The man smiled sarcastically and spoke in her strict-looking voice, "Why, if it isn't my beautiful daughter, Umi. I am very surprised to see how you had grown! You looked just like your mother."

Umi stayed silent, after all these years of separation, this man had to show up in front of her? True that they once formed a good father-daughter bond but that was way back before that incident happened. After that, everything in her life changed, starting from the way her dad treated her. He was once so kind and caring to her but now… He tends to humiliate her and despise her. Umi was being thrown with painful words coming from him and it created a traumatic experience for her, as a child. After he had left as well as her mother, she never once received a letter from either of them nor she expected to receive one.

But after few more weeks since the rebuilt ranch, she received one letter from this man and she knows that he absolutely disliked what she did to the ranch. Umi does not care at all because Eli had been there for her as well as the other workers and walking back into the past again won't help. It was the perfect time to move on. She has moved on and stepped forward with Eli and the rest.

But she is sure as hell that her father hasn't moved on from that past just yet. In fact, she could see in his face that he is still furious about what happened back then between him and her mother.

Umi stood straight, not fearing how her father looks at her with his fierce-looking stare that it could melt an ice instantly. She may had been afraid before since she wouldn't be able to do anything but obey her father but that was because she was still a child. She is a grown up woman now and she knows that her safety and dignity as a person is on the line. She has to stand up for herself.

Even though deep inside, she is feeling extremely cornered and unsafe. She has to look strong or else her father will take advantage of her fear and she knows that this man is still stronger than her.

With a straight face, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Ohh? Am I not allowed to be here now? When in fact, I built this mansion just for you and your mother as well as our servants."

"They are not servants. They are a part of the family." Umi knows he was referring to the workers.

"Family huh? You stick with your pathetic opinion about them. That doesn't change their roles around the mansion." The old man said.

"And that will still not change that they are a part of my family." Umi said.

"Your family? Ha! So you finally got a spouse?! Where is he?"

"I don't have a spouse."

"I see. You are 25 and you are still standing strong. Females cannot live that long without looking for someone. Do you have a boyfriend maybe?"

"No." Umi answered firmly.

"I see… Such an independent woman. I'm proud of you." He smirked.

Umi narrowed her eyes, "I'll ask again, what are you doing here?"

"I came here to see the ranch. It has been a long time ever since I last saw it. Thought I should visit from time to time. Sorry about that, Umi. Your dad is just busy with so many things such as work." The man said.

"I see…" Umi replied.

"Before I go to the ranch, how have you been?" The man asked.

"I have been doing fine."

"Really? What business are you taking?"

"Wedding arrangement."

The man scoffed, "Like mother like daughter huh? I am surprised that it made you rich."

"Wedding arrangement is one hard work. I make appointments with the celebrities. It's why my profession became popular."

"Good for you then, but that doesn't match my businesses. My salary is still above yours."

"Money doesn't bring happiness most of the time… father." Umi added emphasis on the last word.

Umi does not really like calling this man father but she has to control herself since she has trained herself to handle her emotions during these times. She dislike conflicts and she plans to not have one here right now.

"You are still calling me father huh? Such a good girl you are." The old man smirked.

"I only called you that because I don't like to be rude. I am keeping my personal feelings aside for now."

"Hooh? I see. You sure have grown, Umi. I'm glad you took my advice."

"That wasn't your advice, it came from a certain someone."

"Who? Honoka?" The man asked with an eyebrow raised.

Umi shook her head, "No, sir."

"Huh, I see… But anyway, I came here to see the ranch. Show me."

"Why do you even bother to see it? You disliked it right?" Umi refused.

"Ohh, little Umi, I may have disliked and it is why you should know the reason why I came here to see it." The man then began to walk towards the blue-haired who then gulped and took few steps back.

"Have you already forgotten what I told you about rebuilding the ranch?" The man then narrowed his eyes down at her and Umi kept her gaze at him.

"You should know because you are my daughter. You know what could happen if you tried to rebuilt that piece of shit." The old man added.

Umi gritted her teeth.

Back in the mansion, Eli was in the lobby when she heard voices from the front garden. It belonged to the father and it made the blonde's eyes narrowed. The blonde then went to check on it.

Back at outside of the mansion…

"I'm the owner of these lands now. I will do whatever I want with it."

The old man growled, "Do you even know what you are saying, Umi? That ranch brings bad luck to me and my business. Just having that around is making me crazy."

Umi kept her stand, "Don't you ever blame the ranch."

"Oh, I can blame the ranch because that was the reason why our business failed in the first place."

"In the first place? You did not blame the ranch back then, not even once. You just started blaming it right after mother started to act strange around you."

"Don't you ever remind me about her, you bitch. Don't you know who I am? I'm your father. I still have the right to treat you as my daughter."

"I'm not your daughter anymore." Umi replied.

"Technically you are my daughter. And you ought to follow my orders." The old man glared at her and Umi glared back.

"I won't follow your orders anymore. I had chosen my own path when you two left me to go to your own families. Now I want you to also do the same. Leave me and the ranch alone."

"Did you know that it is also because of that ranch that we had a lot of debts?" The father growled.

"It's not the ranch's fault. It was your addiction to casinos and alcohol. They became the real reason why we had a lot of debts and the business failed." Umi argued.

The father gritted her teeth and suddenly grabbed Umi's wrist tightly, it made the blue-haired yelp and glared intensely at him. The old man then spoke in his deep and sharp tone of voice, "If it weren't for me, you'd be sleeping on the streets."

"That does not change the fact that our business failed because of you. We were lucky that mom came from the rich family and has saved us a lot of times."

The old man's eyes widened and tightened his hold on her. It made Umi close her one eye and grit her teeth in pain, "Don't you ever talk about your mother and what she did for you and me. We are talking about the ranch, you good-for-nothing daughter." The father said.

Umi then began to struggle to free herself but could not because his grip is too strong.

"Listen to me, I should be the one who you should thank for. Because of me, you won't be able to make it here. You won't be able to be in school and you won't be able to eat well. I became the reason why you lived well with a golden spoon in your mouth. You should be grateful for all the things that I had done for you."

Um tched, "You don't have the right to call yourself my father anymore. So pinpointing that is useless."

The old man then kept his glare at her and Umi kept struggling to free herself, "Let me go!"

His hold was about to tighten further when Eli's voice interrupted them.

"You heard her."

The old man and Umi stopped and turned their heads to look at the blonde who has her arm leaned against the door frame, she is wearing a blank expression as she stared at the man. But despite the look of her face, one can tell that her eyes are looking fierce and that, someone should not mess with it.

Umi's eyes widened when she saw how Eli looks at her dad, it is like Eli is ready to punch him down and beat him up despite their age differences. It's like Eli is a lion, ready to take on the prey once it has trespassed its territory.

Umi immediately felt safe upon seeing the blonde at such a perfect time.

The old man narrowed his eyes at Eli.

The blonde spoke again, "So, let go of her."

The man did let go of Umi and narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

Umi then went to run towards the blonde and tackled her, making the other stumble back but immediately regain her balance.

"I remember you." The old man said.

"Oh?"

"You're that little girl who always go to the ranch to take care of the horses. You were Umi's playmate. Didn't know you'd come back here."

Eli raised an eyebrow, "I came back for a reason and you won't know about it anyway."

The man then smirked, "You even had grown taller than when I last saw you."

"I thank you for that compliment." But the blonde kept her fearsome stare at him.

The man could feel the tension coming from the stare and it made him sweat drop, "Take me to the ranch."

"Why?"

"Because I want to see it."

"See it or burn it?"

The man narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "Don't you get in the way to what I should do. It is my job."

"Then it is my job to guard the ranch." Eli responded.

"You didn't know just how much I despise seeing that ranch."

"I don't care." Eli replied.

"You will really not going let me see it huh?" The old man said and the blonde nodded, "I won't show you while I am around." The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"While you are around huh…" The man scoffed, "You'll change your mind soon."

"You don't have the right to order me around." Eli just stared at him blankly.

The man scoffed, "Really?"

Eli just stared at her calmly but with intensity, mentally asking the man if he will leave or not.

The man tched and then turned his heels, leaving the mansion.

The blonde then looked down at the blue-haired, "Are you okay? Aside of being grabbed by the wrist?" She asked, with worry in her tone of voice.

Umi nodded and began shivering.

The blonde's eyes widened. Her heart softened when she gets to see Umi's fragile state. It's like Umi returned into her child self. Just like that time…

Eli then raised her arm and wrapped it around the blue-haired's waist, pulling her closer to her, "I'm here, Umi."

"I was so scared! He… He was trying to hurt me!" Umi said as she buried her face on Eli's chest.

Eli then let out a soothing hush, "It's alright… He won't hurt you anymore… I'm here…"

"Where were you?!" Umi asked, her voice was muffled.

"Sorry… I went back to Healdsburg to get something important. Well, it is my surprise for you."

Umi stopped and then looked up at her, "I missed you…"

Eli blinked in surprise. Did she hear it right? Umi does not say those things and this is the first time being told that way by her. It was astonishing that it made her heart pound loudly while revealing a slight blush on her face.

Their eyes met and the soft rays of the sun went pass in between their faces, the romantic vibe added a soothing wind that blew their hair and clothing. The both of them could feel that they have entered a world of their own. A world where there seems nothing that can hinder them…

Umi's eyes softened as she wrapped her arms around Eli's waist, her hands roamed up to her torso, her sepia orbs are twinkling in admiration like Eli is the most beautiful shemale in the entire universe.

And outside of the mansion…

Honoka was humming as she was about to open the gates when she saw the father who was walking to her direction, he was gritting his teeth. He is totally pissed off.

The ginger-head blinked and stepped aside, letting the old man open the gates. And as soon as he walked off, Honoka blinked as she watched him leave.

'Was that…' She thought before she entered the gates and closed it. After that, she then walked inside to go to the mansion.

And as she reached it, her eyes widened when she saw the embrace of Eli and Umi. She felt that her heart just broke into pieces. She felt like she wanted to cry but she must not draw in conclusions until she learned what really happen. That covered the pain even a bit. And seeing that man made her think that he must have done something to Umi.

The ginger-head then walked towards them, it is slowly killing her but she kept repeating to herself that she must not draw in conclusions or it will add conflicts. She does not want that to happen.

Once she has reached them, she spoke, "Hey, both of you. What were you two doing?"

Eli and Umi flinched before they turned their heads towards at Honoka.

"Ahh! Nothing!" Eli chuckled, "Hey, Honoka."

Umi smiled as she nodded, "Hey…"

"What's with the hugging? And who was that man who just walked out of here?" Honoka raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Ahh, that was Umi's dad. He tried to hurt her." Eli answered.

Honoka's eyes widened, so she was right. That relieved her heart.

"Jeez! Are you okay, Umi?! He didn't do anything to you, right?!" Honoka asked with worry in her voice.

Umi chuckles nervously, "I'm okay. Just that, he grabbed me by the wrist too tightly." She replied.

Honoka grabbed Umi's arm and looked at the mark, she gritted her teeth, "That man… Not only he trespassed but he had the nerve to hold you like this. That's unacceptable."

Eli nodded, "I know right. I think we should add security cameras around here. To make sure that he won't get by the ranch."

Honoka nodded, knowing what Eli said, Umi's father might do something in the ranch, "We should also add security cameras around the ranch, too. There's no telling what he might do next."

The blonde nodded in agreement, "I will have a call with Brenda."

Honoka then giggled, "Don't worry, I'll do that for you. But we should tend on Umi first before we discuss about this."

"I guess you are right about that." Eli smiled down at her.

"I'll be fine you know…" Umi said.

"No you won't. And we won't allow you to get into that kind of situation again." Honoka pouted.

Umi rolled her eyes, "Fine…"

"But anyway…" Honoka spoke again, "When are you two planning to break your hug?" She asked.

Umi and Eli looked at each other and realized the position they are in, they immediately pulled themselves away from each other while chuckling nervously.

Honoka's eyes softened, there goes her heart break again. She clearly saw how Umi held Eli. And that hug… She knows that it is not the hug of a friend. The thought pained her greatly and she does not know whether she should excuse herself or stay. The pain was added when she thought that maybe…

Umi is in love with Eli and vice versa.

A/N: Heeey guys! New chapter is here! Hope you guys liked it! Comments and votes are always appreciated!