Only the steady sound of the waves quietly echoed between them for a while. Winston belatedly realized what he had just said, but he couldn’t back down now. eting Angela’s wide-eyed gaze as she looked up at him, he waited for an answer. Hoping for even the slightest bit of hopeful words. Yet the usually clever child only tilted her head in confusion today, silent. Winston grew anxious. He opened his mouth to ask again, but the chance vanished quickly—Yujin was seen running toward them.
“What’s going on? What are you doing?”
Yujin, panting as if his breath would break, imdiately stepped between Angela and Winston. Winston inwardly felt wronged by Yujin’s tense behavior, as if he intended harm to the child. What had he done? He had only spoken to her.
“I’m not doing anything bad to the child.”
Yujin answered bluntly, still wary, his displeasure obvious.
“Fine, then step back that far. Angie’s afraid of you.”
Afraid? Angie calls “Winnie,” he thought.
Winston wanted to object imdiately, but Yujin gave no chance. Pressing his hands against Winston’s chest, Yujin urged him to step back, his face showing clear unease. Yujin pushed with all his might, but Winston didn’t budge. When Yujin pushed again, he stumbled backward, biting his lip as he glared at Winston. Winston t his gaze expressionlessly.
It took only one hand to grab Yujin’s arm and render him helpless. Knowing this, Yujin clenched his teeth in frustration. At that mont, Angela appeared in Winston’s line of sight. Seeing the child’s face clearly unsettled by the adults’ power struggle, Winston’s irritation vanished and was replaced by bitterness.
“You’re the one making Angela uneasy, not .”
“What did you say?”
Winston’s pointed question caused Yujin to snap back sharply, but he said no more and turned away. Watching his retreating back toward the mansion, Yujin finally turned his attention to the child.
“Angie, are you okay? Nothing wrong, right?”
Bending down quickly to et her eyes, Angela nodded with a simple “Yes.” After checking her body here and there and inspecting her face, Yujin finally sighed in relief.
“I didn’t expect you to speak up like that suddenly... but I won’t ever leave you alone from now on, Angie.”
He vowed sincerely, but surprisingly, Angela didn’t respond right away. Instead, she tilted her head in confusion, which made Yujin curious. Only then did Angela speak.
“Mr. Campbell didn’t do anything to .”
She was so calm. Seeing his daughter speak as if it was nothing, Yujin blinked and asked.
“Angie, weren’t you scared of Mr. Campbell?”
“Uh...”
The child seed to think for a mont before nodding.
“Yes, I was okay. Mr. Campbell just talked to .”
At Angela’s words, Yujin furrowed his brow unconsciously.
“What did Mr. Campbell say to you?”
Worried she might have heard sothing she didn’t understand, Yujin asked cautiously. His daughter answered innocently.
“He asked if I needed Papa.”
Yujin stared intently at Angela’s face for a mont. Without an imdiate reaction, he simply looked at his daughter, then after a few seconds let out an astonished exclamation.
“What?”
To the baffled daddy, Angela explained clearly.
“He asked what I was doing, and I said I was going to play in the sand. Then he asked if I needed anything else because Daddy went to get the basket. When I said I was fine because Daddy was here, he asked if I needed Papa.”
Yujin lost his words again. Dumbfounded, his mind went blank. Angela smiled brightly and declared boldly,
“Don’t worry, Daddy. I don’t need anything like Papa. If Mr. Campbell asks again, I’ll say that. I only need Daddy!”
Only then did Yujin relax and pull the child into a hug. Stroking her back warmly as she comfortably nestled into his arms, he furrowed his brow again.
What on earth is that man thinking?
He couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on inside Winston’s head. One thing was certain—he was definitely scheming sothing.
Whatever it was, he had to run away with Angie before it happened.
Yujin renewed his resolve. While playing castle-building in the sand with the child and the basket, his mind constantly turned to how best to escape from this place.
“Staying overnight?”
Yujin had vaguely thought Winston was just planning to leave a bit late, but was startled during dinner when Winston said it outright. His voice rose unconsciously, but Winston casually replied.
“Yeah, you’d want to spend more ti with the child, right? I took a rare day off, so I’m going to rest a bit too.”
Yujin was montarily confused about how he should feel. He was happy to see the child longer, but uneasy knowing Winston was included.
“I thought you’d be happier.”
Winston’s indifferent tone made Yujin suspicious. Without hiding his feelings, he asked with a frown,
“What are you scheming? You don’t have anything to gain from anymore.”
Winston put down his wine glass and looked at Yujin. Breaking eye contact with a startled Yujin, he turned his gaze to Angela sitting opposite him.
“I’m just doing what she wants since she says she only needs you. It’s her birthday, right?”
Surprisingly, Winston smiled at Angela. Yujin blinked rapidly, unsure what he had just seen.
What was that? What did I just «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» witness?
But it didn’t end there. Angela, quietly sitting in her chair and eating, nodded at Winston.
“That’s right.”
She added clearly, as if determined not to miss her timing this ti.
“I only need Daddy. I don’t need Papa!”
Suddenly, silence fell. Yujin couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Winston’s face. His expression wasn’t much different from usual, so Yujin felt inwardly disappointed. What was the point of asking if she needed Papa?
Maybe Angie misunderstood.
That was a much more reasonable thought. Why on earth was Winston asking that to Angela? It had nothing to do with him.
Dinner finished. Yujin declined dessert and asked Winston.
“It’s ti for Angie to wash up and go to bed. Can I leave first?”
Winston just nodded briefly. Yujin picked up Angela after dinner and hurriedly left. Soon after, Winston was left alone in silence.
“Anything else you need?”
The staff asked, and he ordered whiskey. It wasn’t the kind of drink that would get him drunk, but he couldn’t avoid it.
“I don’t need Papa!”
Rembering Angela’s words made his heart ache. Frowning, he drained the whiskey glass in one gulp. Though he didn’t show it, hearing that from Angela hit him harder than he had prepared for.
Be patient.
Filling his glass again, he scolded himself. His relationship with Angela was only just beginning. Was it too hasty to be so disappointed already?
This was only the second ti he had invested so much effort in soone. Maybe because she was Yujin’s child, Angela was even more difficult than Yujin himself. He sighed and rubbed the wrinkles on his brow with his fingertips. Despite sensing rougher days ahead, he couldn’t accept it easily.
...Right, there was that way.
In the midst of his worries, he suddenly realized sothing and took out his phone. After a few rings, the awaited voice ca through, and Winston got straight to the point.
“Keith, I’ve got a question. How did you get close to your kid?”
“What?”
The voice on the other end sounded bewildered. Like he was hearing nonsense. Winston’s pride was stung, but now wasn’t the ti to care. After a sigh, he quickly continued.
“There’s a kid I want to get close to, but it’s not easy. She’s even afraid of piggyback rides. How did your kid get so comfortable with those so easily?”
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