Harold looked out, and his face instantly turned pale from shock. He immediately rushed
into Adina’s arms and nervously said, “Aunt Adina, Dad‘s here! He‘s here to catch me!”
Adina raised her wrist and looked at the time. There were ten more minutes before 8.30 pm. Why was
this man here so soon to take Harold?
While she thought about it, the villa‘s doorbell rang.
Adina got up and went to open the door.
The temperature at night in late autumn was very cold, and Duke emanated the aura of such a cold
night. He walked in only after he stood at the entrance hall for a while. Harold was nervous, but he
pretended to look calm as he said, “Dad, I was about to go home, but you came.” “If I didn‘t come over,
you would have stayed here for another two hours,” Duke said indifferently.
Harold flicked his tongue.
His dad understood him well. He actually wanted to stay at Aunt Adina‘s house for the night.
“Mr. Winters, I‘m the one who convinced Harold to stay and play a little longer,” Adina spoke to smooth
things over. “It‘s getting late, so you can take him home.”
Duke nodded.
He glanced around before he saw the little girl who was sitting on the climbing mat.
The little girl opened her eyes wide and stared at him. When she noticed that he was looking at her, her
dark eyes instantly lit up.
She picked up a toy bunny from the side before she ran over and stuffed the bunny into Duke‘s hand.
The bunny was extremely soft, and it melted Duke‘s heart. He squatted down, and his cold, profound
face appeared a little gentler. “Mel, you haven‘t greeted me today.” He knew that Melody had not
spoken again after the other day. Thinking back to the time she had called him “Daddy,” it seemed so
distant as if it was just a dream.
“Come on, call me ‘Uncle Duke.?” Duke stared at her seriously as he slowly guided her. Melody
opened her pink lips repeatedly and finally made a sound after all this time.
“Dad… dy.”
She said it again.
For some strange reason, Duke‘s heart was filled with satisfaction.. “Mel, say ‘Uncle Duke.?” Adina
squatted down and corrected Melody. “He‘s Uncle Duke, not your daddy.”
“It doesn‘t matter if she says ‘daddy!‘” Harold blinked. “Mel and I are best friends. My dad is Mel‘s
daddy, so can Mel‘s mom be my mom too?“| Before the adults could understand the meaning behind
his words, Melody‘s expression abruptly turned cold. Something seemed to be on the little girl‘s mind.
She glanced at Harold before she turned around and ran upstairs.
“Mel, wait for me. Why are you running away?” Harold quickly followed her. Alden calmly blocked his
way and nonchalantly said, “Mel‘s going to the restroom. You‘re a boy. Why are you following her?”
Harold stroked his chin. “Why do I sense that Mel‘s suddenly feeling unhappy?” Alden rolled his eyes at
Harold. It took Harold more than an hour to finally realize that Melody was unhappy. At least he was not
helplessly stupid.
The two children stood at the staircase and chatted.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere among the adults was weird. Adina awkwardly said, “I‘m sorry, Mr. Winters.
Melody must have heard Harold calling you that, so she learned from him. I‘ll correct her and make
sure this doesn‘t happen again.”
“A kid at the age like Mel desires a father‘s love the most. Ms. Daugherty, have you thought about
getting her a father?” Duke asked indifferently. The question was related to Adina‘s private matters.
However, her daughter had called Duke “Daddy,” hence it was not very ridiculous for him to ask about
it.
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