I Am Your Father

Casey's face turned red instantly when she felt his intense gaze at her face but she did not look back at him. She did not want to see that smirk on his face.

She didn't want to make him feel triumphed when he was making sure that he trampled her completely.

"Penny!" he called her, "i am your father darling!" he said in such a sweet voice that it mellowed Cassey's heart too.

"Daddy?" she blinked her eyes, she had heard that word before but her mother did not confirm it? The little girl looked at her mother who was silent when Tyrone coughed.

"Tell her!" he demanded when Cassey bit her lips. She took a deep breath as if she was fighting with herself. "Cassey!" the voice undone her. He did not call her by her full name and she did not feel hatred in his voice but a soft whisper, a vulnerability that she had missed.

"Yes, he is your father, honey. He is the man who loves you the most." she felt her words burning her mouth.

"Daddy!" Penny stared at her father this time as if she was trying to memorize his face. She raised her hands and touched his face softly. The touch melted all the resentment in his heat instantly as he held his breath.

He was not a soft or handsome person. His face had scars, though faded, a child could still feel intimidated and he did not have a good start with her.

"Yes, and I love you too much, princess." he felt the obligation to tell her. He wanted her to know that he was there for her, so she did not need that Jack or whatsoever. "So, can I hold you now?" he asked, holding his breath when Cassey turned to look at him.

For some reason the moment when he had proposed to her flashed in front of her eyes. He looked worried and desperate at that time too. Holding his breath, he was on his one knee while waiting for her reply. She felt tears starting to form on the edges again and she sighed.

She never knew she was such a cry baby. She never cried even when he had abandoned her but now that he had returned, she was like a water dynamite that kept exploding all the time.

Penny stared at her father. "Strong daddy!" she nodded her head with satisfaction after her little exploration that forced Cassy to muffle a smile while Tyrone blinked in shock and amazement. A grin formed on his face as he nodded his head repetitively,

"Yes, yes, very strong daddy! Big and muscular daddy." that made Cassey laugh hard. She never knew that her stoic husband was that side of him. He looked so silly with that grin as he tried to sell himself to his daughter.

"Mmm, will you be a horse then?" she asked with a nod when he paused and looked at Cassey as if asking for clarification.

"She wants you to be a horse so that she could ride on you later by climbing on your back" aah! Understanding filled his eyes and he nodded immediately.

"Yes, yes, I will be a good horse. You can ride on me all you want. Now, can I hold you princess? Mother is sick and needs more rest." he added the last line when she still clutched the dress of Cassey tightly in her hands.

He was not sure if it was the last line that did magic, but she finally nodded her head and raised her hands as if asking her to hold him.

Tyrone lifted her into his lap and she curled up against his chest, propping her thumb into her mouth. For a minute the carriage was too quiet. Cassey stared at the myriad of emotion on the face of her husband.

He wanted the child. Could it be possible that he would not have thrown her if he knew that she was pregnant. But the thought that he would have kept her only because of their child stabbed her heart again.

She hates him but that would never change the fact that she still loves him from every cell, every nerve of her body. But he loved someone else and that bitter truth did not let her forgive him.

"She did not hate him." the thought marveled him as he spoke it out loud as he kissed the hair of his daughter.

"I am going to be a good horse for him." he swore that she did not know what to reply or was even talking to her.

"Tell me more about her?" He finally turned to look at her. Though he did not want to do anything with this woman, it was a fact that she was the only one who could guide him about his daughter.

"And why would I do that?" she asked with a frown, making his face dark again, "I do not know what you are planning to do with me but I am sure that you are going to prove me a criminal. Let me tell you, Tyrone, my daughter is going to live with me. I will never give her to you."

"And you think that you have the right to decide that?" he spat coldly, his voice dripping with hatred at the sheer absurdity and selfishness of this woman.

"She would not be able to live without me. You can try that if you think I am lying." she shrugged and looked away when she heard the sound of "bang!" it scared her but she did not look back at him. She would not back down.

He paused, looked at her daughter that was startled by his actions and absorbed himself completely in her. If that woman did not want to tell him about his daughter, he would learn by himself. Even he would see how she was going to use their daughter to save herself from her crimes!