Kapitel 263: Father's wish
Last night partying and walking the busy streets exhausted the three, and when they returned home, everyone went straight to their bed. Giselle let Ethan use her room which has a large bed. Ethan refused it at first, but Giselle insisted him to make use of it, for he is their special guest. Meanwhile, the mother took the couch because she already received the call for the sudden party for Jayce and the film crew. Giselle had to work until late and then catch a wink before she got up within a few hours of nap.
All while Lia unconsciously considered that her week-long cold war with her mother ended naturally, but having her father address it worried the young cub, especially when she admitted to having met Lillian Grey already.
"So, you've met, huh! How is she?" - Ethan asks, curious to know since he never met Lillian Grey. In a way, he became slightly jealous that Lia met Lillian already and even before him.
"Hmm!" Lia admitted.
And her mind replayed series of images from meeting Lillian Grey to spotting her from far, kissing her mother. Despite the short conversation they shared, and the time spared at the table while sharing a meal, Lia found no more pleasant memories. With only a handful of impressions, she answered.
"I think Ms. Lillian is pretty but very intimidating,"
Ethan peered closely for more details.
"B- But she also helped me with the food. I guess she is a nice person who can look easily scary."
Lia's meticulous remark received a round of laughter from her father. He anticipated a remarkable answer, and upon hearing it to his amusement, he couldn't help but audibly snicker.
Lia remained hushed but baffled from seeing her father react in comfort.
"What is so funny about it?" she inquired.
Ethan stops laughing. Trouble paid him a special visit, for he dived into anxiety on how to handle this sensitive subject to his daughter.
Talking about Giselle and Lillian Grey while including his part in this story- all seem too much to handle.
Ethan knew he had to have this conversation with Lia, but presumed it to be when she grows to a teen or even an adult. Nevertheless, having to address this right now bothered the father.
He worried if Lia could understand the concept of sexual orientation and whether he should tell her everything in detail or not. The pressure put him in a corner and made her react still to it.
Ethan looked hesitantly at Lia, who is sincerely waiting for her father's words to come out of his mouth. He then apprehends that whatever he is going to say will have an impact and that he should be careful to talk about Giselle. Also, he decided to keep it simple and not dive too much into the details.
Ethan chose to have an in-depth conversation with his daughter once she becomes an adult or reaches a certain age. However, at the moment, he decided to explain to Lia without lying and be honest about it.
"Do you perhaps know who that person is?"
"No!" Lia replied.
"That person, Lillian Grey, is your mother's, true love."
Lia appeared at a loss for words.
"True love? What?"
Ethan worried about how to verbalize the truth.
"I wonder how I can explain it to you, dear!" he said.
The speechless child screamed inside. Before reacting, she yearned to know more about it.
"Papa, if you can tell me the truth, then I will pledge to work hard and try to understand," Lia promised.
Lia's brave words encouraged Ethan and gave the father the strength to continue. Before diving in, he let out a deep breath for composure.
"Alright, what I'm about to tell you is something that can confuse you right now, but once you become an adult, you will understand."
Lia dreaded that it might be something out of her reach to understand.
Nonetheless, Ethan advanced.
"Sweetie, before I tell you about your mother, let me ask you a question,"
Lia allowed.
"Can you tell me what love is?" Ethan asked.
Lia froze from such intense questioning.
Maybe Love has a definition in the dictionary, but it is not so simple to explain it in terms and frame words together to express its essence.
The little one took ample time to contemplate, and when she did, her feelings shed here and there, and to her ability, she lastly answered.
"Love is when even though mama and papa are living separately, they like each other."
Ethan, astonished from her response, heard the child continue.
"Love is when mama cuddles with me, gives me good morning and night kisses, buys pretty dresses and toys for me. It goes the same with papa!"
"Love is when I like spending time with my family and friends."
"L- Love is when I meet my grandparents for the first time, and I immediately knew I would love them dearly."
Ethan, surprised from her way of answering, smiled when the little girl included both of her grandparents.
"Love is when-" Lia stammered finally, unable to keep going.
"I can't come up with a precise definition of what Love is or can be, but it is something special. It brings happiness, joy, and comfort."
Ethan listened and then spoke.
"You're correct. Love is an invisible force. It is like magic that brings two people together. Two people who like each other, trust each other, and wish to spend their lives together, or maybe not! Since you also included your parents. But you understand it, right!"
Lia agreed.
"Love has no rules."
Ethan paused to hesitate.
"A boy can like a girl, just like a girl can love another girl, which also goes the same when a boy loves another boy. You see, love is not defined to exist in a certain way, do you follow me?"
"Love is for all!" Lia said to her understanding.
Ethan admitted, and Lia followed.
"Just like I said, a girl can love another girl like how your mother loves Ms. Lillian Grey."
Lia listened and somehow could grasp the concept behind it.
"Then-" Lia raised her hand to word her doubt.
"Let me finish," Ethan interrupted Lia before she asks critical questions.
Lia agreed and stayed quiet.
"Your mother's first love is Ms. Lillian Grey, and things led to them get separated. Your mother left her home and came to London to go to college, where she met me. Your mother was sad about being away from Ms. Lillian Grey, and I was the only person she told her story. We became close friends, and I fell in love with your mother."
Ethan panicked on how to continue now that he spilled almost his part of the story.
"And?" Lia anticipated.
"And then, God gifted us with you, our precious child, Lia."
Lia beamed with her bright eyes.
Ethan managed to skip the mature content, and he was proud to make Lia smile.
"What happened then was I learned that your mother loved Ms. Lillian more, so I told her to follow her heart, and that is why we live independently."
Lia's face fell in sadness, sorrow filled her eyes, for the sake of her father.
"Did you sacrifice for mother's happiness?" Lia asked.
The question almost made Ethan relive the pain he had to go through upon learning that he could never have Giselle's heart.
"That was for the best for both of us!" he answered.
Lia seemed unsatisfied with the response.
Ethan signed.
"It is because I truly respect your mother, and I admire her for who she is that I wish for her to be happy, to keep smiling, and to live her life!"
"If you think about it, your father stole your mother away from her love, which would make me the offender," Ethan jokingly added.
Lia couldn't hold on to her grieve anymore. The little girl noticed her father posing a smile that lacks his usual charm. His eyes gleamed for no reason, and he looked away from her. Adding the dry coughs and his wandering gestures, Lia knew that her father is hiding his wound as well.
"How great you are, father! But I'm certain that mother kept crying, and you were there for her to protect all the time!" Lia exclaimed.
How surreal the timing was when Lia could predict it unintentionally, without knowing in detail of what happened between her parents.
No matter how much he could hold back his emotional tears, Ethan failed at the end. Before he could let Lia witness his sad face, he stood up to pick the empty plate Lia just finished. He walked away to wash it at once while calming his head.
'This is so tough!' - he thought.
Ethan returned after spending several seconds to wash the plate.
"It's alright, I have my little angel with me, right?" he said, pointing at Lia.
Lia stiffened in her seat and rocked her head vigorously to prove those words.
"You just said that your parents like each other even though we live individually. Though we may not love each other like other kid's parents, we still are great friends. We respect each other and trust each other. We are willing to work together to raise our beautiful daughter and give her the world to dream and live happily.
Ethan consoled for Lia's sake.
"So, now you understand why your mother and Ms. Lillian Grey kissed each other?" Ethan finally asked.
Lia kept quiet, but she nodded her head softly, subsequently grasping the reason behind such a strong force exhibited between her mother and her dear friend, Lillian Grey.
"But why did they get separated? I don't think father stole mama from Ms. Lillian. You said that you only met mama when she came to London to go to college," Lia spoke daringly to clarify her suspicions.
Ethan acknowledged and embraced to answer all of her questions.
"Now, you know that there are different types of love, correct?" Ethan asked.
When Lia agreed, that became the cue to further explain Lia about the cynical part of the society that rejects such people.
"Lia, dear, there are some bad people in this world who hate seeing a boy loving another boy or a girl loving another girl. They say that these people are committing a sin and consider them to be disgust."
"That's mean!" Lia stormed, interrupting her father, but that doesn't anger Ethan. He welcomed, taking this chance to enlighten Lia so that she can learn to respect and love everyone equally.
"You are right!"
"Why-" Lia expressed her disliking to people behaving as such.
"It is not their business to say who should love whom!" she quoted.
"Sweetie, sometimes when you step outside your home, you make certain decisions. If it pleases others, then people would support you. However, if it doesn't please them, then they would reject you."
"That's harsh, father!" Lia exclaimed.
"But what is the reason for their dislike?" Lia asked on a serious note.
Ethan paused to answer.
"Its because people don't know or they don't understand that love is love, no matter what form it takes. Awareness takes courage and attention. Some people don't show interest in learning, and they bluntly criticize others. This world is vast, Lia. I only taught you a part of it. There is more to this planet and more to humans, us! Therefore, my wish for you is to treat everyone with kindness. Lia, dear, you are one kind soul already. I don't want to see my daughter ever to misbehave or to disrespect others without reason. I could have been mean to your mother like those bad people, but I never did! I saw your mother for the kind of person she is and listened to her heart. Not only your mother, but I have come across many such friends, and I never ill-treated them. Do you know why?"
Lia keenly listened to every word her father uttered.
"Because like you and me, they are also a human being with genuine emotions. They have dreams like you and me! It is not our place to judge anyone for who they are! Do you understand, Lia?"
Lia nodded with a ready smile.
"Also, that doesn't mean bad people cannot change. Some of them can reflect on their behavior once they get told of their mean actions. I have also seen people who changed their opinion upon understanding friends like your mother."
All of this seemed like advice to treasure. Lia worked hard to store every word of it in her brain. However, there looks like something kept bothering her while stacking up newly found knowledge.
"Does that mean bad people hated mother and Ms. Lillian loving each other?" she asked while wondering.
"In a way, you could say that! Back in the day when your mother was at your age, she faced a lot of bullying because of who she was!" Ethan answered.
Upon hearing it, Lia appeared dumbstruck, and she froze to her seat.
"Someone bullied mama!" she asked to her shivering voice.
Ethan realized that he spilled some secrets of Giselle, which cannot get redeemed now. He affirmed his statement, and Lia's teary eyes arrived at the scene.
"Your mother got bullied, but she also stayed strong and endured to live her life bravely!" Ethan said to comfort his daughter.
It looks like the perfect answer, but somehow hearing her mother go through rough childhood made Lia grieve.
"Lia?" Ethan called.
Lia didn't respond but only sounded her reply.
"Are you feeling sad about your mother?"
"Yes," Lia replied.
"Do you wish that your mother never got bullied?"
"Hmm," Lia cried.
"Then, lift your face and become a brave girl that you already are to continue to protect your mother!" Ethan said to Lia's startle.
She followed him and lifted her face to see her father proudly smiling.
"Can you do that for me?" he asked, extending his pinky for a promise.
Lia nods and lifts her pinky to pledge.
"Will you be there to protect your mother for my sake as well?" he asked again, and Lia agreed without hesitation as they both held to their pinky promise.
Ethan patted Lia gently. Deep within, he felt grateful to have had this conversation with Lia. Although he wanted to explain more, for now, this will be enough for Lia to intake. As she grows, she would have both her parents to assist her.
With that, Ethan helped to resolve leftover bitter feelings from their last weekend trip. Lia learned an essential truth about her mother and the relationship she has with Lillian Grey.
"How are you feeling, Lia?" Ethan asked after seeing his daughter fazed from the lengthy chat.
Lia honestly expressed how it is all new to her, but she is willing to learn people and would never judge anyone without any reason.
"It is brave of you to be mature for your age. However, you don't have to rush to understand all this at once. You can always be frank to ask your questions and grow at ease. No matter what, you are still our child, and we want you to live your life without worrying about your parents."
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
ljack_ace
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