Sienna Johnson stopped Adrian Desmond from speaking and answered for him, "He is... a thief! He came in to steal things! He’ll leave once he gets what he wants. He won’t hurt us, so don’t be afraid." "Damn it!" Adrian cursed under his breath. This woman was relentlessly tarnishing his image in his daughter’s eyes. He had planned to acknowledge his daughter, but before he could, this damn woman had labeled him a ’thief’. How could Adrian possibly allow such a thing to happen?! If he really left like that, wouldn’t that just confirm he was a thief? Since they were bound to meet sooner or later, why not today? Adrian cleared his throat and said, "Um, Curly, I am your father!" With that, he looked nervously at Curly, wondering if she could accept her ’dead’ father suddenly reappearing as if he’d risen from the grave. Curly blinked at Adrian, her face filled with confusion. "I didn’t die. Your mom lied to you," Adrian explained. "I’ve been living in Abyanabad all this time, and I’ve been searching for you both all these years." "I knew you weren’t dead!" Curly said. "My mom said you went to work far away to earn money for me, so I could buy whatever I wanted. But I knew that wasn’t true." Curly put down the porcelain shards in her hands and looked at Adrian calmly. He, on the other hand, was far from composed. Adrian was elated. Watching Sienna, his gaze softened. "So you were lying to me." She hadn’t told our daughter he was dead, like she claimed. "Your mom forgot about me; she doesn’t know the way back home anymore. All these years, I’ve been looking for you both. Curly, will you and your mom come back to Abyanabad with me? Our home is in Abyanabad." Adrian looked at Curly expectantly. If he could just convince Curly to come back with him, he didn’t believe Sienna could remain so composed. "Is Abyanabad a country where a man can marry many wives?" Curly asked. Adrian felt a headache coming on. "I will only marry your mother." "But my godmother said you wanted to marry another woman, and that’s why my mom took me and left." Sienna glanced at her daughter, somewhat surprised. Curly knew more than she’d thought. It seemed Kiki had told her quite a bit about Adrian. "...You already married another woman, so why are you still bullying my mom?" "Curly, Daddy regrets it. Can you forgive me, just this once?" Facing Curly, Adrian’s attitude was much more sincere and earnest. He wanted to be a good father. Even though he had many shortcomings, he was willing to change his bad habits for this little one. "Mom, are you going to forgive him?" Curly turned to look at her mother, wanting to hear her answer. Sienna gently shook her head. "Mommy is going to marry Father Kenneth. Besides, Mommy doesn’t want to leave Sileria City. This is Mommy’s home." "This is Curly’s home too." Curly, seemingly having come to an understanding with her mother, said to the tall man sitting cross-legged on the bed, "We don’t want to go back with you. You can go back by yourself." Such a heartless child, Adrian thought. "Fine, if you two aren’t going back, then I won’t go back either." How could he possibly go back alone? Curly blinked at Adrian and asked, "If you don’t go home, won’t your mom miss you?" "My mom passed away when I was very young. Back then, I was little, and your aunt was only a few years older than you are now. Curly, Daddy had it so rough back then. I often had nothing to eat and was bullied by others. Once, a big group of people ganged up on me, and I almost died..." "What about your dad?" "My dad passed away too." Is he trying to play the sympathy card? Sienna wondered. Sienna Johnson was genuinely impressed by this adaptable Adrian. "Mom, he doesn’t have a mom or dad anymore. He’s so pitiful." Sienna looked utterly frustrated. This man... "He’s an adult. Adults don’t need parents." Adrian retorted, "Who said adults don’t need parents anymore? Curly, when you grow up, won’t you still want your mommy and daddy?" Adrian gave Sienna a smug look. Sienna glanced at her watch. It was already past midnight. She’d have to go to work with dark circles under her eyes again tomorrow. So tired! "Mr. Desmond, is it really alright for you to just run out of the Police Station ?" "President Johnson, you’re so capable, I’m sure you can sort this out for me. This is your territory, after all. You have to take good care of me. No matter what, I am Curly’s biological father." Sienna’s head throbbed. Things had already spiraled beyond her control. "It’s late. Can you please leave first?" Adrian cooperated, getting up from the bed. Seeing the shattered porcelain on the floor, he carefully cleaned it up, worried the mother and daughter might get hurt. "Curly, next time you hit someone with a vase, aim for the head. Hitting the body is useless! Got it?" Adrian instructed. Who teaches their child ? Sienna thought. "Mr. Desmond, can you please hurry up and leave?" "Curly, can Daddy come see you tomorrow?" Adrian looked at Curly, completely ignoring Sienna’s exasperation. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovelHub(.)net "I have to go to the hospital to see Father Kenneth every day. I don’t have time," Curly said haughtily. "How about the day after tomorrow then?" "I don’t have time tomorrow or the day after. Let’s arrange another time." Adrian’s smile faltered. Seeing Curly yawning repeatedly and looking extremely sleepy, he didn’t press the issue. "Sweetheart, you go to sleep first. I’ll come see you again soon." Curly waved her hand, nestled into her mother’s arms, and fell asleep. She really takes after that heartless mother of hers, so cold. Meeting her biological father for the first time, and she can still be this calm, Adrian mused. "President Johnson, I’ll head back to the Police Station first. You’ll get me out, right?" Suddenly, Adrian leaned down, cupped her head, and kissed her hard. Afraid of waking the sleeping daughter in her arms, Sienna didn’t dare move. Only when Adrian had kissed his fill did he finally let her go. "When I was younger, I wasn’t a good guy. I’ve even done drugs, so that stuff you used on me has no effect." "You’re my real aphrodisiac!" "I’ll end that sham marriage with Melanie Carpenter as soon as possible. You need to get rid of your men too! Stepmothers and stepfathers often abuse children... Since you love Curly so much, you need to think about her." "I’m her biological father. That’s something no other man can compare to." Sienna said, "If I were you, I’d go back to Abyanabad!" "I finally found you. I’m not letting go again!"