HIDDEN PASSION

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Lillian finished cooking for her father and set the table for him. She hummed and move her body from side to side. She was listening to Me and love don't get along by Tatiana Manaios in her headset.

The volume was so loud that she did not hear the footsteps of her father as he came into the dining room. She had come to spend the weekend with him, just like the old days. Even though it had been a while he visited her father, he looked the same with the grey beard but black dyed hair on his head.

She swayed her hips from side to side as she sang,

🎶 I cried to my friends, I had been alone.
It's so hard when you are on your own
They try to set me up with the guys they Know
I just say I got plans, I'd just be at
home🎶

That made her remember when Dorcas introduced her to many men back then. She was very aware that she was single and obviously did not like it. And funnily, she did most of it without her consent. She would give out her number only for her to be disturbed with homornal men telling her bullshits in the middle of the night.

Someone once called her and as she picked up,what she started hearing was some stupid love song coming from the worst voice she had ever heard. For some minutes, she could only open her mouth and said nothing. She had been so shocked. The voice was telling her he loved her and kept on repeating the sentence.

She became so furious that she had been disturbed in her sleep by someone so stupid. Had it been the voice was even pleasant to the ears, she would not have been so angry. She would have agreed it was worth it.

But heck, the voice was the worst of all.

She had waited impatiently for the man to finish his scream as she thought of what to say to him.

The voice finished singing and she could hear the long sigh of satisfaction from the person. Lillian shook her head and asked, "What's your name?"

She could tell the person was happy because she could hear the ruffling of sheets, probably bed sheets and then a thud on the floor. Perhaps he got off his bed in excitement.

"I am Jones, baby," the man informed.

His talking voice was even bad and made Lillian cringe a little. "You are stupid," she hurled. She felt like laughing so hard with the way she sounded, but she withheld. She heard the man made a shocking sound. He was obviously shocked at her remark.

The man was about to say something when she hanged up on him. After she hanged up, she tried to get back to sleep but couldn't. Her peaceful sleep has been stolen by a hormonal man.

She smiled at the memory. She had fought with her friend the following day and since then, she stopped giving out her contacts. But that didn't mean she gave up on pestering her about having a boyfriend.

"Lillian," her dad called,but when she gave no response, he knew she couldn't hear him,so he tapped her shoulder.

She jolted at first, making a quick turn around before her lips settled on a smile. She removed her headset and urged her father to sit. "Have your seat and eat," she uttered and her father obeyed.

He took his seat and told her daughter to do the same which she did. "Aren't you going to eat, too?" he asked.

Lillian shook her head. "No, dad. I'm okay. I've already eaten," she told her dad with a smile.

Her dad smiled as well. That was what she was fond of, watching him eat. She would always watch him eat while doing nothing. "When do I get to eat with you? You are always watching me eat," her father complained. His voice was still quite the same but sounded older than the smooth one he used to have in his fifties.

"I love doing that, dad. I just like doing that. Watching you eat makes me happy. It gives me happiness to see you devour the food I prepare for you," she chuckled. It was no secret, even to her mom, that she was a daddy's girl. She loved her parents, but she loved her dad more.

Sometimes, her mother would fight her for it. Whenever she needed something from her, she would get angry and tell her to go meet her father. Her mother had once asked her why she chose a poor father over a wealthy mother.

Lillian had laughed so hard like her life depended on it. How could her mother think like that?  Her reply had been simple and straightforward. "I did not chose dad over you, mum. I love you, but I just seem to love dad more," she had clarified and winked.

She earned an eye beating from her mom who suddenly rose up and exclaimed, "I hate you."

"I know you did not mean that, mum. You love me too much. I'm your only child, remember?" She had replied and they had laughed the matter off.

Back to the present, her dad smiled genuinely that it revealed the wrinkles that were vague when he was not smiling.  " Thank you so much, Lilly."

At that, she shook her head in disagreement. Her father had thought she just did not want him to thank her, so he smiled and said, "You do not want me to thank you, right? I know...."

Lillian shook her head. "Not that, dad."

"What, then?" He was now confused.

Lillian smiled as she sat upright. "I just don't want you to call me that."

He was almost done with his yam flour and vegetables, so he washed his hands as he pondered briefly on what his daughter meant. "Call you what? Lilly?" He asked in confirmation and she nodded before looking down to her fingernails as she toyed with them.

"Yes, dad. Don't call me Lilly. Only Nath is allowed to call me that," she professed with a broad smile.

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