Thank you for all the feedback. No, Hope doesn't know that she's a partly vampire and yes, she considers Lucien and Aurora her parents.
Chapter 12
"So," Lucien said and sat down on the armchair in Hope's room. "How is my princess?"
"I'm fine, daddy," Hope replied smiling. "Especially now when you're home."
Lucien smiled too, he had missed his girl.
"Your mother told me about the…lipstick," he stated after a moment of silence.
Hope bit her bottom lip and sat down on her bed.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I didn't tell her where I got it. She wasn't very angry."
Lucien cleared his throat.
"Listen, Hope… I think I'll have a word with your mother about… things like this. You know she loves you and she wants to protect you, but… You're not a little girl anymore. You're almost a young woman."
Hope's eyes widened, she was definitely surprised.
"Yes," Lucien continued smiling. "It's hard for me to admit it, I would want nothing more than keep you as my little girl…"
"I am your little girl," Hope cut in. "I mean… Not little, but… You'll always be my daddy."
For some reason Lucien felt a sting in his heart, he stood up and walked over to the bed. Hope stood up as well and hugged him tightly.
"I'll always love you, daddy. More than anyone else."
"I love you too, princess," he murmured and touched her hair.
For a moment he was reluctant to let go, but finally he did and gently kissed her forehead before pulling away. She smiled at him; her smile was just as warm and innocent as always. His sweet little girl…
"How long will you be home?" she asked, cutting off his thoughts.
"Not very long, I'm afraid," he replied. "But I have a surprise for you, darling."
Her face brightened.
"A surprise?"
"Yes. You and I will spend the next weekend in the penthouse, just the two of us. That is of course if you agree…"
"Are you serious?" Hope gasped.
"Yes, I am. Your mother wants to spend time with your uncle, so…"
Hope broke into a snigger before pouncing on Lucien.
"Thank you, daddy, I can't wait!"
He smiled and tapped her back.
"I'm glad I don't have to drag you with me…"
"Can we watch movies?" she asked, clearly excited. "There are few new ones I would like to watch with you."
"Chick flicks?" Lucien asked teasingly.
Hope grinned.
"Yeah, and you're going to watch them with me."
Lucien sighed and raised his hands in surrender.
"Alright, if I must…"
Hope giggled and shoved him with her elbow.
"Oh please, you love those movies more than I do."
"I certainly don't," Lucien protested.
He couldn't deny that he enjoyed seeing Hope so happy. It was true that he always spoiled her when they were alone, but he didn't care. He wanted to see his princess smiling. It was one of the best things about being a father. Hope was his daughter, he had raised her. He loved her. He would have never thought that he could love someone like he loved her.
It was selfless love; he didn't want anything in return. He simply wanted her to be safe and happy. It was strange really. He had everything he had ever wanted, he was the most powerful creature in the world, he had more wealth and power than he had ever dreamt of. And he had Aurora. Yet, what was the most precious to him was this girl. His daughter. She was the first person who had ever loved him unconditionally. To her he was the most important person in the world. He smiled warmly as he looked at her; his little muffin had become a beautiful young lady. He was a proud father.
3 days later
Hope was more than excited as she sat in a limousine. She was on her way to the penthouse; she would spend three whole days with her father. Lucien had already left yesterday, he had promised to take care of all his work things before Hope would arrive. He had promised that she would have his undivided attention.
They would go shopping, watch movies, have nice meals together and maybe go to a theater or something. Hope didn't really care what they would do; she just wanted to spend time with her father. She had her own room in the penthouse, with the closet full of clothes she had chosen herself. She could hardly wait getting changed.
Right now she was wearing an old-fashioned powder blue dress. Women had worn this kind of dresses back in the 19th century or maybe early 20th century. Aurora had the dresses custom made for Hope; she always said that she wanted her darling doll to look pretty. Sure the dresses were pretty, but Hope preferred modern clothes. She especially loved comfortable clothes, t-shirts, shorts, pajama pants, tops, hoodies and skirts.
She sighed and closed her eyes, the drive always felt very long. Her whole bodyguard team was with her, they didn't usually speak to her unless they had to. Obviously they didn't want to aggravate her parents, no one did. She opened her eyes when she felt the limousine slowing down and stopping. Three of her bodyguards were in the passenger side with her; one of them was touching his ear bud.
"What's the status? Alright, copy that." He paused and looked at Hope. "No need to worry, Miss Castle, there seems to be a problem with the car. We'll handle it."
"Oh, okay," Hope replied.
Two of the bodyguards stayed in the car with her when one of them got out. Hope leaned back on her seat and waited. Soon the two other bodyguards got out of the car. She hoped that this wouldn't take very long, she really wanted to… The door opened before she managed to finish her thought. She was just about to ask was everything alright with the car when she saw a strange man getting in. He was wearing a driver's uniform, he was staring at her.
"What…what's going on?" Hope asked cautiously.
"Hope…" he murmured.
She was a little confused; the staff members didn't usually call her by her first name.
"Yes. I'm sorry, have we met?"
His eyes widened, she backed away when he sat down beside her.
"Hope… It's me."
She swallowed; she had a very bad feeling. Where were her bodyguards?
"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know you. Please excuse me…"
She tried to get up, but he blocked her way.
"I'm leaving now, sir," she said, trying her best to sound firm. "I'm sure you don't want to do anything you would regret. Surely you know who my father is."
His face went blank, but there was something very dark in his eyes. She needed to get out.
"Hope," he said and took a hold of her arms as she tried to get past him.
"Let me go!" she shouted and struggled as hard as she could. "Help me!"
"Please stop that," he murmured tensely. "The last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself…"
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't."
She continued her desperate struggling, she was terrified.
"You…you don't want to do this," she finally managed to say.
He pressed his lips together.
"You're right, I don't. But I have to. I'll never let you go again."
