Chapter 83

83 Persuasion

Her nanny was by her side to comfort her while I watched the whole scene unfold right in front of me. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. This has turned into a bigger mess than I thought possible. Why did Adrian have to put it that way? He could have told her nicely. I didn’t know that he was so strict with his daughter like this.

“Adrian...” I whispered his name in shock.

I looked at the crying girl and realized that this all started off on the wrong foot. We shouldn’t have sprung this up on her like this and Adrian’s strictness did not help. Despite Adrian’s best intentions in wanting Millie to have a mother so that she could have a ‘normal family’, there was no guarantee that Millie wanted the same thing for herself.

“Millie, stop crying...” Adrian scolded her in a low voice.

Instinctively, I reached out a hand and grabbed Adrian’s arm as if to restrain him from causing Millie any more psychological harm and fear.

“Adrian please...you don’t have to be so harsh on her,” I begged as I stared pleadingly into his mesmerizing green eyes.

Adrian looked at me before letting out a frustrated sigh; however, he didn’t reprimand Millie anymore. Millie was still crying, and it seemed like her nanny’s attempt in calming her down wasn’t doing any good. What do I do now?

“May I...have a word with her?” I asked Adrian abruptly.

Adrian’s eyes widened at me in surprise before his face transformed into a look of curiosity. He was probably wondering what I wanted to say to his daughter and that was a very good question indeed because at that moment, I didn’t really know what I wanted to say to the girl either. All I knew was that if I wanted her on my side, I had to work hard to get her on my side. Nothing that Adrian or anyone said could help build a bond between Millie and me.

.....

“Are you sure?” Adrian asked as he crooked a brow at me.

“Yes, if you’ll allow it. I won’t do anything, I promise. I’m just going to have a little chat with her,” I replied to ease his worries.

“I didn’t think that you would do anything bad but as you can see, she’s very hysterical and acting very spoiled right now,” Adrian said with clear dissatisfaction.

I knew that he was mad at Millie’s unsightly display but give her a break please, she’s still so young.

“It’s fine. I really want to talk to her. Please...?” I asked for his permission with a pleading smile.

“Alright. I’ll be waiting outside,” Adrian said as he finally gave in.

On that note, Adrian and the nanny left the dining room together, leaving me and a very distraught Millie alone at the dining table. Great. Now, what should I say to this hysterical little girl?

“Your father’s not here to scold you anymore so you can stop crying now,” I said softly as I looked at the poor girl sitting opposite me.

Millie opened her eyes and looked at me before a sudden look of panic crossed her face when she realized that we were now the only ones left in the room. I’m not very good at handling kids but persuasion isn’t a skill that I lacked. Slowly, I got off from my seat and walked over to the other side of the table. I took the seat next to Millie. Although she was no long wailing hysterically, she was still sobbing.

“Millie, I’m sure your father didn’t mean the things that he said just now. He really cares about you and loves you a lot. He tells me that all the time...” I said as I leaned in close to her.

Millie did not say anything to me, but I knew that she was listening to me. I decided to continue on.

“Adrian really wants you to be happy. He worries about you a lot because he loves you. You may think that he’s being super strict and mean to you now, but I think you already know that he wants the best for you,” I said as comfortingly as I could.

“I don’t want you here with us...” Millie said between her sobs.

Well, I can understand that. Sometimes I wish that I didn’t have to be here either. I just want to pay my debt and simply disappear.

“You know, I’m not trying to be your new mother like Adrian said. I’m not trying to come between you and your father by joining your family. However, I want to do my best to support you and your father. To be honest, I don’t have a mother either. Actually, I don’t even have a father. They both died when I was young...” I admitted truthfully.

“You don’t have a mum or dad?” Millie asked and I knew that I finally had her attention.

“That’s right. They both died a long time ago...” I replied before smiling a little at her.

She sniffed and I reached out to grab a tissue and passed it to her. She thanked me shyly and took it. I watched as she blew her nose and thought she looked more mature than her actual age.

“Are you sad?” she asked as she stared at me.

I took another tissue and dabbed at the tears in the corners of her eyes before I smiled at her.

“I was sad. I’m ok now, thank you...” I replied truthfully.

Usually, kids will do things to please the person that they love or to make sure that that person is happy. In Millie’s case, the person that she cares the most about is most probably her father, Adrian. Let’s pray that she’ll be willing to go along with my plan.

“I don’t have parents, but I wished that I did. Do you love your father?” I asked as I looked deeply into her eyes.

Millie seems a little shocked at my question, but she nodded her head.

“Adrian loves you a lot too. You’re so lucky to be so well loved. You see, I love Adrian a lot too,” I said before offering her a sweet smile.

–To be continued...