No Reason But Us

Chapter 53 : We Suffer Too

At night, Oddey stayed in the house with her father and Eva. The encounter in the precinct saddened her from facing Gage the way they did. It had already been a month since their split, but the pain was still here.

The poor girl sat down on the carpeted floor, hugging her legs, and buried her face on her knees in front of the foot of her bed inside her room with lights off. Tears rolled down from her eyes when she felt the pain in her heart. She had been doing that since they got home.

She also had the Love Knot in her hand and remembered all the happy moments she had with her Romeo. All those wonderful memories were over just like that because of her lies. The Juliet missed him, his comfort, his protection, his touch, his kind voice, his embrace, and his kiss.

Leon then came to her opened doorway, carrying a small book. He saw how destroyed her beloved daughter looked. It was like the spark in her vanished. Seeing her hurting hurts him even more.

"Ahem..." He pretended to clear his throat to get the girl's attention.

"Dad." Oddey turned to him with her eyes red and sore, and her face got all soaked from the crying.

"Can I come in?" Leon asked with a gentle smile on his face. Oddey nodded in response so the man entered her room and then sat next to her. He opened the book, which was a photo album, and pointed to a picture of him and Oddey, who was just a kid at that time. "Remember this? You were so adorable."

"It was the first photos of us as father and daughter back in the orphanage," the Juliet sniffled as she slowly began to lighten up. Her loving father turned to the next page of the album it was a photo of her crying. "This was when you promised me that you'd be back from your work trip. I didn't believe you at first because all the others just left me or threw me back in the orphanage."

"That's because you're not hard to love, and to hell, to those who left you or returned you in the orphanage, that's their loss. You are a wonderful daughter," Leon told her as he wiped the tears from her face and then turned to the next page. "Remember this one?"

Oddey glanced at it and beamed. It was her sitting on her father's lap and holding her hand while she held a pencil. "Yes, this was when you taught me how to draw. You always made fun of how I draw mountains."

The man chuckled. "That's right, it was also the time I decided to name you Odette because it means wealth, and I want to have the best of everything that I can give you," he explained and pulled her in to hug her sobbing daughter. "Because I love you."

"I love you too, Dad. I'm always so grateful that fate brought me to you."

"Me too." Leon was starting to bawl as well.

"Dad." Oddey pulled away from him to look at him in the eyes.

"What is it, Mochiepie?"

"I'm sorry."

The father became confused that she was apologizing out of nowhere. "Sorry for what?"

"Sorry that I lied to you," the poor girl whimpered. "About Gage. I'm sorry that I loved him and lied to you about me and him when you told me not to..."

"Honey, shh... no, it's alright. You don't have to be sorry for that."

"Aren't you mad?"

Leon was hesitant to admit that he was after seeing his child weeping because of the break-up. "Even if I was, it's not going to make me love you any less. You're my daughter."

Oddey hugged her father again and burst out in tears from all the heartache and guilt she was feeling. "I'm so sorry, Dad."

"It's okay, Mochiepie," the man assured and patted her daughter's head. "Listen to me, I know it all hurts now, so remember that I'm always here to pick up the pieces. Plus, if anyone is to blame here, it's me."