Chapter 173: Life Is Too Short

Issac cleared his throat slowly, breaking the ice and awkwardness between them that felt suffocating.

"You can take your tea into the living room while I get the apple pie in the microwave."

"Okay. And thank you very much."

Logan took one of the three cups placed on the kitchen counter by Riley. He groaned inwardly as he felt the onslaught of nervousness tormenting him so much. Usually Landon would appear at times like that to strengthen his weak soul. But now he couldn't even feel Landon's presence within him.

Logan took off his coat and slung it over the arm of the sofa. He loosened the tie around his neck, then rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. He was really stupid for not bringing any clothes with him at all. Thought he would buy clothes at one of the boutiques he passed before picking up Archer at his daycare, but the rain had ruined his whole plan.

"I don't know if you like sugar sprinkles on your pie or not."

Issac Harlow appeared with two plates of apple pie and a jar of powdered sugar. He put Logan's plate and the jar of sugar on the table, while he kept his plate and took his place across from Logan.

"I don't really like sweets. Thank you."

"Never mind. By the way, you're very different from what I imagined. I thought you were a rude man with very bad manners. But you turned out to be very polite. You always say thank you and there is no arrogance in your tone at all.”

"I think you are overestimating me. I'm not that good at all. You know for sure the main reason Riley left me three years ago. I have hurt her very badly.”

"I know. Riley told me everything. About your ambition to have an heir. That's a good reason, but in a bad way."

Logan wondered what Riley had told her father so far. He couldn't catch the slightest hint of anger in Issac Harlow's face about what he had done to his daughter. On the other hand, he caught both awe and admiration in his face, which had aged too early from the effects of the drugs he was taking. He suspected that Riley had been censoring her story a lot in front of her father all this time and had never really told her father how cruel Landon was to her.

“I was frustrated at the time. Just had the most shocking incident of my life. I thought I had forgotten my dark days when both my parents died, so I was quite shocked when I got a fatal shot in the chest and almost died. Then I realized that I did not have anyone who would be my heir. I feel empty and lost. There was no one by my side when I was hurt. It was very painful."

"Life can be so cruel and painful sometimes," Issac Harlow said dreamily as he took a sip of his tea.

“I can understand your feelings, son. I could hardly do anything when Riley was kicked out by my ex-wife from our house. I couldn't do anything to prevent it because I was so weak back then.”

"I was wondering about it, sir."

"Call me Issac. Or dad if you want."

Logan considered calling Issac dad, but for now he felt comfortable calling him by his first name.

"Okay Issac, I wonder why Riley was kicked out of your house so no one is looking for her."

“It was my fault. I don't really work hard to make more money when I'm in top shape. And when I got sick, I was really down because I didn't have anything to support my family. My ex-wife became grumpy and grouchy. She was forced to work in a bar as a singer with various consequences to bear. Seduced by flirtatious and perverted men, her body was groped, she even received sexual harassment. My ex-wife endured it all to make a living. All the bad things she experienced at the bar made her always carry a heavy burden on her shoulders, so she turned into a temperamental woman. Riley was the only one who had to deal with all her anger at home when she came home exhausted.”

"You can't blame your wife for kicking Riley out?" Logan sipped his tea very slowly as he studied Issac's expression, which looked blank, half dreamy.

“I am the most guilty person here. If I could make more money, my ex-wife wouldn't suffer and Riley would still be fine at home. So it's all my fault. I'm so grateful that Riley could come back to me, even give me a second life. When you're an old man, son, you'll know how it feels when your child takes care of you and pays for the things that should be your responsibility. It was painful, but also a relief. You will be very proud of him because your son managed to give you something nice. Nothing but pride remains in my heart for Riley. No matter how bad the past and her decision to accept the deal with you, I'm still proud of her as a father."

“What did Riley tell you about me?”

"What? I can't remember one by one. I am old. Even with the stroke and all kinds of treatment I've had up until now, I can't remember every single one of her words. But clearly, I see Riley loves you, right?" Issac Harlow hid a smile behind the pie plate that covered half of his face. He ate his apple pie quietly, while Logan's apple pie remained untouched on the table.

"Are you allowing Riley to love me?"

"Why not?" One of Issac's eyebrows rose. "I've never seen her so happy and smiling so sweetly. I used to not pay much attention to her because I was busy working. My ex-wife may have raised her too strictly that Riley has no friends and no lover. You're the only man who taught her about love. Now I can see that on her face whenever Riley talks about you. And even to this day, Riley maintains her status to remain single. Although many times she got offers to marry our neighbour's nephew, or she got date offers from friends at her college. Riley is really only focused on raising Archer.”

Logan felt very bad for destroying Riley so cruelly. Not only physically, but also mentally.

“I want to marry Riley. Are you going to give us your blessing?”

Issac's face lifted from his empty apple pie plate. He looked at Logan with surprise, which then turned into a joy that welled up from his gloomy eyes. Logan tried to contain the nervous thumping in his heart as he waited for Issac Harlow's response. Usually he never asked permission to claim anything to be his. He always had the power to have whatever he wanted to be his. But when it came to Riley, he had strayed from all his habits. And he was trying to be a real man by asking his future father-in-law for permission to marry his daughter. He thought this was the right thing to do. If he ever had a daughter, he wanted his daughter to fall into the hands of the right man, and not some goddamn delinquent who had no manners.

"Finally. I've been waiting for this since years ago. I thought you would never come to me to ask my permission to let you marry my daughter. But when Riley told me that you were coming to see her and Archer, I started to have optimism that one day you would ask my daughter to be your wife.”

“Sorry it's very, very late. It took a very long time to track down Riley's whereabouts."

Issac waved his hand in the air. “It's never too late. Actually, this is the right time for you to get married. With Archer present, you guys have a strong reason to get married.”

"So, can I marry your daughter?"

Issac smiled widely and nodded vigorously.

"Yes. Yes, son. You can marry my precious daughter. You have to promise me to always take care of her and make her happy. Can you?”

Logan was silent for a moment. Trying to think about the things in the future that he was afraid of. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to protect Riley and make her happy the way Issac Harlow wanted him to do. Hadn't he always destroyed Riley?

"What is it? Why are you just silent?”

"I don't know if I can make your daughter happy and take care of her."

Issac smiled gently. Logan felt his heart warm to be stared at so intensely by a father he had never had. For the first time, he felt his life had returned to normal.

“Just love her, and you will make my daughter happy. Sometimes people think too much about things that are too complicated. In fact, life is too short to think about complicated things that will only burden the heart and mind."

Logan smiled. Now he knew what he had to do with Riley and what steps he had to take. His heart was even more determined to make Riley all his own after his brief conversation with Issac Harlow, who was so kind, because he never judged him or even hated him for ruining his daughter's life. Issac Harlow supported him to continue moving forward to fight for his daughter's happiness.

“Thank you for the advice you gave me. All this time I have been confused about what to do with your daughter. I thought Riley didn't want me."

"She really wants you. But she is a woman. It's your job to go after her and confess your feelings to her."

“Okay, I'll talk to Riley. I have an entire weekend to spend with her before heading back to New York.”

“Although Riley never said it, I know that she is very jealous of Kaella's wedding. Whenever we talk about Kaella's wedding, Riley always shows the jealousy she tries to hide. And lately she's been getting more and more upset because she's getting desperate about the end of her love story."

"It's not over yet. I guess we were both just too scared to go any further and take a chance. I will tell Riley that I want to marry her.”

"Good. Do it right, boy. Don't let yourself regret it because you missed the opportunities that came your way."

Logan nodded curtly. Now his heart had more confidence in making Riley his forever. No more fear or doubt. Riley also wanted him as much as he wanted Riley to be his lover.