Chapter 3 You're Not My Father

• Calvin collapsed on the ground, coughing up blood. Lucian relentlessly continued his assault, his fists pummeling the helpless man.
• One...
• Two...
• Three...
• Calvin pleaded for mercy, but Lucian, consumed by rage, ignored his pleas. Only when Calvin lost consciousness did Lucian finally stop.
• "Freya... Minnie..."
• Lucian glanced at the mother and daughter, his fists stained with blood, panting heavily.
• He trembled at the hatred in Minnie's eyes, feeling remorseful but unsure of what to do.
• "Let's go, Minnie," Freya said to her daughter, not wanting to look at Lucian any longer.
• "Okay," Minnie nodded, using all her strength to help her mother back into her wheelchair.
• Without hesitation, Lucian rushed to assist Freya. Her indifferent, mud-covered face broke his heart, and tears streamed down his face.
• "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
• "I apologize, Fay. You and Minnie have suffered all these years..."
• He took out a packet of tissues from his pocket.
• "Here. Let me help you."
• Gently, he wiped her face. He never could have imagined that the once proud president of the Harrison Group would end up paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair, and barely alive.
• Freya remained impassive as he wiped her face, devoid of any emotion.
• It was the look of a woman who had given up.
• "Hands off my mom," Minnie pushed him away.
• Lucian fell back into the muddy pool. His eyes were red-rimmed as he watched his daughter. He picked up a gift he had bought for her and said with a trembling voice, "Come here, sweetheart. Daddy will clean you up too. You have dirt on your face..."
• "You are not my father."
• Her eyes were calm, despite the burning resentment within them. She spoke as if she were an adult.
• "If you are my father, where were you when my mother had a car accident, suffered a brain hemorrhage, and was on the operating table for three days and three nights?"
• "If you are my father, where were you when my mother was abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself on the streets with nothing to our names?"
• "If you are my father, where were you when Mom was bullied and berated for being disabled?"
• "If you are my father, where were you when Mom had a high fever with no money for treatment, and I was left begging on my knees at the hospital with no one to turn to?"
• "I can take care of Mom just fine. You're just getting in the way!"
• Minnie's words were like knives, ruthlessly stabbing his heart. The pain suffocated him. He had so much he wanted to tell her. He wanted to explain how he had been away defending the country all these years and had no idea they would face such hardships.
• He knew any explanation would be futile. The hatred in her eyes conveyed everything he needed to know. To Minnie, he was an irresponsible father and a dispensable person. She saw him as her enemy.
• This was his first meeting with his daughter, but it turned out to be a meeting between adversaries. It was a painful experience for a father. He would rather face a thousand mercenaries coming for his life.
• He had no idea how to handle a daughter who despised him to the core.
• Guilt overwhelmed him as tears streamed down his cheeks.
• "Stop it, Minnie!"
• Freya, silently sobbing, gently shook her head at her daughter. "I was the one who chose him. No one else is to blame."
• "Let's go, Mom. I'll be the one to protect you. We don't need anyone else."
• Minnie skillfully packed up the jewelry and placed them in the cloth bag behind the wheelchair. She left with Freya, only seven years old but displaying strength far beyond her age as she maneuvered the wheelchair.
• Lucian closed his eyes as they departed. Tears continued to flow. He had never cried, no matter how exhausted or how much suffering he endured in the military. Yet, here he was, crying in front of his wife and daughter who despised him.
• I'm so sorry, Freya... Minnie...
• "I'm here now. Neither you nor your mom will suffer again, Minnie."
• Lucian suddenly had an idea. He took out a card from his coat pocket and said, "This is the money I earned as a soldier. It can buy you clothes, snacks, and even a house. I'll take care of both of you. Please allow me to do that."
• His voice quivered.
• He had no idea how to make amends for the pain he had caused them, except by offering them his bank card.
• Minnie grew even angrier. She slapped the card away. "Keep it for yourself! We don't need your filthy money. I'd rather have a poor mom than a wealthy dad like you. I'll never forgive you, no matter how rich you are. I'll buy Mom a house and more clothes. We don't need you..."
• "Let's go, Mom."
• The girl pushed the wheelchair forward and walked away with determined strides.
• Tears continued to flow as he knelt in the mud, staring at the card that Minnie had vehemently rejected. Would she ever forgive her heartless father?
• "Argh!"
• He broke down under the watchful eyes of everyone.
• Yes, he was now the renowned Infernal War God, in charge of millions of soldiers and wielding considerable power in society. But what did it matter if he couldn't earn the forgiveness of the woman he loved and his daughter?
• What does it matter, even with all this?
• "I'm here, Faye, Minnie. No one will ever harm you again. I swear I'll do everything in my power to make up for what I've done. I'll give you everything you want, no matter what. The world will be yours," he declared, his eyes filled with guilt.