Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 226

Keith held his tongue.

"Lucy needs to be as tough as you when she gets back."

Mentioning his daughter, from whom he had been separated for over twenty years, Nathan's eyes filled with longing.

If he could, he would rather have Lucy stay in Pinehurst, living a carefree life.

But once she's back, there will be more issues to face. She grew up in a sheltered environment, was naive to the cunning of people, and might be easily manipulated.

Now, the Blue family had located Lucy, and she had been in danger before. If they didn't bring her back, her safety can't be guaranteed.

As Nathan said, since it's impossible to keep hiding, they must face it head-on.

Life was brutal. In this world, there's no such thing as fairness; the strong ruled the roost.

"Let's fetch Lucy later, then. Let her enjoy a few more happy days in Pinehurst. With Janice by her side, there shouldn't be any issues."

Keith didn't want Lucy to return too soon because he was tired. He was constantly striving, fearing that if he relaxed for a moment, he could lose everything.

Nathan was silent for a while, then said, "Is she safe there right now? If she's really safe, then we can bring them back later. It would be even better if Janice could fully recover before she comes back."

"She's safe; the Anderson family can protect her."

Keith had confidence in Stefan, believing in his abilities.

"Could you give Lucy a call now? I want to talk to her, preferably via video call."

Keith knew Nathan must have pictures of Lucy, but he still took out his phone and made a video call.

Lucinda answered quickly, noticing that Keith still hadn’t changed clothes. She asked with concern, "Did you make it home alright? Have you reached home?"

"I did; I messaged you as soon as I got home."

Seeing Lucinda, Keith's expression naturally softened, a smile spreading across his face.

"Are you having dinner? How's mom? Did she mention me after I left?"

Lucinda glanced at Janice, who was having dinner with Fiona. They got along well, both loving their shared daughter, Lucinda. They chatted while they ate.

"Janice is fine; she mentioned you, but she still thinks you're that person. She gets confused sometimes; she met Cecilia but forgot the next time she saw her. She once helped out in my shop, then she asked me to take her to the shop again."

Janice's confusion left Lucinda feeling a bit muddled too. She realized now that she had done the same thing twice.

Keith knew he couldn't expect too much from Janice in such a short time; she couldn't recover fully yet. But after finding Lucy, Janice had changed significantly. Now, people wouldn't know she had mental issues unless she was holding a doll and calling it her child.

Lucinda turned the camera towards the two mothers.

When she turned the camera back, it was no longer her brother Keith on the other side but a man who was a stranger to her.

Lucinda was startled but quickly realized it was her biological father, Nathan.

She looked at Nathan in the video, her smile slowly fading, her lips pursed tightly, unable to utter a word, let alone call him dad.

Through her brother Keith, Lucinda had pegged Nathan as an irresponsible man.

"Lucy." Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

Nathan spoke first, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Lucy."

Nathan called again.

"Hello, I'm your dad. Keith told you about me, right?"

Nathan held Keith's phone, his palms sweating with nervousness.

Despite experiencing many ups and downs and being a tough guy, he felt at a loss and nervous facing his daughter, whom he hadn't seen for twenty-three years. His heart softened involuntarily.

"Hello, he mentioned you."

Lucinda's cold reply was like a sharp knife stabbing into Nathan's heart, spreading pain throughout his body.

"You're having dinner, huh? Is the food good?"

Twenty-three years of separation had made the father-daughter relationship a stranger. Even with a thousand words, they didn't know how to express them.

Nathan tried to find a topic, gingerly maintaining the video call, fearing Lucy would hang up if she got upset.

Over the years, he had forced Keith to grow up in his own way, thinking he was tough enough and cold enough not to soften.

But when faced with his long-lost daughter, seeing her grow from a small bundle to an adult, he realized he had a soft side, he had fears, and he was just like everyone else.

Nathan was just an ordinary man.

"We're dining at the Ascend Hotel, one of the top-notch hotels in Pinehurst. The chefs are very professional, and the food tastes great."

Nathan asked a question, and Lucinda answered.

Nathan gave a fatherly smile and asked, "Is it tasty? Then eat more. You’re too thin; you need to eat more. Janice is there too, right? Can I see how she's doing now?"

Lucinda hesitated, then quickly turned the camera towards the two mothers.

Nathan knew what Lucy's hesitation meant. He felt bitter but couldn't voice it. Even if he did, it wouldn't erase what he had done.

He understood that, no matter what he thought, he hadn't protected his wife and child well over the years. They had suffered a lot.

Lucy's resentment and reproach towards him were normal.

"Lucy."

Janice looked at Lucinda with a sincere smile on her well-maintained face. She was dressed appropriately, her long hair pinned up, wearing disposable gloves, and had just peeled a shrimp.

Janice cheerfully dropped the peeled shrimp into Lucinda's bowl, grinning as she said, "You're a big fan of seafood, especially shrimp. I've peeled it for you, so chow down. Quit staring at your phone; seafood isn't as good once it cools; it gets fishy."

Nathan was touched.

It had been a long time since he'd seen his wife acting normally and even longer since he'd seen her graceful and elegant beauty.

Nathan hesitantly spoke up on the other end of the phone.

"Janice."