Chapter 123: JOSHUA

Only this little lady could make me wear a pink apron and sit cross-legged in front of her with her doll collection to pretend to drink tea at her fake tea party.

It’s ridiculous, but not that bad.

Erick burst out laughing in the doorway. He was using his phone to take pictures of me from various angles.

Fuck him.

As long as my little daughter was happy, I would do anything for her.

I tried to be a good father to Melissa. I couldn't be a completely civilized man. I just wanted to maximize my good side for my daughter's happiness.

"Dad, don't put your cup near Mr. Bear's cup. Put yours in front of you."

“Sorry, baby. Mr. Bear doesn’t seem to mind.”

“But I do.”

Her lips pursed into a pout and her cheeks puffed out adorably.

“You’re so fierce, little lady. You’re just like your mother.”

“Mommy is fierce sometimes, but she’s also very kind. When will Mommy be home?”

“I don’t know.”

I glanced at my watch. It was dinner time. I finally had an excuse to escape the ridiculousness of this tea party.

“Let’s go down to the kitchen. It’s time for dinner. Uncle Rick has made shrimp pasta for you.”

“Yippie... I love shrimp pasta.”

As I was about to take off the pink apron around my waist, Mellisa exclaimed loudly, “No, Daddy. You have to keep it on.”

“Why? The tea party is over.”

“We’re going to the kitchen. Uncle Rick always wears Mommy’s apron when he works in the kitchen so he doesn’t get his clothes dirty while cooking. You have to wear that apron, too.”

“But I’m not cooking.”

“I want Daddy to keep wearing that pink apron. Don’t take it off.”

She looked so much like me when she was bossing me around. I thought she only had my eyes and lips, but it turns out she also had my dominant personality.

Huh, I’m proud of my little girl.

“Is dinner ready? Mellisa is hungry.”

“Yeah, wait at the dining table. I just need to plate it.”

Erick eyed me from head to toe. He held back laughter.

“What?”

“Why are you wearing Mellisa’s hair clip?”

“She dressed me like this before coming down to the kitchen and forbade me from taking off this damn pink apron.”

“Bad mouth. Mellisa, she said something dirty,” Erick exclaimed excitedly.

I felt like dropping her to the floor, but I couldn't. I tried to move my head away from Melissa, but she was so fast. She slapped my lips twice, hard.

“Daddy, that’s not nice.”

Erick burst out laughing at my annoyance. He knew I couldn’t possibly hit Mellisa back or hurt her.

“That’s good for you, boss. Once we get back to Chicago, you’ll be a refined man. No swearing or other foul language.”

“I’ll never be the refined man you think I am. Hurry up and bring those shrimp pasta to the table. Mellisa is hungry.”

“Hurry up, Uncle Rick. I’m hungry.”

"Tsk, okay okay. You're as impatient as your father."

\-00-

An hour ago, I took her to her room and put her to bed. I sat next to her for ten minutes to make sure my little girl was really asleep.

Before I left her room, I was sure she was asleep. Her eyes were tightly closed, and her stomach was rising and falling steadily.

But I forgot she was the daughter of a master disguiser. Fiona could fool anyone with her false innocence, and so could our daughter.

An hour later, I found Mellisa in the garage. She was standing quite close to me, clutching a stuffed bunny to her chest. She had watched me as I skinned Jimmy Tucker. Her eyes lit up with curiosity as I held the blood-stained knife. She wasn't the least bit afraid of what I was doing, she was intrigued by it.

"Did you trick me by pretending to be asleep, huh?"

"No. I woke up thirsty. You weren't in my room."

I took off the blood-stained latex gloves and tossed them onto the tray to join my knife collection.

I walked over to her and crouched in front of her.

"You weren't supposed to see this."

"Did you punish that evil man?"

"He was very, very evil."

"Is he a monster who likes to eat children like in fairy tales?"

I glanced over my shoulder, “Yeah, something like that.”

“Then he really needs to be punished.”

Jimmy’s groans echoed throughout the garage. He sounded like a wounded monster. I was worried Mellisa would be frightened by his voice, but she wasn’t. The little lady stood tall before me. Instead of being afraid, she was curious.

“Can I take a closer look, Daddy?”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“No. Mommy said I shouldn’t be afraid of monsters. I have to be a brave girl.”

“Your Mommy’s right. You have to be a brave girl because you’re a Lident.”

I picked her up and brought her closer to Jimmy. I studied Mellisa’s expression. She reached out to touch Jimmy’s bloody face, and I pulled her away just in time.

“No. You can’t touch him.”

“But you did touch him,” Mellisa whined.

“You have to grow up before you can touch a monster.”

“Mommy said I have to eat lots of veggies if I want to grow up fast.”

Jimmy let out a choking sound.

“Little girl,” he gasped. I held the gun in my free hand. My index finger on the trigger.

“He… He’s the rea monster…”

I shot him straight in the forehead. His body jerked back, and the room fell silent.

I turned to look at Mellisa, grinning.

“You saw that. That’s how Daddy punishes monsters. But remember, it’s only for monsters, not for anyone else.”

“What if I have naughty friends?”

“Tell Daddy if you have naughty friends. Daddy will punish them for you.”

“Joshua!”

I never thought Fiona would catch me teaching Mellisa something dark.

Fuck!

When did she come back?

Fiona took a large step toward me, her face ablaze with fury. She snatched Mellisa from me and held her tightly to her chest.

“I can’t believe this. You’re so broken, Josh!”

I ran after her as she headed straight to her car. She had just arrived. The engine was still running.

“Fiona. I can explain it to you.”

“What? What do you want to explain to me, huh? I never thought you'd show your dark side in front of Mellisa.”

“Why? She needs to know who her real father is. I’m a mobster. Nothing will ever change that fact from me.”

“I didn’t give you a chance to be with Mellisa so you could show her your brutality. She’s just a child.”

“She’s a Lident. She’s not afraid of me or my brutality.”

“You shot that man right in front of her. What kind of father are you, Josh? I raised her to be a good girl, not a broken one like you.”

We yelled and hurt each other in front of Mellisa. My little girl was terrified in Fiona’s arms. She was more afraid of seeing her parents hurling hate at each other in front of her than I was of killing Jimmy in front of her.

“Look, you scared Mellisa. You’re the one who broke her, not me.”

“Typical of you. You always blame others instead of admitting your own mistakes. I regret allowing you to be her father and be in her life. You don’t deserve to be her father at all.”

Fiona turned and opened her car door to put Mellisa in the passenger seat. I grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

“What are you going to do? Where are you taking my daughter?”

“She’s not yours. She’s mine. I carried her and risked my life to give birth to her. Get out of my way. Don’t ever appear in front of me or Mellisa again. Forget about us.”

“No. You can’t keep me from my daughter.”

“Yes, I can because she’s not your daughter. No father will teach his daughter bad things.”

Fiona jerked free from my grip on her arm. She got into the car and slammed the door hard.

My heart ached at the look of fear in Mellisa’s eyes. She stared at me through the tightly closed window. Her palms pressed against the glass, her lips trembling as she held back tears.

“Fiona! Stop. Open the door.”

I banged on her window. She acted deaf. She backed the car out of the driveway and sped out of my driveway. Fiona left with my daughter.

I felt a stab of pain in my heart as I watched her car's lights move further and further from my sight.

“What happened? Why are you screaming?”

Erick stared at me in a daze in the doorway. He must have woken up from his deep sleep at the sound of Fiona and me screaming.

“Fiona just took Mellisa away.”

“Fiona? She’s back? Why didn’t she tell us she was coming back today?”

I pushed his chest away from the doorway and stepped into the house. I didn’t want to talk about that damn woman tonight. She was the only woman who had managed to ruin my life since I forced her to marry me. She’d made my life a living hell for years.

Fuck her!

I wasn’t going to be a weakling who bowed at her feet. I would prove to her that I was better off without her.

“Where are you going?”

“That’s none of your business. You’re not my fucking babysitter.”

I slammed my car door shut and drove away, leaving him behind.