"Hi, baby..." River called her; her voice was slightly trembling. "I am sorry, I woke you up..." She stretched out her hand to touch her, but Ashlyn moved away from her.
The little girl looked at River with a frown, and when her eyes caught sight of her father, she hastily went to Ranon and raised both of her arms, asking to be picked up.
River should have known this; she had prepared herself, but to see her daughter move away because she was scared broke sothing inside her.
This was another kind of pain. It almost felt physical, as if soone just stomped on her chest.
Ashlyn jumped up and down on the bed, tugging Ranon’s shirt so he would pick her up, while glancing at River occasionally, afraid and upset.
And when Ranon finally picked her up, she wrapped her arms around Ranon’s neck. She buried her face against his shoulder, refusing to see River.
Ashlyn had never seen her before, and she didn’t respond well to a stranger.
"Ash?" River felt the urge to take Ashlyn from Ranon’s arms, but she knew it wouldn’t help with the situation.
She reached out her hand to gently touch Ashlyn’s head, but the little girl firmly pushed River’s hand away, refusing any physical contact with her.
"Give her so ti," Ranon said softly to River when he saw how hurt she was after Ashlyn’s rejection.
"Yes, of course." River nodded. She tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She was hurt, but she had no one to bla. It was sothing beyond her.
"It’s okay; she will be fine once she sees you around often." Ranon carried Ashlyn with one hand and caressed River’s cheek with the other, a reassuring gesture that didn’t help much.
Ashlyn then squird and moved her body, a sign that she was not comfortable.
"Put her back to sleep; I will wait outside," River said lightly, trying so hard not to show how Ashlyn’s rejection affected her.
However, Ranon could see it anyway.
"It will not take long," Ranon said, as he watched River walk out of the room.
However, he was wrong; Ashlyn challenged him. The little girl refused to fall asleep again. Ranon read her stories, but Ashlyn refused to sleep even when she yawned a couple of tis.
Ashlyn intentionally didn’t fall asleep because Ranon said he was going to et with River after, which left Ranon speechless.
"You are so stubborn, baby." Ranon wiped tears from the corners of her eyes when Ashlyn yawned again.
anwhile, out there, River was trying to control her emotions.
She splashed water on her face, trying to calm herself down, but she couldn’t stop herself from crying. The rejection hit her so hard.
River rembered how Ashlyn used to be so clingy with her, and losing that hurt her so much.
"Stop. Don’t cry." River wiped her face, but tears kept streaming down her cheeks. She was in the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror. "Ugh. Don’t cry. Why do you beco such a crybaby?"
River bit her lip and tried to regulate her emotions, but still, it didn’t work.
She didn’t know how long she spent her ti in the bathroom when Ranon knocked and called her na. He tried to enter, but River locked the door.
"Wait."
River splashed her face with water again before she opened the door.
"Is she sleeping?" River asked, her voice slightly hoarse. She couldn’t hide the fact that she had been crying for so long. Her eyes had turned red and puffy.
"Yes," Ranon said, nothing else. Then he hugged her.
River thought she was done crying, but when Ranon hugged her, tears poured out from her face as she started crying again, harder this ti. She hugged Ranon tightly.
"It’s okay. Give her ti... it will be alright," Ranon said gently, reassuring her, as he held her together from breaking apart.
River had never felt so heartbroken like this before.
"She doesn’t rember ... She doesn’t want anymore..." River cried. She knew it was stupid to think Ashlyn would rember her when she had a completely different appearance.
However, her mind didn’t work anymore; she only said the things that crossed her mind.
Ranon picked River up and took her to the sofa. He sat down with River, who was straddling him. Her face was resting on his neck, which reminded Ranon of Ashlyn’s position just two hours ago.
Their daughter really took after her mother.
Ranon kept whispering reassuring words because he knew how hard it would be for River to face their daughter’s rejection. Things wouldn’t go smoothly from here. Knowing Ashlyn, she would be on guard with River.
Finally, after an hour of crying her heart out, River fell asleep; she was still in the sa position.
***
River woke up with a heavy feeling. She looked around her and realized she had gone back to her bedroom with Ranon.
But Ranon was nowhere to be seen. She wiped her face and hiccupped. Apparently, she was crying even in her sleep.
After so ti, River got out of bed and went outside to hear the familiar noise in the morning. She heard Renna’s voice in the kitchen and the sound of Ashlyn’s favorite cartoon that played on the television.
But she heard another familiar voice, and it was from Laurel.
She was here.
River stopped walking, unsure whether she had to proceed or not, but before she could decide, Laurel had seen her.
"Who are you?!"
Laurel asked in her high-pitched voice, crossing her arms in defense.
River grimaced. Laurel had treated her this way before, but this ti, it brought back a nostalgic mory for River. Instead of being upset, she wanted to hug her.
"I am River," River said, unfazed by the hostility that Laurel showed her, but her eyes turned violent when she saw the shirt that River was wearing.
"What the hell?!" Laurel’s eyes widened in shock.
Laurel recognized the shirt. It was Ranon’s.
It was already a habit for Hazel to sleep without wearing anything. And when she was with Ranon, she developed a new habit of wearing his shirt whenever she went out of the room.
Hearing the commotion, Renna ca from the kitchen, and Ashlyn toddled over, too. She stared at River with her curious eyes, and River had the urge to scoop her up, but Laurel turned very defensive. She imdiately picked Ashlyn up and glared at River.
But before River could speak, Ranon also ca; he frowned at the commotion. "What’s going on here?"
Without saying anything, Laurel rushed toward Ranon and dragged him back to his study. She closed the door and started hissing at Ranon viciously, while Ashlyn looked at the two of them back and forth.
"Who is that woman? Did you bring back a woman? From what family is she? No, no, no, Ranon. You can’t bring a random woman. I can understand if you want to sleep around, but don’t bring one ho; you have a daughter. You give a wrong impression!"
Sa as Lucian, Laurel was also shocked when she saw Ranon with another woman. He had been celibate ever since Hazel’s death, as far as Laurel knew, but from being celibate to bringing a random woman ho was a huge leap.
"I don’t give a wrong impression," Ranon said. He picked Ashlyn from Laurel’s arms.
"What? What do you an by that?" Alarm was blaring in Laurel’s head. "Don’t tell that you are serious with her?"
"I will not tell you then." Ranon kissed Ashlyn back when his daughter peppered his face with kisses.
"Ranon!" Laurel looked frustrated. "You don’t know her!"
"I know her."
"You know?" Laurel narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Since when do you know her?"
Ranon was quick to understand Laurel’s suspicion. "Get rid of whatever you have in your mind now." Ranon looked at her dangerously. "I just t her two days ago."
"And you are serious with her? Only in two days?" Laurel was dumbfounded.
"Yes."
"Ranon... Let’s have you checked."
***
River learned that Olivia didn’t survive the gunshot. It ant that was the last ti she saw her.
Therefore, before she went to Aspen City to et with Arthur and the others to carry out their last revenge against Arlo, she stopped by the family cetery, where Olivia lay to rest for the last ti.
The first ti River learned about what happened to Olivia, she didn’t have the chance to feel her emotions.
She used to numb herself whenever sothing happened, and it was too emotional for her to handle.
But now, when River had ti to feel it, the grief sank in...
River brought Olivia’s favorite flower. She crouched down next to her tomb and put the flower there. There was also a bouquet of flowers, which had dried. River assud it was from Lyle, since the McKenna family was no more after the death of Kyle and Deryl.
"I am sorry," River said, her throat tightening. She had never thought that she would et with Olivia again in a mont like this.
Flashes of mories crossed her mind, and River rembered she still had a gift from Olivia that she had not yet opened. The gift was still sitting inside her drawer.
That was the last gift from her...
"Olive, if we et again, let’s be friends... I will stop annoying you," River said with a bitter smile on her lips.
Olivia continued to misunderstand the endearing nickna that River had given her.
"River?"
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