Inside Mr. Dee's office, office, Ariel sat down on the chair and silently drummed her fingers on her lap while the man poured himself a drink.
"Ms, Ariel, can I just call you Ariel?" Mr. Dee asked as he turned to face her.
His office was simple; she was expecting it to be like a mafia boss' office, but it wasn't.
It had a normal office setting, and he even had an old family picture on his table, but she couldn't recognize the faces of the people there; she could only make out the face of a younger Mr. Dee.
"Yes, sir, you can call me Ariel, I don't mind," She replied.
Mr. Dee smiled.
He walked over to her and sat on the chair beside her.
"You know, what I'm about to tell you might not be related to business, but as we grow older, we realize that all these things about money and fame don't really matter," he smiled sadly and sipped his drink.
Ariel's attention was piqued; she wasn't expecting him to talk about anything that wasn't business-related either.
She was interested to find out what he wanted to talk about.
"I was an absent father and husband who always thought that making money was the only thing my family needed; I never knew my time and attention was what my wife and daughter needed the most," He paused, staring at the family picture as if he was reminiscing the old times.
Ariel was quiet, not wanting to interrupt his speech or thoughts.
"My carelessness as a husband and a father made me lose my wife in the hands of a rival...I was away for a business trip as usual, and I happened to stay longer than necessary, when I returned, I found my wife lying in a pool of her own blood, dead. Maybe if I had returned an hour earlier, I would have saved her, but we can't turn back the hands of time. She was dead, gone..." He gulped his drink at once and stood, going over to his small wine bar and poured himself another glass, then he slowly walked back to her.
He stood beside the chair, not sitting down.
Ariel was surprised at what Mr. Dee was telling her.
His story was sad, she couldn't imagine the pain he must have felt coming back to see his wife dead...murdered.
But she recalled him saying he had a daughter. Did his daughter die, too?
"I'm really sorry to hear that, I can't imagine how painful it must have been for you," Ariel sympathized.
Mr. Dee chuckled, "It's alright, Ariel. This was years ago; I'm not going to say I've healed, but I've learned how to deal with it." He nodded at her.
Ariel could still feel the pain in his voice, one could never entirely heal from the loss of a loved one.
"Um, your daughter...Did she survive?" Ariel asked out of concern.
Mr. Dee tapped his foot on the floor, then slowly started to pace the office back and forth.
"She survived. Luckily, my wife hid her in a secret room before the enemies burst into our home, so, she survived," He explained.
"But, one might think that after I lost my wife, I'd learn my lesson of being present in the life of my daughter...I wasn't,"
Ariel was confused; she felt the suspense in the air; she hoped she wasn't about to hear another story of how the rival gang killed her daughter again.
"I was blinded with revenge, I pursued the enemy, abandoning my teenage daughter, who needed me the most in her life, in the end, I did kill the enemy, but it led my daughter to break contact with me and run into the hands of a wrong man...she died in an accident after giving the bastard a child," Mr. Dee informed.
"Oh..." Ariel was speechless.
She didn't know how to react; Mr. Dee must have led a lonely life; as he said, money and fame weren't all there was to life. He had missed the joy of watching his daughter grow and marry, in the end, he was left alone.
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Dee; how about your grandchild, have you been in contact with her?" Ariel questioned.
Mr. Dee shook his head, "The bastard told me that my grandchildren died in the accident with the mother. I tried using my connection to search for how true his news was, but I couldn't find any trace..." He sighed.
"It might sound crazy to you, but I called you here because you look so much like my daughter; I've never seen my grandchild, but I'm sure she would have looked like you if she were alive... what's your last name, dear?" He asked, looking intently at Ariel.
Ariel shifted uncomfortably.
She wasn't scared of Mr. Dee or something, but she was just getting a certain kind of feeling within her.
"Um..." She paused, contemplating on which last name she should give him.
"Um, are you saying I'm your grandchild?" Ariel questioned.
He laughed, "I hope so..." He responded.
"Ariel. Ariel Hudson," She provided.
She decided to use her father's name.
It wasn't because she wanted to be affiliated with him, but somehow, she also had a feeling that maybe, she was this man's lost granddaughter.
She wasn't dumb. The story he told about his daughter and granddaughter was very similar to her backstory.
She gave him her father's name as her last name because she wanted to know if he'd recognize the name as the bastard who married his daughter. Her father was a perfect fit for the bastard description he gave too.
Mr. Dee's face fell.
"I'm going to say that I'm very disappointed. I don't recognize that name. I really wished you were my grandchild, I want to make up the time I never spent with my wife and daughter," He sighed.
"It's okay, Mr. Dee, I don't mind spending my spare time with you. If it'll make you feel better, I lost my mom to an accident too, and I'm not close to my father at all, so I don't mind if we fill out that space in each other's lives," Ariel suggested with a kind smile.
Mr. Dee smiled back, "I would like that, Ariel. How about you call me Grandpa from now on?" He questioned.
Ariel stood and nodded her head.
"Alright, Grandpa," Arile stretched out her hand to him.
He shook his head and drew her into a warm hug.
Ariel chuckled and hugged him back, "Thank you," She whispered.
Mr. Dew slowly released her.
"Why are you thanking me?" He asked with a raised brow.
Ariel shrugged, "You're the first person who has really given me the feeling of belonging. Since my Mother's death, everyone, including my father, despised me. It's just as if I can really be who I am with you without pretending, and I can comfortably speak with you knowing that you don't have any ulterior motive with me," She explained.
Mr. Dee stared at Ariel for a while; he could see the loneliness in her eyes. He wondered the kind of suffering this girl had been subjected to.
"Come on, your boss must be waiting for you," He held her hand and led her toward the door.
Ariel let him lead her out of the office, smiling happily as she felt like she was actually being led by a father figure for the first time.
They went back into the casino and saw how quiet everywhere was.
Aiden and his employee had left.
"Boss, Mr. Chaz asked his secretary to meet him in front of the building," A man in a black security uniform walked up to Mr. Dee and informed him.
"How irresponsible," Mr. Dee muttered.
Ariel smiled, "That's alright, Grandpa, I can find my way out," She said.
"Nonsense!" He frowned.
"I'll walk you out like a Grandpa would treat his granddaughter," He led her out of the Casino.
Ariel was feeling sad as they approached the exit door; she wished she could spend more time with him; he looked like someone she'd enjoy staying with.
They stepped out of the building and the security men at the door bowed to him respectfully.
"He's parked over there," Ariel pointed over at Aiden's car, which was quietly steaming.
"Then let's go," He said.
They walked over to the car, and Gregory immediately came out and opened the back door for Ariel.
"Thank you for walking me out, Grandpa, I'll surely visit you sometime," Ariel hugged the old man once again.
Aiden came out from the other side of the car and met Mr. Dee.
"Dee, kidnapping my secretary isn't part of our business deal," His voice was calm but he looked angry.
Mr. Dee shrugged.
"Don't be an irresponsible man, Aiden. What if I actually kidnapped her? Then you wouldn't have cared?" Mr. Dee questioned with a raised brow.
"I'm sure Ms. Dew can find her way around," Aiden put his hands in his pocket.
"What did you call her?" Mr. Dee asked, a sacred and shocked expression written all over his face.
Aiden narrowed his eyes as he stared at the old man.
Ariel was in suspense; she was staring at Mr. Dee with different thoughts running through her mind.
Could it be what she was thinking about?
"Ms. Dew," Aiden said again.
"This is unbelievable..." Mr. Dee turned to Ariel and cupped her face, kissing her forehead.
Aiden frowned, placing his hand on the old man's shoulder. "That's too close, Mr. Dee," He warned.
Mr. Dee ignored Aiden and just kept smiling at Ariel.
Ariek was smiling, too; the man's reaction confirmed her thoughts.
"Am I?" She asked in a whisper.
Mr. Dee nodded, "Yes, this couldn't be a coincidence," He chuckled.
Aiden was confused.
"What are you both talking about?" He was confused and angry.
Just a few minutes they spent together, and they were already acting like a long-lost family that had just reunited.
"She's my granddaughter..." Mr. Dee announced.
"What?!" Aiden asked in utter shock.