Charlie''s eyes filled with tears in a heartbeat.

She bit her lip, trying her best not to let the hurt show.

But her tears glistened, threatening to fall.

Why was he lying to her again?

He was the one who had promised no matter what happened, from now on, she and Mom would alwayse first.

Charlie just couldn''t ept it. She''d finally tried to trust Charles as her dad, and here he was, putting her second yet again.

It had only been a few days, and already, she was back to being the one left behind.

"Miss Charlie..."

The butler saw her tears and moved tofort her.

Before he could get close, footsteps sounded behind him.

Charles''s voice came, gentle and thick with worry. "Charlie..."

The moment she heard her dad, the tears she''d been holding back finally spilled

over.

Charles hurried to her side, knelt down, and pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back soothingly. "Don''t cry, Charlie. Daddy''s here. I didn''t break my promise." "Daddy said he''d never lie to you again. Shh, sweetheart, don''t cry. I''m sorry, it''s my fault. Something came up and I got held up. I made you sad, and I''m so sorry." He''d promised, after all—no matter what, Charlie and Eve would alwayse first. He wouldn''t let himself break that promise.

Charlie buried her face in Charles''s shoulder, slowly calming down.

She didn''t say a word, but her little hands clung tightly to his shirt.

If this had happened before, she would''ve forced herself to act grown up and say,

"If Daddy''s busy, he can go. I can find Mommy myself."

But now, after just beginning to feel a father''s warmth, Charlie didn''t want to be so sensible anymore.

Charles felt her lean into him, and his heart melted. He scooped her up in his arms. "Let''s get changed and go find Mommy, okay?"

"Okay," Charlie replied softly.

With her head resting on his shoulder, she realized just how much she still wanted her dad''s gentle affection.

"Mr. Jenkins..."

The butler looked at Charles, worry in his eyes.

Hadn''t Dr. Nelson saidst night that Mr. Jenkins''s health wasn''t good?

"Get the car ready," Charles said, holding Charlie close and giving the butler a meaningful nce.

"Yes, sir!" The butler didn''t dare

more hurrying off to prepare the

and arrange security.  s

Back in her room, Charlie slipped into the princess dress she''d picked out yesterday.

She started to tie her hair up in a quick ponytail.

Her mom used to do her hair for her.

Now, she just tied it back herself, not caring much about how it looked.

Charles walked in behind her. "Charlie, want Daddy to do your hair today?"

Charlie stayed quiet, but she didn''t refuse.

She knew Charles could do it.fn831b Read full story at FindN()vel/fn831b

Sandy had bragged more than once.

about how pretty her hair lookedne

when her dad did it for her, and every time, Charlie had felt a party of envy.

s

She''d wished, just once, her dad would do her hair too.

Charles could see the hope and longing in her eyes, and it stung.

He swallowed his emotions, pulled out his phone, and showed her a few hairstyle ideas.

Charlie pointed at one. "Can you do this one?"

"If you love it, that''s all that matters," Charles said, his voice soft and warm.

He turned on a video tutorial, grabbed a bunch of colorful hair ties, and got started.

His hands were a bit shaky-he hadn''t done this in years.

But he picked it up fast, taking his time and paying attention to every detail.

When he finished, her hair looked just as pretty as in the video.

Charlie looked in the mirror, touched the neat little braid, and couldn''t help but smile.

It was beautiful.

And seeing that smile on her face, Charles felt like all the pain

exhaustion in the world w

s