“It doesn’t matter to me. Actually, I find it very strange to connect with Ely so much. Although she isn’t my daughter, now that I am taking care of her, and slept with her, I feel a strong bond with her.”
“If she doesn’t mind, then I don’t mind her calling me mother either while she is living here.” Charlotte gently fondled Ely’s cheek and smiled beautifully.
‘Wow!’ Brian’s brain almost overloads when he sees her gentle smile. It was like an angel smiling at his daughter. Suddenly, his face turns red as he instantly turns his head away.
“Huh! What happened, Brian?” Charlotte was surprised to see him moving his face away.
‘Did I mess up? He isn’t angry, is he? Don’t tell me I got out of line? He is really angry. His cheeks are burning red with anger. Oh my god, why? Why did I mess up? I should say something.’
“Umm….. nothing! Just something got into my eyes. Well, if Ely really wants to go to Amusement Park, then you are our only option.” Brian spoke while facing another way around. One hand was on his eyes while another hand was on his heart.
His eyes widened and his cheeks were completely red as he looked at the ground and thought.
‘W-wh-what’s going on? Why is my heart beating so fast? What kind of smile was that? Why didn’t I ever see that smile? And, why is my heart racing so much?’
“NO! I won’t suck your blood and you are not my mother.” Suddenly, Ely screamed from behind and caused him to turn around. The blush on his face instantly faded away with confusion flashing in his eyes.
“Ely, she is just suggesting you because of how much you wanted to go. If you don’t want then you can say it politely. You shouldn’t reject someone’s goodwill in such a tone, understand?” Brian got a little angry hearing her tone.
From a small age, his mother has always taught him to be good to someone who shows him some goodwill. Even if that goodwill doesn’t benefit you, you must understand that there are good people in this world.
He wants Ely to understand this. Of course, he doesn’t know how much Charlotte has schemed just to say this line.-?(0)???.
Seeing her daddy getting angry at her, Ely slowly bursts into tears.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaa! Ely hates daddy. Daddy never supports Ely. He always supports other girls. Daddy is a player. Waaaaaaaaaaa!”
Unlike Brian, she thought her daddy was truly angry at her even though she just simply reject someone who is not her mother. She felt like her daddy was being unfair.
“Hush! You can’t cry at everything, Ely. And, daddy always supports you unless you are doing bad things. Sister Charlotte isn’t some other girl. She has left her normal life just to take care of you and if you show such disrespect to her, she would’ve no reasons to stay here.”
“Ely, you are a smart kid. You should understand the value of strength in this world. Your mommy doesn’t like your daddy because daddy is weak. And, if he remains weak, you would have to choose between your mommy and daddy. Do you want that to happen?”
(O)??? When he said that, Elenor’s eyes widened. She wiped away her tears and shook her small head.
Brian slowly puts his forehead on her forehead and says “Your daddy needs to get a lot stronger. So, would you be a good girl and start treating Sister Charlotte as your family?”
Elenor puffed her cheeks and nodded her head.
“Now, do you want to go to Amusement Part today or tomorrow?” Brian smiles and finally lifts his head while asking her.
Elenor keeps her cheeks puffed, making a cute expression. Finally, she lowers her eyeballs and opens her mouth.
“Today!” ?(O)???
Hearing those words, Charlotte smiles and rolls her sleeve. Brian gets up and says “Alright then, I will take a bath while you take a rest. After you recover, we will go to Amusement Part.”
“Yay!” Elenor raises both of her hands with a loud cheer but her hands quickly turn weak and fall over her.
Brian smiles and walks up to the bathroom. As soon as he reaches the bathroom, he closes the door and takes off his clothes, leaving only underwear. He walks up to the mirror and sighs.
“I might be above average but I don’t think I have enough charm to impress a girl.”
Saying so, he walks up to the shower. While talking about the shower, he looks at the showerhead and mutters.
“Even she who gave birth to my daughter doesn’t want to see me. How could a beautiful girl like Charlotte like me?”
‘No Mr. Brian, you are cool.’
Suddenly, an image flashed in front of his eyes. It was a short memory but it managed to put a smile on his face.
“Looks shouldn’t matter that much, right? But then even if she accepts it, Ely won’t accept it. She still loves her mother.”
“Is this the fatherly bond? I just met you yesterday and now I don’t want to lose you. Not until you grow up and marry someone else! Hah! I am too weak.”
Brian clenched his fist as his eyes turned a little red. It wasn’t due to anger though. It’s just that a lot of water poured into his eyes.
“It freaking hurts!”
Only then does Brian realize it and covers his eyes.
“Brian, what happened? Are you alright?”
Suddenly, Charlotte’s voice rang from outside and only then realized that he spoke too loud.
“Nothing! Just some shampoo got into my eyes.” Brian replies with a high voice. And, then he closes his eyes under the shower.
‘Four years of planning! I did everything to lay out this perfect path for myself. I won’t let it go to waste. I will get stronger, a lot stronger. I don’t want to rely on that ever again.’
When he said that, an image appeared in his mind.
It was just a name, nothing else but the name itself carried so many emotions and a deep meaning that only a few people know.
‘Sleeping Dragon’
After a long shower, he dries himself and comes out of the bathroom wearing only a towel.
Gulp!
Just when he came out, Charlotte was walking back to the kitchen. When she saw him bare-chested, she couldn’t help but gulped down a large part of saliva. Her face slowly turned red as she tried to look away but she couldn’t. Her eyes were glued to him.
“Ahem! Sorry, I forgot to bring clothes inside.” Brian also got red due to embarrassment. He thought she would be in the kitchen since it’s been a while.
“N-no… it’s okay. You did say we are family….” Charlotte lowered her head due to shame but her eyes were still stuck on him. She spoke but her voice was very low.
“Ahhh… that…..” Brian wanted to say ‘Don’t mind it, I only said that to make your relationship better with Ely’. But, he felt like if he says this sentence, it will just get worse. He doesn’t know why it will get worse.
But, his guts say that it will get worse if he says something like that. He rubbed his head and said, “I will go change.”
“Y-y-yes!” Charlotte finally turned towards the kitchen and he also turned around. But just when they crossed each other, Brian suddenly turned around and said.
“Charlotte, can I ask you something?”
Charlotte paused for a moment. Her heartbeat raced. For some reason, she got the feeling that this question is going to be heart wrecking for her. But, she still gathered her courage and turned around.
“Y-y-yes?”
Brian got embarrassed. He lowered his head and touched his head.
“Do you think a ‘Smile’ can be a reason for someone to fall in love?”
When he asked that question, he shuts his eyes close. He doesn’t know why he was afraid but he was afraid to look at her.
“Can you open your eyes?” After a while, a voice rang in his ears. He got startled when the voice got so close. He slowly opened his eyes and Charlotte was standing just a few inches away from him. He slightly pushed back his head but she just moved her head towards him.
“I know the answer to that question. But before I answer, I just want to ask you something. Please be honest with me and answer this. Whose smile was it?”
When Charlotte asked that question, Brian’s face turned red. It was burning as if he had a fever. Charlotte’s face didn’t change. She wasn’t even blushing. She just looked straight into his eyes and expected the answer.
Brian was in dilemma. He was afraid of making this worse. He was truly afraid but he wanted to say this. He wanted to say.
“You”
When he said that, his eyes widened. He just thought that in his mind but somehow it got out of his mouth. He didn’t know why this happened. He didn’t know why he said that but he felt like a huge burden on his shoulder had disappeared.
But what happened next shocked him. Charlotte stood up on her tip-toes and pressed her lips on his. While he looked at her face with wide eyes, she kept her eyes shut as she fully immersed herself in that kiss.
Suddenly, his hands moved. They moved around her. His palm wrapped her waist as he pulled her near him and also bent his neck. The next moment, he felt like the world was spinning around him while he and Charlotte were stuck in time.
He understood. This was her answer.
……..
Wow! They are finally together. Oh man, I was cheering for charlotte for so long. If you think this relationship should progress, vote powerstones to encourage Brian to take the step forward.