Chapter 106 - 107
When he saw Daisy, Levi laughed first, and fhe sound was warm. "I guess this must be the beautiful Daisy. Hello, little beauty, I’m your uncle Levi..."
His enthusiasm was genuine, but perhaps a bit much for someone Daisy’s age meeting a stranger. The yacht was already crowded with people. Daisy pressed closer to Harry’s side, her small hand finding his. She was indeed a little shy, her eyes wide as she took in the unfamiliar faces and the overwhelming sensory input of the party around her.
After Levi finished introducing himself, Sienna led Liora over.
When Harry saw them approach, he hesitated for a moment.
Something cold settled in his stomach, a complicated knot of emotions he didn’t want to examine too closely. Because this wasn’t just any child. This was Liora. Elodie’s daughter. The little girl who, according to everything he’d observed and overheard, had been slowly pulled away from her own mother and into Sienna’s orbit. The child who now called her mother’s half-sister "Auntie" with more warmth than she probably showed Elodie anymore.
And now she was here, with Sienna’s hand resting on her shoulder like a claim of ownership.
Knowing that Daisy was shy, after Liora introduced herself with politeness, she took the initiative and extended her hand. "There are a lot of children over there. Would you like to come with me and play?"
It was a kind offer. Liora gestured toward a section of the yacht where several other children had gathered.
Daisy looked up at Harry, uncertainty written clearly across her small features. She wanted to say yes, he could see the curiosity in her eyes, the desire to play with someone her own age but she needed his permission first.
After he nodded, she mustered up the courage to follow Liora, her steps tentative at first but growing more confident as the two girls moved away.
Harry watched them go, his jaw tight. There was something deeply wrong about this picture, Liora, who should have been with her mother tonight, was instead here playing hostess-in-training alongside Sienna. Playing the role of Dante’s perfect daughter while Elodie existed somewhere else entirely, probably alone.
The thought made his hands curl into fists before he consciously relaxed them.