221 Papa Vandy
"Who told you to call her Scar mama?" Sebastian asks, watching Scar carefully to not let her see them, but also not lose sight of Scar.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.
He didn't know Scar was here, nor did he expect Alice to jump off the carousel when she saw him. He noticed that Lilith had taken Alice here, so he came.
"She IS Scar mama..." Alice answers in a wronged tone, confused.
"Does she know that I'm your papa?" Sebastian asks, knowing the answer
Scar doesn't. Or she would have put two and two together.
He needs to tell her, but he can't. Not because of Silco.
As hard as he tried to look into that man, he couldn't find anything too odd. The guy seems clean. Adam Smith. That's the name Sebastian found. So ordinary a name that it's almost boring. He even found out why he hates the Fullers - Jack Fuller's precious little company, the one he kept carefully for so many years, he bought it from a "Smith" with the price of one dollar-
The kind of deal that always has a bloody story behind it.
As much as he doesn't want to trust that man, he has to admit that there is nothing wrong about him. If anything, the hostility he feels only comes from the fact that he is the man Scar allows to be close to her.
He can't tell Scar because he just found out about a glimpse of the past five dark years of hers-
Postpartum depression. A thing he never expected to be in his life, to happen on the one woman he cares about the most. He so wished it wasn't the case when he finally found out about the truth of Scar's mysterious transfer from a lawyer friend, but then Lilith confirmed it-
She said that Scar had contacted her, and that was when Scar's condition had already looked up.
He let her suffer alone in the darkness for years, just like how she was trapped in those dark woods. Except this time he didn't find her. She found her own way out, and it wasn't an angel that came out of those woods this time.
He doesn't know how he could heal Scar so he could return her daughter to her, but right now, he needs to return Alice, a friend's daughter, to her first.
"Alice, I need you to do me a favor. It's very important," Sebastian holds Alice's shoulder, looking into the eyes he's so familiar with.
"Yes, papa?" Alice gives him a smile that is way more mature than her age.
"I can't meet with your Scar mam right now. Do you think you could not tell her that you saw me here?"
Scar is getting anxious. Sebastian glances in her direction with a worried look, his heart pumping fast in his chest.
"Okay..." Alice pouts, her faint eyebrows furrowing like two caterpillars, "But why do you not like Scar mama?"
"Papa like her, my little angel," Sebastian strokes Alice's head, getting anxious, "It's just...papa did something wrong, and your Scar mama is mad at papa right now."
"If you do wrong, you apologize and make amends," Alice says like a little teacher to a misbehaving child.
"I will, honey," Sebastian prints a kiss on her forehead, "Now go, please, and don't disappear on your mama like this again. You will get her worried."
Just when Scar is about to leave the area for further searching, Alice runs towards her. Scar jumps over and pulls Alice into her arms, feeling her legs metting under her. She wasn't hugging Alice, more like hanging up on Alice so she didn't melt into the ground.
"Where did you go!" Scar exclaims, holding back the tears in her eyes with all her will power, "You scared me to death!"
"Papa-" Alice points in Sebastian's direction, only to remember her secret with him and covers her own mouth.
But the word is out.
"Papa?" Scar frowns and looks over
at the corner where Sebastian was
hiding. With alarm ringing in her head, Scar quickly pulls out her phone to call Lilith as she holds Alice tight in her other hand, “Lilith? Alice is back, safe and sound. But Damian might also be here, so-"
"Princess,"
Scar turns around, only to see Silco standing behind her. The man wears his mask everywhere, and he doesn't care about people's stare - right now as an example: in his slit suits, he is like the eccentric chocolate factory owner coming right out of the movie. If only he has a cane in his hand, it would be identical.
"Please, can you guard her for me? I need to check something," Scar says and pushes Alice to Silco, "I'll be right back!"
In a hurry, Scar runs toward the corner where Sebastian was, thinking Damian is after his daughter with some dirty play. If Lilith wants to keep her daughter, then no one in the world could take her away, especially that jerk who abandoned Lilith!
"Glad to finally meeting you," Silco curves his lips, bending over little Alice, "...Little Alice."
"Papa Vandy!" Alice lets out an excited shout, holding up her chubby arms for a hug. For the first time ever since Silco came to the city, a crack crawls into his calm mask.