Dear Daughter

After getting enough rest and cleaning up after what happened last night, Amanda headed back out of the house to go to work. Although her rest was very short after not sleeping all night, Amanda was already feeling a little better.

This was the first time she had not slept all night since she left her job as an agent. She used to stay up all night to chase her targets.

When she came out of her house, there were already a lot of neighbors gathered in front of the house as if they were talking about something.

Amanda, who was curious, approached them and asked what was going on.

"Did you know? Last night Sheriff George was attacked by unknown people. Now he's in the hospital with serious injuries," said one of the neighbors.

"O-ohh... I see. Is... Is he okay?" asked Amanda pretending not to know.

She herself didn't know how the news of the incident had spread to her neighbors, but no one knew what had happened if Amanda was involved.

"I heard that he has recovered. We intend to visit him there,"

"I see, I'm sorry I can't come because I have to work. I hope he's okay..." Amanda said and then said goodbye to go to work.

If people knew George did it to protect Amanda, what would they think?

She was worried that they would think all kinds of things about her. Especially since there was a mysterious man who intended to hurt her but it was someone else who got hurt by protecting her.

'I hope something bad doesn't happen again...' Amanda thought.

She arrived at Jhon's cafe and saw that Jhon had only made a few cakes. Usually he could make five to six types, today Amanda saw only two.

"Why don't you make as many cakes as usual?" Amanda asked.

"Why not? Our customers are not as busy as usual. Besides, we're closing early today too. So I don't need to make too many," explained Jhon.

"That's right. Alright then, I'll start doing my part." Amanda got up from there and started doing her work.

That afternoon, the locals eating at Jhon's cafe were talking about the attack on their Sheriff. They wondered what happened and who did it?

Why did the man attack George, they remembered that George was a nice guy. He had no enemies at all.

"Maybe it was a friend or family member of a prisoner George had arrested? They had a grudge and attacked him," said one of the men.

"That's right, it could happen. Poor guy, he has to stay at home until his wounds heal."

Amanda who heard that could only ignore it. She knew the truth, but she didn't want to say it, and it seemed that George didn't tell others about it either until they speculated on their own about what happened.

*****

Later that afternoon when the clock struck six, Jhon decided to close the café. He deliberately did so that there would be plenty of time to tidy up before they reopened next year.

Amanda helped Jhon to put all the plates into a closed rack so that when they were used later, they wouldn't be too dirty. She also lists the ingredients that are running out and the tools that might need to be replaced.

They did this until two hours had passed. Finished with their work, Jhon asked Amanda to sit in the front while waiting for him to take care of something in the kitchen for a while.

She placed her bag beside her seat while waiting for him. It wasn't long before he arrived with two plates of cake and two glasses of hot tea.

"Let's take a break before we close the cafe," said Jhon, handing Amanda a plate of cake.

"Well thank you, Jhon." Amanda pulled out her plate and they enjoyed the cake together.

"Did you like the cake I made?" Jhon asked.

"Yes, very much! It was very tasty and soft. You're very talented at making them," Amanda replied with a smile.

In Jhon's eyes, Amanda's smile reminded him of someone he really missed. A dark-haired woman who smiled sweetly at him, someone who loved his cooking.

"Ashley..." Jhon murmured softly.

"Ashley? Who is that?" asked Amanda, curious to hear Jhon call out a woman's name.

"She's... My daughter. Seeing you makes me think of her..." the man replied while eating his cake. "She loved to eat the chocolate cake that my late wife or I made. She would always whine for us to make it every day."

He smiled a little as he told her, but Amanda could see the pain behind his smile. The longing for his daughter.

"What was your daughter like?" Amanda asked.

"Ashley is a very obedient and cheerful child. She's very spoiled at times, but she never argues with us about anything we say. She's a very good child. At least... Before my wife died."

"Maybe it's all my fault. I was too hard on her after my wife's death. I was so scared of losing her too. But in the end I still lost her..." Jhon continued.

Amanda touched Jhon's hand to calm him down. It seemed that Jhon, who always looked stern and fierce, looked 180 degrees different this time.

"She blamed me for her mother's death because that day I asked Jane to buy something but she ended up never coming back for good."

She could feel Jhon's trembling hands.

"You must miss her a lot. Why don't you try to contact her and tell her that? Maybe she's changed her mind..." Amanda said.

"I didn't have the courage to contact her. She must hate me so much right now. I just hope she'll be okay this time..." said Jhon while looking out the window. Hoping that his beloved daughter would live happily in her new life.

Amanda was silent as she heard Jhon's words. She wondered, is this how her father feels right now? Missing her who has never heard from her in a long time.

*****

"Dominic?" A middle-aged woman walked up to her husband who continued to sit by his phone even though it was late.

"Oh Isabella, aren't you asleep yet? Go to bed first, I'm not sleepy yet," Dominic replied when he saw his wife walking over.

She sat down next to her husband and took his hand. "I know you still keep waiting for a call from our daughters, don't you?"

Dominic nodded slowly at his wife's question. He felt so worried when his two daughters were so far away from him. Moreover, their work was so dangerous that it could threaten their lives at any time.

"I'm sure both Amanda and Kylie will be fine. They will definitely contact us as soon as their work is done. I know you're very worried, and so am I. But we must wait patiently for them," Isabella said.

"My two little girls are risking their lives for so many people. I should be proud of that, but I'm also very worried. I can't sleep peacefully every night because I'm always thinking about them," Dominic explains.

As a father, he loves his two daughters very much. Even though they are adults, to him, Amanda and Kylie are his little princesses who always look cheerful, hold his hand and smile at him.

He could only hope for the best for his two daughters at this time.

'Come back safely. I miss you both very much.'