With his arms crossed and a stern frown on his face, the man watched as the woman carried her bags without the slightest hint of remorse in his being and that only made him angrier, however, he was not an assholr. He wasn't going to gain anything by getting angry and if he had to be honest with himself, he was just tired and wanted this to be over and done with.
"So this is how it ends, ¿you're leaving without a thought for your own daughter?"
"She's NOT my daughter, she's just a-".
"Dare to finish that sentence and I'll go back on my promise not to sue you. We were never married, but the hospital records are enough to do that."
In fear, the woman quietly left the apartment, the only noise that left evidence of her departure was the rolling of the noisy tires of the rusty suitcase in which she carried all her belongings that she had not sold or sent to storage.
When the noise ceased beyond the doorway, the man wanted to do nothing more than throw himself on the couch and fall into a deep sleep, though he knew he could do no such thing. After all, he still had one person depending on him.
Taking slow, quiet steps, he entered the bedroom where a messy king size bed lay and next to it a cheesy crib with a pretty pattern of moons and suns. It was there that she slept without a care in the world, oblivious to the complexity of the world around her.
Louve Wolfgang was her name, only a tender five months old, the only child of Rudolf Wolfgang, a famous 23-year-old 'insurance salesman' in San Francisco, California.
Rudolf was a simple man born in Greenland before emigrating to the United States at the age of 19. It was shortly after that he had the misfortune and fortune to meet a certain woman who settled in California to start a family, or at least those had been the plans six months ago.
At first glance he was not a person who stood out much; he was 1.79, possessed a toned body without being overly muscular which together with his intense amber eyes gave him an intimidating aura. His face was adorned by an abundant clean-shaven beard that was quite bluish and a messy short dark brown hair combed backwards leaving jutting locks in the front.
"...You're a sleepyhead, aren't you", Rudolph said to his daughter who didn't move in the slightest, tired from the crying she had all night long. The long bags under her father's eyes were the only proof that it had happened.
That and the complaints of a neighbor Rudolph was more than happy to beat up.
"Listen Louve, I know you can't understand what I'm saying, but, still, I just want to... apologize. You deserve better than that woman", the older Wolfgang couldn't find all the words to express himself.
No... he wanted his beloved daughter to grow up wondering why other children had a mom and a dad, two moms, two dads and why she only had her dad. Rudolf knew that wasn't a bad thing, but what he was certain of was that Louve would ask about that woman who gave birth to her and beyond all the personal grudge Rudolf had against her but he knew it was no longer worth it, it was that question he would never want to answer.
' Why did she leave ', and he would answer, "Because she wanted to, and she didn't look back when she did", was what he repeated in the present.
He could not help it, but something could still be done. Rudolf would prepare himself for the inevitable. He would not make the same mistakes his mother had made in telling him the truth after his father's departure.
"Louve, I will make mistakes, that is inevitable but I will always try to make up for everything, I will be a father you can be proud of... I just want you to know that I will always be there to take care of you, my beloved daughter."
As a sign from the world, Louve's bright emerald green eyes opened once again and her plump face smiled at the sight that greeted her.
Her father's face.
... ... ...
... ... ...
With Louve awake, Rudolf thought the best thing to do was to go out for some fresh air with her, show her a bit of the local sights he loved so much. Don't blame him, he assumed that because the little girl giggled every time she saw a flower or dogs playing, which was odd because most babies are afraid of those canines.
Rudolph suppressed the urge to sigh, of course Louve would like dogs, there was something about her that wasn't like the other babies.
"Wuaaah, what a beautiful baby!"
Out of nowhere, a very animated woman approached father and daughter, she seemed delighted.
Rudolf might be suspicious of her were it not for his trusty nose which the only thing that told him about this woman was that she was someone overly optimistic, to a point cloying and a bit childish, but a good person himself. Besides, it wasn't the first time this had happened.
What to say? Single women had a great weakness for babies.
Being more observant, Rudolf found the woman's attire curious: a fine light blue business suit, garishly colored bracelets and not to mention her long black hair tied in twin pigtails with barrettes that he was sure were anime themed.
'Who knew? A woman politician who is an otaku'.
Lost in thought, he didn't notice that the woman soon fell into the realization that he was there too, starting to look very apologetic without being able to say anything.
"Ehm, sorry, I got excited and I…"
"Uh?", it didn't take he long to grasp what was going on. "Oh, don't worry about it. I can't blame you, ¿isn't she the cutest little girl in the world?"
"Of course she is!", she exclaimed too loudly for Rudolf's liking, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
"Hehe. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...?", he said feeling that at this point it would be in bad education not to introduce himself.
"Serafall, but you can call me Sera."
"Rudolf Wolfgang. Nice to meet you, Sera."