her, Akari simply looked into her daughter’s reddened eyes.
"...Yes. It is true."
Akari hesitated.
"Noah and I... we..."
She closed her eyes, seemingly embarrassed by the words she was about to say.
"We love each other."
Ophelia froze.Her mother’s acceptance hit her harder than anything else could have. She took several steps backward, shaking her head in denial.
"No..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"This can’t be..." She shook her head harder. "It has to be a dream... Yes, that’s it. This is just a dream. A very bad dream..."
Her gaze fell upon Noah. He was standing beside Akari with an unbearably satisfied smile on his face.
’There’s no way my mother would fall for someone like Noah...’
Meanwhile, Noah was thoroughly enjoying himself. The reaction he was getting from Ophelia was priceless.
How many months had he spent wanting to get back at her for treating him like a criminal? And now, finally, he had the perfect opportunity.
Since she was Akari’s daughter, he had decided not to take any serious revenge against her. But this much? Surely, this was harmless.
"Ophelia," Akari said.
Ophelia looked toward her mother.
"This isn’t a dream. What you heard is the truth."
She paused before continuing. "And as Noah said, you should show him respect as your new..."
Akari’s face reddened again. She turned her head away. It took her several seconds to gather the courage to finish the sentence. "He is your new daddy."
Ophelia’s eyes widened.
"Now apologize to your daddy."
Those words made Ophelia clench both fists tightly. She lowered her head, staring at the floor.
"Moth—"
"Ophelia!"
Akari’s voice cut her off. "I told you to apologize to your dad. Right now!"
For other this might sound cringe, but not to Noah. The words dad and daddy coming from Akari’s mouth sounded like sweet music to Noah’s ears.
To Ophelia, however, they felt like arrows piercing straight through her heart.
She slowly turned toward Noah. Their eyes met.
The moment she saw him standing there, the guilt she had been trying to suppress came rushing back.
She was blind in her rage, thinking that every bad thing was happening only to her. That she was suffering, that everyone around her doesn’t care about her.
So she never care about other. She selfishly thought about her own good.
"I... I’m sorry, Noa—"
"Not Noah."
Noah immediately corrected her.
Ophelia’s lips trembled. She nodded reluctantly. She exactly knew what he mean.
"I-I’m sorry, D-D-Daddy..." Even saying that word seemed to cause her physical pain. "I apologize for what I did to you."
Tears began rolling down her cheeks. They were warm against her flushed skin. Her voice trembled as she began sobbing.
"I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have done that. I was wrong... I was really wrong..."
More tears spilled from her eyes.
"I’ll do anything you say... just forgive me."
She continued crying, unable to stop the tears from flowing.
Noah and Akari watched her silently. They exchanged a glance. Then, almost simultaneously, they nodded.
Noah looked back at the crying Ophelia. He finally released his arm from around Akari’s waist and walked toward Ophelia.
When he reached her, he extended his hand and gently placed it on top of her head. He slowly stroked her hair.
A gentle smile appeared on his face. "There, there..." His voice was surprisingly soft. "It wasn’t that hard to say you’re sorry, right?"
He spoke in the same gentle tone a father might use when comforting his child.
Ophelia didn’t reject his touch. Instead, she slowly looked up at his handsome face through her tear-filled eyes.
"Yes... I’m sorry."
Her voice was quiet.
"I know what I did was wrong. I don’t deserve your forgiveness."
Noah smiled. "Well, I forgive you."
He lightly patted her head. "Because you were such a good girl just now."
Ophelia stopped sobbing for a moment. She blinked several times, her eyes still filled with tears.
"Really...?"
Noah nodded.
"Of course."
He continued gently patting her head.
"You were a good girl. And I hope you’ll continue being a good girl from now on."
Ophelia’s already reddened cheeks became even redder. She sniffled and nodded obediently.
"Yes... I will."
Akari watched the scene from the side. For some reason, it genuinely looked as though a father was talking to his daughter.
Despite the fact that Noah and Ophelia were practically the same age.
It was strangely funny. But as Akari continued watching Noah gently pat and stroke Ophelia’s head, another feeling slowly began to surface within her.
It was discomfort. For some reason, she didn’t like how close Noah was standing to her daughter. She didn’t like how gently he was speaking to Ophelia. She didn’t like the soft smile on his face.
Every little thing about the scene bothered her.
Akari’s cheeks puffed up slightly. Before she even realized it, she had begun pouting.
’Why is Noah acting so close to my daughter?’
She frowned.
’She’s no longer his fiancée.’
The thought only made her more annoyed. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Akari spoke.
"Noah."
Her voice was cold, colder than she intended to be.
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[A/N: I wrote this Chapter for fun hahaha!! Nothing much! So don’t take it seriously and enjoy it!!]