Elizabeth's POV
The following week...
It felt like whatever sour thing I've been eating came back to eat me instead. After the big revelation Meliodas told me days ago, I felt like my hopes were crushed. Elaine and I's plan kind of worked? I mean, I did get close to Meliodas, we did have a moment but... the plan stated that this was also to find out if Meliodas was single or not. Look at the result, he has a daughter. Which means, he's already married. I felt like a tramp. Trying to steal a married woman's man. I have no right to feel disappointed at all. Meliodas is married, I can't be the third wheeler. But, it hurts. I can't believe it at all. I knew something was coming but chose avoid it. I was fool for ever thinking that someone as amazing as Meliodas could ever be single.
I deeply sighed while neatly stacking last of the ingredients for tomorrow's batch. "...What am I gonna do?"
That's all the info I need. I don't need to stick around anymore. but, I can't just bail on Mleiodas not when I promised him that I'd teach him. I have to survive a whole month. It's not too bad, only 3 MORE SUNDAYS left to go. So far, I haven't kept my promise to visit the Boar Hat for any payments for my lessons. Actually, I've been avoiding going there. I need to be distant if I want to forget about Meliodas. It's been three days, I just hope Meliodas doesn't text to remind me.
"Judging by your sour face these past few days, I bet you already figured out my warnings..." I turned to see Ban leaning against the wall.
That's right. Ban has been giving me these weird signals. I never took it seriously, now that he's mentioned it, I'm curious. "Tell me, did you knew he had a daughter?"
"Yep..." he shrugged.
"If you knew, why didn't you just tell me?" He could have saved me from the heart ache.
"I did try...multiple times...you just didn't listen." He shrugged.
"Well you didn't try hard enough. A more concrete sentence would have been better." I stated. He could have easily told me. "How hard is it to say 'oh hey Elizabeth, yeah Meliodas is actually married, you shouldn't talk to him anymore'. Simple as that." I quoted.
I tried to compose myself. I shouldn't be angry, it's not worth it. Ban just stood there tucking his hands in his pockets. He stared at me with a bored face.
"Well?" I expected him to apologize but he didn't. Instead, he notified yet again.
"I never said he was married..."
Huh? My face was visibly confused. "What did you say?"
"You heard me right. Meliodas isn't married." Are my ears deceiving me? A tinge of hope filled me.
"But...but he has a daugther..."
"That he does...but it doesn't mean Meliodas tied the knot with anyone." Ban started walking away.
"H..Hey...you can't just leave me here hanging..." he can't just walk away after revealing to me such a vital information. Ban paused for a moment.
"Just think of this, was Meliodas wearing a ring while you and him were baking?" that statement got me wondering. Now that I think about it, I didn't see him have any accessories on his fingers at all. "I'll let you do all the detective work." And thus he left me alone.
Is Ban really telling the turth? If Meliodas isn't married, then why does he have a daughter? These questions are itching to be answered. There's only one way to find out.
***** Friday...
Pushing the double doors aside, a warm welcoming feeling washed over me. Looking around, The Boar's Hat was filled with people chatting, eating, and just having a good time. When Meliodas mentioned that this play was packed close to weekend, he wasn't kidding. Waiters ran around filling the tables with customer's orders. I made my way to a vacant table near the bulleting board...I mean, the Wanted board.
As I sat down, I took a closer look at the Wanted board. Yep, Meliodas' face was at the very center as I remembered last time. My eyes shifted to the other six posters that I wasn't able to take a look at.
There was a poster of a very old man with a parrot?
Next was a boy who looked identical to Meliodas but with black hair, I'm guessing.
"Maybe he's the twin brother..."
There's another one that still looks like Meliodas, only...a more mature version of him.
"The older brother I guess?" Was I looking at a Family tree instead of a Wanted board?
Next was a poster close to Meliodas was of a girl with short hair. Her bangs covered her other eye just like mine.
The poster below Meliodas looked like a female version of him, only she looked like a child.
"I'm guessing that's his daughter." She does look similar to him.
My eyes then moved to the remaining poster located at the top of Meliodas. It was of a man. He had a beard growing so I couldn't recognize him properly. I focused very well on who could this be. What if I...erase the beard?
My eyes gasped. "B..Ban?" he was in the Wanted board. Wait...wait...wait... is Ban related to Meliodas? There must be an explanation.
"Elizabeth!" I knew who that voice belonged to.
I turned to find Meliodas holding a tray full of empty beer mugs. I blushed, Meliodas looked really good in that waiter uniform. "H..Hey..."
"I'm glad you finally came. I was wondering when you'd visit."
"Oh..well...I was kinda busy..."
"Hold on for a minute, Elizabeth. I gotta put these down. Be right back.." He scurried away to the kitchen. I thought Cafe Goddessa was tough, the Boar's Hat bar's customer service was tougher.
***** Later...
It took 15 minutes for the crowd to tone down the pressure. Meliodas finally came out of the kitchen. He cracked his knuckles as he approached. "Sorry about that. The bar is busy when its Friday. Lots of folks would come here just to relax and unwind. Take the stress out of you, know what I mean?" Meliodas sat down in front of me. I can't help but giggle.
"I know what you mean. Usually, when there's little human resource, even the chef turns into a waiter for a day." I can relate to this. He's the owner and manager but he can also be an employee when needed. We both burst out laughing at how relatable it is.
"So, what would you like to order?" Meliodas offered me the menu. There were lots of unusual food offered here. It's amusing how ridiculous these food sounds but they actually look delicious. I mean, freshly made donuts with a side of whiskey? It's stupidly delicious. Where deos Meliodas get these ideas?
I scanned through the list till my eyes landed on something called 'meat pie'. What the hell is a Meat Pie? Well the picture looks yummy. "I'll have the Meat Pie..." I said. Meliodas' was silent for a moment.
"Are you sure? Hardly anyone would want to order that..." He said sounding not sure of my answer.
"Well, I want to order it." I insisted. Meliodas let out a huge grin.
"Coming right up!" He seems to be in a good mood at my answer. What's up with this dish anyways?
Meliodas walked away and relayed my order to the Cashier. I noticed the cashier looking green. He looked at me for a moment before looking back at his boss. Meliodas walked back to me while the cashier told the chef of the order.
"What was that all about?" Meliodas sat on the chair in front of me.
"He was just surprised that somebody ordered that. Anyways, where have you been?" A light topic for the moment.
"Well, same as always. Busy with work and house stuff. Its Friday now so I thought of coming here for lunch time." I hope my lie was convincing enough.
"Well you have good timing because its my free time." He grinned. "But, you could have texted me that you were coming. I look like a mess in this outfit.I would have looked more presentable." Meliodas gestured to some sauce stains and spilled beer stains on his waiter shirt.
"Sorry. It didn't cross my mind. And you don't have to do that. You look good with whatever you wear." Something strucked me. Was I flirting? I didn't mean it in a flirty way but...Meliodas rested his arm on the table while his hand supported his chin. He looked at me and smiled. I think he took it that way? I blushed a bit but covered my face with a napkin as if there was something on my face.
"Boss!" yelled the cashier.
"Just a second..." Thank you Cashier dude for breaking the silence. Meliodas came back with indeed as the name stated 'Meat Pie'. It looked like meatloaf served on a pie plate. The aroma hit my nose.
"That smells so good..."
"Its on the house. Dig in, Elizabeth." I took the fork and punctured the middle. Taking a large piece, one can see the perfectly cooked meat mixed together with tasty bread and herbs mashed together underneath the pie covering.
"Thank you for the food..." I said my prayers before shoving the entire loaf in. It taste so...so...bad... my face twisted in disgust.
"It's that bad huh?" Meliodas leaned closer. Why was he so happy about this abomination of a dish? Instead of spitting it out, I swallowed the meat instead.
"What...what was that?"
"Well the Boar Hat is famous for its delicious wine and beer but we're not a favourite when it comes to food. Actually, the menu is okay. The food listed there are good but only my special Meat Pie is ranked the worst. Says the customers who come in and out of here." He crossed his arms.
"No wonder it hardly ever gets ordered." I muttered. "You could have atleast told me that it was that awful..." I felt like puking.
"Sorry, I just thought it would be fun to see your reaction." Meliodas started chuckling. "I'll go order you another dish." He took the meat pie.
"Wait, its such a waste if you throw that." Then again, it tasted rotten.
"No need to worry. Sir Hawk of the Scraps will finish it for you." Was that a joke? Meliodas did a little whistle. Out from under the counter came a piglet.
"This is Hawk. The bar's mascot." Meliodas gave Hawk the meat pie. Hawk immeidately devoured it.
"He's so cute." I tried petting Hawk. He loved my touch.
"Is he also your pet?" I doubt this little guy sleeps at the bar.
"Technically, he's my DAUGHTER'S pet but yeah, he is also my responsibility." Meliodas blurted out the words I never thought he would say. This was my chance to learn the truth.
"Last time... you mentioned you had a daughter, I never got to ask. I haven't seen her around." I was expecting a hostile answer but I didn't get one. I sat back down, jus tin time for another waiter to bring me real food this time. I did not heistate to dig right in.
"My daughter's name is MELODIAZ but you can call her MELDY." He started. "The reason why she isn't around is because she's living with her MOM." that word stings me. "Also, the school she wanted to school she enrolled in was close to her mom's house. So it's a Win-Win I guess." Meliodas talked as though it was no big deal but the tone of his voice says that he didn't like the idea.
"You don't sound too happy about that."
"Was I that obvious?" He rubbed his chin. I nodded. I don't quite understand Meliodas' way of replies. He always talks with no emotion and if there is any emotion, happiness is all I can see.
"I guess its just the fact that she's living with her Mom is what bothers me."
"Why's that?"
"Let's just say that Meldy is a product of...a careless teenage one night stand..." The drink I was about to swallow went didn't go down. Instead of looking like a fool, I swallowed the water and act as though I didn't almost choke from his statement.
I cleared my throat. "I..I never knew..." I tried not to sound too surprised or else he might end up thinking that my words were kind of offensive.
"Yeah, it was a long time ago. Let's just say, I love Meldy .. .even if she was unplanned. She's my daughter and as a dad, I will take care of my child. Never will I ever make her feel like I didn't or don't want her." he grinned.
That very grin warmed my heart. Meliodas...he just fuels up my description of 'boyfriend material' actually, scratch that... 'Father material'.
"Her birthday is next month. I'm planning on creating her wild imaginations into a birthday cake." he did a lot of hand gestures to let me vision his preferred cake and how tall it is.
"Wait a minute, is that the reason why you wanted to learn how to cook?" I finally pieced the puzzle together.
"You bet. I'm gonna bake the most amazing cake to ever existed out of Meldy's imaginative mind." Meliodas did that confidence pose, he was so cute that I started to giggle. "My cake will blow her mind off!"
I can tell that they are such a happy family. "I just hope its edible enough..." he added. I giggled yet again. The cupcake didn't go well.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you'll succeed." I gave him a thumbs up. Soon the two of us started talking about Meldy's preferred cake. All throughout our conversation, never once did Meliodas mention Meldy's mom in the preparations. This was perfect chance to ask.
"And...the girl?...her mom?" I cautiously asked.
"Oh yeah...we still talk...but only for Meldy's sake." he shrugged off. "She may be the mother..." Meliodas looked away. "... but... " he then turned to me with a blush to which I blushed in return. "...that doesn't mean I love her..." I heard him loud and clear. Thus, the biggest smile cracked up within my mind.