*Disclaimer: I do not own the story or the characters from Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima owns them.*

To My Dearest Layla,

I know that it has been awhile since I had last written you a letter; I used to only write to you to motivate Lucy to start the habit after your death to help her cope. You're death was hard on her, on us both. I should have continued to write to you, to keep you alive in my heart just as she had. I'm so sorry Layla. There's so much I need to apologize for, I don't know where to start.

I'm sorry for letting you and Lucy down, for not being there for her when she was finally ready to open back up after your death. I honestly thought that focusing more on the business would be best. How could I be so wrong? I ruined the relationship with the only family I have left, our beloved daughter. I don't have any justifiable reasons on why I treated her so poorly; it just hurt seeing her look so much like you. I should have treasured her, kept her closer to my heart while I had the chance.

Layla, you would be so proud of her if you saw her now. I'm sure she still writes to you about all of her adventures; but it's incomparable to seeing it first-hand. After EVERYTHING I did to her, how I treated her, she still loves me and is willing to forgive me. I don't deserve it.

I'll be honest, although I know you're watching over us, I need to tell you. She joined a guild called Fairy Tail and is a strong, independent celestial wizard. I actually hired another guild to retrieve her a while back so I could try to force her into a marriage. I'm ashamed of my actions now and how I treated her, but seeing her stand up to me so defiantly, she looked just like you when I met you.

I didn't speak with her until recently; again, I'm extremely mortified of how I treated her then as well. I assumed that since she lived with us in the life of luxury that her guild life must be the same. She explained to me how she was just 'plain old Lucy' and didn't have enough money to lend to me. I was angry, thinking she was just being selfish. Now that I look back, I'm sure she would have given it to me in a heartbeat if she did have it. I walked from Magnolia to the old guild, Love and Lucky, I'm sure you remember it, and to my surprise, Lucy was there. Apparently she heard a dark guild had taken over and she came rushing to my rescue, taking out the entire group by herself. She was a bit disappointed that I wasn't already there, but relieved to see that I was alright.

It's been weeks and I don't have the heart to see her again. I need to redeem myself, build myself back up to the man you once loved. No, I'm not talking about getting rich again, although if that comes, I'll accept it a bit more gracefully this time. I want to be a person she can openly accept as a father, to want to have a relationship with. I want to make her proud of me.

I'll write to you again my dearest, please keep watching over our beloved daughter.

Love,

Jude