I smiled bitterly. “But I never once suspected that he was my father.”
Rufus held my hand and comforted, “Don’t think too much. Just let bygones be bygones, Sylvia.”
I nodded and continued to watch the scene on the crystal ball.
This part of the memory should be when Leonard just got married. He was holding a newborn baby and seemed clueless about how to comfort her. The baby girl clenched her fists and giggled as if she was amused.
I guessed that the newborn baby must be Alina.
The next moment, a little girl of around seven or eight years old with a delicate face appeared. She was as fragile as a doll, chasing after Leonard and calling him daddy.
Even though Leonard had begun to show signs of aging, including wrinkles around his eyes, he was still a lovely man. He looked much more serious than before.
Alina occupied most of Leonard’s memory. In those scenes, Alina called him dad for the first time, played piano for him to celebrate his birthday, and danced with him at her coming-of-age ceremony.
“This crystal ball will show the most unforgettable moments in a person’s life. Despite Leonard’s reputation as a committed soldier, his family was actually his top priority,” I said with a smile.
With his remark, I touched my eyebrows subconsciously.
Despite their many disagreements and even a few fights, Alina had always been important to Leonard.
Even I realized that Leonard faced a predicament of his own. Alina was his beloved daughter. No father was willing to let his daughter marry into another pack far away from home. If he could help it, he definitely would have wanted his daughter to stay with him.
However, Alina’s ambition was too evident. Staying in the pack might bring endless trouble and perhaps even danger to Alina herself.
Everything Leonard had done was all for the betterment of Alina’s life, but he didn’t have the chance to see it.
“Like my father, Leonard had a rough demeanor but a gentle heart inside.” Rufus sighed.
“Yes.”
Two people with similar temperament could become good friends. That was the case for Leonard and Ethan. The difference was that sometimes, Ethan was more disinterested and impersonal. It was always black and white for him, and he carried that attitude into his reign.
This was what it took to be a well-respected king.
Sylvia’s POV
Alina’s figure kept appearing on the crystal ball. Rufus was worried that seeing her would make me feel dispirited, so he suggested that I should watch Leonard’s memory another time.
Hearing him say that just amused me. Rufus was so sweet and considerate. He always paid attention to my feelings even though it wasn’t really a big deal.
“It’s okay. Even though Leonard didn’t say it often, he actually loved Alina very much. I’ve always known that.” I smiled. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t love me, though.”
I didn’t actually mind it. Even though I wasn’t that important to Leonard, I could totally understand it.
After all, he only found out that I was his daughter a few days before he died.
Rufus lovingly ran his fingers through my hair. “Honey, you’ve always been important to Leonard. There’s no doubt about that.”
I gave him a bright smile. “Of course.”
Otherwise, why would the crystal ball show my pictures all of a sudden?
The second half of his memory was basically the scenes after I met Leonard. Every time we met-from training to dining with each other-the crystal ball never left a single detail. Those memories were probably unforgettable to him.
I cried and laughed throughout the whole thing, but I also felt a bit sad.
Everyone told me to let go, but it wasn’t that easy for me to move on. He was the father that I had been yearning to see for more than 10 years.
I wasn’t even given the chance to call him my father.
I knew that this was my fate and I couldn’t change it, but it was still difficult for me to calm down.
As tears profusely streamed down my cheeks, I couldn’t help but sob.
Rufus just silently sat beside me and helped me wipe away my tears.
When the image in the crystal ball changed again, the last period of Leonard’s life appeared. It was the time when Rufus and I came his pack for Alina’s wedding.
“Leonard knew that you were his biological daughter at that time,” Rufus said.
As I looked at the crystal ball, I found Leonard looking at me as he silently stood behind. A hint of love, concern as well as fear flashed in his eyes while he contemplated walking up to me. He seemed overwhelmed.
I couldn’t help but sob again, tears now blurring my vision. I extended my arms in hopes of being able to touch Leonard, but the moment I did so, all I felt was the surface of the cold glass.
“Dad…” I whimpered. I felt like I was about to suffocate because of the lump that had formed in my throat.
He never responded. Not that I anticipated him to, but it was heartbreaking just knowing that the one I held dear was now dead and would never come back again.
“Honey, I’m sure he’s still watching over you. He’s probably watching you as we speak,” Rufus said, trying to comfort me. “All he wants is for you to be happy.”
I grabbed Rufus’ shirt and pulled him toward me. I cried so hard that I began choking on my sobs. I could hardly even think straight.
I knew that this was my fate and I couldn’t change it, but it was still difficult for me to calm down.
Rufus kept gently patting me on the back-trying to make me feel better. But all of a sudden, his tone became serious as he said, “Sylvia, look at the crystal ball. Something seems strange.”
Upon his request, I slightly turned around and glanced at the crystal ball, tears still blurring my vision. The image inside the crystal ball shifted to Alina’s wedding day-the part when Noreen kidnapped me and everybody was panicking. Then, the scene shifted to Leonard, who woke up from the bed in a sickly state. Still in her wedding dress, Alina was feeding him a bowl of soup.
I looked at the crystal ball in bewilderment. Why weren’t there servants or doctors around Leonard? He looked seriously ill!
In the image, Leonard refused to drink the soup. But when Alina said something to him, he knocked over the soup, which immediately spilled all over the floor. The look on Alina’s face wasn’t something I’d seen before. She looked pissed. It wasn’t that obvious since the angry expression only momentarily flashed across her face, but I saw it.
I was even more puzzled, especially since I still remembered what Alina said at that time. She told me that when Leonard fainted, she was busy evacuating the guests in the front hall.
But in the crystal ball, she never did such a thing. I saw Alina the moment Leonard fainted, as well as when he woke up.
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