novelraw Chapter 246 - 188: Such a Fragrant Love (Part 2)
Chapter 246 - 188: Such a Fragrant Love (Part 2)
The week-long World Physics Conference was underway at the Wincastle International Conference Center.
As evening fell, a weary Ronan Joyce walked out of the conference center lobby. The sky was overcast and the wind gusted sharply. He frowned, pulling his overcoat tighter around him. ’Wincastle’s winter is especially cold this year,’ he thought.
After spending several years in Thailos, he found himself growing increasingly intolerant of the cold. So much so that he would fly to a tropical country for every vacation. Only then would he feel truly at ease, both physically and mentally. The sole exception... was that one country.
His assistant, Chester, had asked him more than once why he was so fond of the tropics. He would always just smile without answering. Eventually, his young assistant came to her own conclusion: he loved going to tropical places because he wanted to get a bronze tan.
Once, while booking his vacation flights, his assistant asked casually, "Professor Joyce, why do you never go to Thailos? I hear it’s one of the most beautiful tropical countries, isn’t it?"
He was in the middle of filling a cup with hot water. At her words, his hand slipped, and he knocked the cup over. The scalding water left his hand red and swollen for days.
That country was an everlasting ache in his heart.
That person was an indelible mark on his heart, just like the scar from the gunshot wound she had given him.
Thinking of her hurt. Not thinking of her hurt, too.
He knew, of course, that it was all in his head. The wound had been treated perfectly, leaving no lingering physical effects.
See? Just thinking about it was enough to make his chest begin to ache again.
Taking a deep breath, he walked a few more steps outside to see if his assistant had brought the car around.
A flash of pink by a nearby pillar caught the corner of his eye. For some reason, he took a second look. It was a little girl in a pink down jacket with short hair. She was squatting all alone, her head bowed as she drew circles on the ground. He couldn’t see her face.
Something in his heart softened at the sight.
’Whose child is she? What’s she doing here all by herself in this cold? Is she waiting for someone? She can’t be more than two or three. How could her parents possibly leave her here alone?’
As he was lost in these thoughts, the little girl looked up at him. Her eyes—clear and bright, exactly like those of the woman etched into his heart—and her small face, which bore a slight resemblance to his own, made him freeze on the spot, utterly stunned.
The little girl stood up, walked over, and tugged on his pant leg. "Daddy..." she called out in a bright, clear voice.
The briefcase in his hand dropped to the ground. His mind went completely blank.
’Daddy?’
No matter how brilliant his physicist’s mind was, at that moment, it completely ceased to function.
He had never imagined he and she would have a child. And even if it were a possibility, after he’d hurt her so badly, he’d never dared to hope she would go through with the pregnancy.
"Daddy, don’t you like me?"
The little girl tugged on his trousers, her small face tilted up at him with a hurt expression.
Dylan had told her that her daddy would be in Wincastle for a few days, so she had cried and fussed until she was brought here. She had traveled all this way to find him, but she never expected her daddy to have no reaction at all upon seeing her.
Apparently, she had gotten her hopes up for nothing.
Even though the handsome uncle her mommy was going to marry was very nice to her, she still longed for her own daddy. Besides, even if Mommy was getting married, that didn’t mean she shouldn’t know who her father was. But every time she asked, her mommy would just get angry, so she had no choice but to ask Dylan for help.
Dylan had been able to find his own mother, so he could definitely help her find her father. In her childish heart, she believed her Brother Dylan could do anything.
Looking up at the man’s blank, unresponsive expression, she pouted. "I guess I’ll just go back to Mommy, then..."
’Okay. So Daddy doesn’t like me.’
’Even though Daddy is really handsome, way more handsome than the other daddies at kindergarten, I’m not going to wish for a father anymore. I’ll be a good girl and stay with Mommy, and I’ll try my best to accept the handsome uncle she’s going to marry.’
A child’s world is so simple; she thought her father’s lack of reaction meant he didn’t like her.
She didn’t know that happiness had simply arrived too suddenly, catching him completely off guard.
Ronan Joyce was still struggling to process the fact that the little girl before him was his daughter. It wasn’t until she turned to leave that he instinctively bent down to stop her. The moment he spoke, he could hear his own voice trembling. "Your mom... what’s her name?"
One look at her eyes and her face was enough to tell him she was his daughter, but he still had to confirm it, unable to believe it was true.
The little girl looked at him, her bright eyes blinking. "Lara Nash. My mommy’s name is Lara Nash, and I’m Cheryl Nash. Mommy says it’s because I was born in the morning!"
An expression of overwhelming joy washed over Ronan Joyce’s face. He crouched down in front of the little girl and slowly reached out a trembling hand to caress her soft, rosy cheek. He opened his mouth, wanting to say her name, but found the words were caught in his throat.
The little girl, oblivious to the storm of emotions raging within him, stepped forward and boldly planted a kiss on his cheek. Then she wrapped her little arms around his neck and called out sweetly once more, "Daddy..."
Ronan Joyce didn’t say a word. He just pulled the small girl into his arms.
Holding her tightly.
As he took in her sweet, milky scent, his eyes began to burn, and tears welled in the corners.
’This is my daughter! This is actually my daughter! This is... our daughter!’
He held Cheryl in his arms. Cheryl, who was usually so lively and restless, grew uncharacteristically quiet, content to let him hold her. They stayed that way until his assistant’s surprised voice came from behind them. "Oh! Professor Joyce, whose child is that you’re holding?"