IMDD CHAPTER 259 (Patreon)

“Daddy?” the little girl’s voice echoed.

Gage snapped out of his thoughts and uttered a word. “Yes?”

“When mommy goes quiet like that, she tells me she’s thinking of you."

Gage cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm thinking about her. She told me something... something hard to believe." He hesitated, pondering how much to share with the little girl.

She tilted her head, looking at him curiously. "Mommy says that sometimes… the heart knows things that the head doesn't understand. Maybe your heart knows?"

Gage looked at the little girl, his eyes reflecting surprise and disbelief. Her words caught him off guard that for a moment, he was rendered utterly speechless and immobile.

A faint smile then played on his lips. "Your mom’s very wise. And you’re indeed as smart as she is." He nodded thoughtfully before his gaze drifted away. "Maybe my heart does know something my mind can't reach," he murmured, more to himself than to the child.

The room was then filled with a comfortable silence once again, broken only by the occasional sound of the little girl humming a tune as she worked on his hair.

And just like that, Gage found himself enveloped in a moment of unexpected tranquility. Here, in the company of this innocent child, with her sweet voice and caring hands, Gage felt a peace he hadn't known he needed.

"This is bad," he thought to himself, a hint of irony in his inner voice. He was getting caught up in this heavenly paradise where a devil like him surely doesn't belong. Yet, despite these thoughts, he couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging—a warmth that he couldn't quite explain.

"Daddy, do you know what?” Gaia broke the silence. “You look like a king with your hair all braided like this," she said with a grin, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Caught off guard by her comment once again, Gage replied almost without thinking, "I'm king." The words slipped out.

"Really, daddy?! You really are a king?" she asked, her eyes wide with awe and excitement.

Gage, realizing he had inadvertently affirmed something much closer to his actual reality, struggled with how to respond. He is indeed a king, but of a realm far removed from the fairy tale kingdoms this child was definitely imagining. "Yes, I am," he said quietly, even as he berated him for his inexplicable inability not to succumb to this little creature.

"Where is your kingdom?"

"It's... far away."

"Is that why you've been gone for so long?"

He took a long while to respond this time. "Yes..." he answered.

"Why don't you bring Mommy and me there?"

Gage's expression faltered.

"You will bring us there soon, right, Daddy?" she asked again, her voice filled with hope and excitement.

"My kingdom...” he started after a long pause. “It's not a place I can take you and your Mommy. It's complicated, and… not as wonderful as the kingdoms in your storybooks."

Gaia looked at him, her expression turning thoughtful. "Is it because it's a secret kingdom?"

Gage blinked and then slowly nodded. "Yes, something like that. Not a place for a little princess."

Gaia nodded slowly, a look of understanding in her young eyes. "Okay, Daddy. I can be the princess of our house for now. But when I grow up, I can go visit there with mommy, right?"

Another long pause. Gage bit his lip, but when the little girl craned her head to look at him with those clear, expectant eyes, he immediately knew he was a lost cause again.

“… Mn.” he replied, rubbing his palm over the back of his neck as the little girl behind him excitedly bounced with happiness.

And that was the scene that welcomed Eva when she entered the living room.

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CHAPTER 260>>