The King's Lover-Chapter 444: Fat’er Fat’er Fat’er

"Fat’er!" Rose called as the carriage passed him and rode through the open gates. She would have stopped the carriage if she could.

"Rosie," he said with an affectionate look on his face.

She poked her head out the window, turning it until it hurt so she could keep looking at him as he closed the gates. Thomas had a panicked look on his face, worried that she might fall out.

Rose felt a torrent of emotions rush through her body at the sight of her father, but the forerunner was pure happiness.

She gripped the hem of her dress, ready to bolt out as soon as the carriage came to a stop. Her legs shook in anticipation, and her neck ached from straining so much.

As soon as the carriage slowed enough, Rose pushed the door open before Thomas could even react and flew out, running as fast as she could toward the gates.

Her father turned around just in time, having just finished closing up the gates, and Rose went flying into his arms. He was quite used to her rushing toward him in this manner, and he caught her as easily as he usually would.

"Fat’er, Fat’er, Fat’er," Rose cried against his shoulder as she hugged him tightly.

"Rosie, don’t cry."

Rose didn’t realize she was crying until he spoke. She had noticed her vision blurring while she was struggling to look at him but hadn’t thought much of it. All she could think about was getting to him.

"Fat’er," she cried again, hugging him tight.

"Aye, aye. I missed ye a lot, mi dear."

He lightly patted her back as she hugged him tightly. She pressed her face into his shoulder as though to confirm he was actually there and her senses weren’t playing a trick on her.

"I missed you so much, Fat’er."

"Mi Rosie," he whispered.

After some time, Rose was finally ready to let go and reluctantly did so. She looked up at her father’s face and touched the sides of it. He looked older and stressed, with dark circles under his eyes. He hadn’t lost a lot of weight, but it was enough for Rose to notice.

Rose’s gaze darkened immediately, and she stepped back to see him properly. "You didn’t take care of yourself as you promised me you would."

Vallyn tried not to react to the fact that his daughter had noticed; she always had a keen eye for this sort of thing. The women in the manor had tried their best to make him look better than he did when he arrived, but of course, nothing would pass Rose’s eyes.

"Nay," he immediately started to shake his head. "I’m just tired from tha journey."

Rose frowned as he mentioned the journey. The other emotions she had been ignoring because of her happiness at seeing her father were resurfacing.

"Rose," Esme’s voice called as she and Kali walked out of the manor.

They were some distance away and were waving at them. Rose noticed Thomas was standing by the carriage, watching her.

"Come on, Fat’er," Rose said and grabbed his rough palm. "Let’s get you inside."

Rose was happy to see her father; there was no denying that. She had been willing to sacrifice everything to see him again, but at the same time, Rose was angry.

She could feel it simmering just beneath her skin; her happiness was keeping it at bay right now, but Rose wanted to scream and claw at something.

She walked together with her father, and Esme hugged her when she got close enough.

"Welcome back," she said.

"Thank you," Rose replied. "And thank you for letting my father stay here."

Rose had several questions, but she already knew the answer to two of them: the crown prince was the reason her father was here, and the trip Thomas had gone on was to bring her father to the capital. She could feel her blood boil, but she allowed it to simmer down.

"Don’t thank us," Esme said with a laugh. "Your father is wonderful company."

Esme wiggled her eyebrows, and Rose didn’t know if she should be alarmed. Regardless of how comfortable she felt here, it was still a brothel. However, Rose didn’t think too much about it nor was she bothered by it. The women here meant no harm to her father. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Is Lady Delphine awake?" she asked instead.

"No," Kali said. "I don’t think she will wake up soon. She was awake until mid-morning."

"Oh."

Rose wondered if that had anything to do with her father’s presence, but the women didn’t seem to act as though it was any trouble.

However, all she wanted right now was a private moment to speak with her father. They had quite a lot to discuss, and her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Would you like some lunch?" Kali asked.

"Has my father eaten?" she asked as she glanced up at him.

"Aye, Rosie. I ’ave."

"Can you save my meal for now? I’d like to speak with him before I eat."

"Of course," Esme said with excitement.

"Don’t ye tink it’s best ye eat first, Rosie?"

Rose smiled at him. "Don’t worry about me, Fat’er. I had a hearty breakfast."

Her father seemed satisfied by this and simply nodded his head in response.

Esme was quick to lead them to a small drawing room, and she giggled as she watched the two of them sit on the couch. Rose knew Esme was just happy she was with her father, as the latter had lost her parents at a young age.

"Thank you, Esme."

She nodded vigorously. "If you need anything, please let me know," she said as she withdrew from the room.

Rose grabbed her father’s hand as they sat next to each other; it felt as though if she didn’t hold him, he would disappear and she would wake up to find this was all a dream.

He smiled as they held hands and gripped her palm tightly. "Ye look very well, Rose. I’m so ’appy to see you."

Rose nodded her head, fighting the urge to cry again. "How was the journey?" she asked after composing herself.

He shrugged. "Not bad, aside from a sore rear from riding, tha journey went well, and tha lad T’omas was very useful."

Rose found it funny that her father called Thomas a lad. She could tell that during the trip, they had some exchange, and her father no longer felt as strongly about Thomas as he had the first time they met.

Rose nodded in response to his words. "I’m glad." Then she asked the hardest question. "Why are you here?"