Chapter 229: KETCHUPY

PENTHOUSE || NOW

Layla sat before him, tending to his wounds in silence.

His back, ribs, chest, and arms were all marred with fresh cuts.

Some shallow, some deep. All painful to look at.

Layla’s hands trembled as she dabbed the blood away. Anger and hurt swirled together, threatening to spill out. Tears slid down her cheeks as her fingers traced an old scar.

“Isn’t it enough?” Her voice cracked. “Your body is already covered in them. The scar your mother gave you when you were just a child hasn’t faded, and you keep adding more every day.”

He tilted her chin up with his finger, forcing her eyes to meet his.

“Give me a hug,” he said softly, stretching his arms with a crooked grin like he wasn’t the same man who had lived up to his name, Butcher, only the night before.

Her fist pressed hard against his chest.

“Don’t you dare come home like this again,” she warned, her voice steel beneath the tears. “Next time, I won’t forgive you.”

And yet, she still collapsed into his arms, holding him as though her embrace could stop the world from taking him away.

It was after five minutes of getting dressed that Lilly came home.

She came trotting into the room like she owned the world, her cap tilted low enough to cast a playful shadow over her wide eyes. A cream shirt with a cartoon pup waving cheerfully stretched over her tiny frame, the rolled sleeves making her look far too grown for her five years. The oversized denim jeans swished around her legs, swallowing her smallness.

Her white shoes thudded softly against the floor. And then there was the bag, bright and bold with blocks of orange, yellow, and navy, nearly half her size but slung over her shoulder like a badge of pride. She hugged it close, as though the treasures inside were more important than gold.

Layla couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips. Somehow, her daughter managed to look both utterly adorable and dangerously stylish.

Eli followed closely. Handing her water bottle to Zaley, he greeted him.

His hawk-like eyes scanned Zaley's body for any visible wounds.

"Everything went well?" Eli asked him.

Zaley nodded.

That's all he got to say before Lilly stomped between them.

Her tiny hands rested on her hips as she glared up at her father.

“Where were you last night?”

Zaley stood up slowly, choosing his words. “I went out of the city for a business trip.”

“You didn’t think to wake me up?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and silently mouthed Help me to Layla.

Layla only smirked. “Your daughter. You deal with her. I’ll take the snacks out.”

But Lilly wasn’t letting it slide. Her little face stayed stern, waiting and demanding an answer.

Zaley crouched down so he was eye level with her. “You were asleep, little Lilly. I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Then you should’ve told me before you went to sleep!” she shot back. “Why do we have different rules in the same house?” She pressed a small hand to her chest. “Lilly has to tell everything to Mamma and Daddy. But you don’t. Change the rules, Mamma.”

From the kitchen, Layla gave her daughter a dramatic thumbs-up.

That only fueled Lilly further. She crossed her arms and turned on her mother.

“Oh no,” Layla muttered under her breath.

“Did you know he was leaving?” Lilly demanded.

Layla sighed, setting out three plates. “Yes.”

“I need someone to complain about you both,” Lilly declared.

“You can complain to me,” Eli called from the living room.

But Lilly shook her head firmly. “You always nod to everything Daddy says. I need older people.”

With sudden inspiration, she darted to her mom, snatched the phone, and scrolled through contacts under the letter K.

Zaley scowled at the name she stopped on just as the call connected.

“All okay, Layla?” came Kade’s voice.

“Hello. This is Lilly Adler,” she announced.

There was a pause. “Where’s your mom, Lilly?”

“You’re not the older man. You’re not taller than my Daddy either. You can’t help.” She ended the call without hesitation, leaving Layla bursting into laughter.

The next call went to Kai.

“Hello? Grandpa Kai? This is Lilly. My Daddy left last night without saying a word to me. Mommy knew, but she didn’t tell me before bed. He only came back today in the evening. That’s very late. That’s bad manners.”

She waited, arms folded, for her grandpa to pass judgment.

“Well… Lilly. Okay. Did something else happen?” Kai asked, confusion heavy in his voice.

Lilly sighed in disappointment and hung up.

“None of them are helping,” she grumbled.

Layla's phone rang again.

This time, she picked it up.

"What happened?" Kai asked her, his voice worried. "She cut the call. She sounded angry."

"She is complaining about us to you. You didn't respond as she had expected."

"Oh... Can you give her the phone?"

"What?" Lilly answered, uninterested.

Kai chuckled softly on the other side of the line. “Don’t worry, princess. I’ll talk to your mamma and Daddy. No more secrets behind your back. They’ll tell you everything. Can you hand the phone to your father?”

Lilly’s face lit up, her tiny chest puffing with triumph. She held the phone out toward Zaley like she had just won a great battle.

“Here. Grandpa wants to talk to you.”

Lilly's smile turned into a frown when she saw her father conversing on the phone.

"Why does it look like he is on a business call?" She asked her mother.

Layla chuckled at her words.

Her world has changed.

From just having two of them for each other, she has gained more people.

Lilly has a father.

Layla found her father, to whom her daughter could complain about her.

She took her daughter's hands in hers.

"Sprinkles, there will be days when you won't find your Daddy or your mommy when you wake up. But either one of us will always be there for you. And your Daddy won't leave. This is different from last time."

Lilly looked at her feet, pouting and fidgeting. "What if he leaves again? What if it's just the two of us? I like it when it's just the two of us. But I like the three of us more."

"He won't." Layla promised, "We will be together. All three of us forever."

Lilly slowly raised her pinky, her eyes still on her shoes.

Layla held her pinky with hers.

"Promise." She said.

Lilly nodded.

"Okay. I believe you."

Layla smiled. "Even if any of us does something you don't like, you have a grandpa to complain to. And your best friends."

That lifted her spirits. "I am adding Grandpa Kai to my best friends list. I will also forgive Daddy. But no ketchup for him today."

Layla smiled, "Done. No Ketchup for Daddy today."

But later, when he sat beside her after his phone call, his plate was drowned in ketchup, his snacks barely visible beneath the red pool.

That's how his daughter shows her love.

It is huge.

It is unconditional.

And it is very Ketchupy.