Seth turned into a private road with trees on both sides. Legacy enjoyed the view but her jaw quickly dropped when the big house came into view.
"Is he rich?" She asked.
"Yes," he chuckled.
"Well, fuck me," she said.
"Tonight or should we get to know each other first?" He asked.
"What?" She asked.
She turned her head and stared at him. He grinned and parked the car.
"It was a joke, chipmunk. You said 'fuck me' and I made a stupid joke. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. That wasn't my intention," he said.
"I would be more surprised if you actually wanted to have sex with me," she said.
She opened the car door and stepped out of the car.
"Why?" He asked. "You're..."
She closed the door without hearing what he was saying.
"...hot," he finished to himself. "I bet she reads minds. I should have thought about the word beautiful. To be fair, she's both. And you're talking to yourself again, old man. Get out and take her inside."
He got out of the car, and she followed him inside the house.
"Are you ready to meet him?" He asked.
"No," she answered truthfully.
"It's gonna be okay. He waited 31 years to talk to you," he said.
"So did I," she said. "I'm ready. Take me to him."
She followed him through the house and into a room where her father was lying in his bed. Despite being sick, he still smiled at her.
"My beautiful girl," Edge looked her up and down. "What shoe size are you?"
"8," Legacy said.
"Seth, go buy her some shoes. Those she's wearing are worn out," Edge said.
"It's okay," Legacy said.
"Sweety, your left shoe is held together by duct tape," Edge sighed. "Express delivery, Seth."
"Maybe we should wait a few minutes so she can sit down with me and point out which ones she likes," Seth suggested.
"Of course. I got way ahead of myself. Pull up some websites and get everything ready," Edge waved Legacy over. "Come here, sweety. Let me see you."
She walked over to the bed while listening to Seth leaving the room. There was a chair next to the bed. She sat down and he reached for her hand.
"I finally found you," he said.
"All my life I was told you left me because I was useless," she said.
"Oh, sweety, no. I didn't leave you. She wouldn't allow me to see you. She kept moving you around everytime I found you. I had to let you go because you needed peace and stability. My plan was to keep track of you from afar and then reach out when you turned 18. My plan got ruined when she moved you to Nepal when you were 3. I kept waiting to see your name or her name pop back up when you hopefully would come back but it never did," he said.
"We only lived there for a year. I don't have any memories of it. She told me she got tired of her boyfriend who apparently wasn't as rich as he had claimed to be. The only thing I took from that year was her ex boyfriend's last name. She never married him but she made sure we got his last name to fool people into thinking they were married," she said.
"That's why I couldn't find you," he said.
He started crying and buried his face in his hands. She grabbed both hands and forced him to look at her.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"I'm not angry with you. You didn't know. And you found me. It took a bit longer but you found me," she said.
"A bit longer?" He chuckled through his tears. "I don't think a decade can be called a bit longer."
"What matters is that you found me. You never gave up," she said.
He squeezed her hands and gave her a warm smile.
"I'm sorry if I come off as rude but I'm tired. I don't have much energy these days. Find Seth and have him order shoes for you. I don't care how many pairs or the cost. I can afford it. Treat yourself," he said.
"I don't want your money," she said.
"Let me make up for the lost time," he said.
"Money won't fix that," she said. "All this time I was told you were a deadbeat who didn't want me. I don't want your money. I want time with you. Time she stole from us."
"I wish I could give you more time but I'm at the end of my rope," he said.
"What do you need? A kidney? You can have one of mine. I don't need two. I need time. I need a father figure I can trust. I need you," she said.
He shook his head no and squeezed her hands again.
"It's three tumors in my brain," he said.
"You can have my brain then," she said.
"Sweety, listen to yourself," he chuckled. "There's only little time left for us. Let's not waste it fighting."
"It's not fair," she whispered.
"I know," he sighed. "We can talk more tomorrow once you're settled in. I need to rest now."
She stood up and pulled the covers up to his chest. He gave her a warm smile and closed his eyes. She walked out of the room and found Seth in the living room with a laptop open.
"I found some nice sneakers if you wanna take a look," he said.
"Forget it," she said.
"If you don't pick anything, I'll have to order myself and you might not like my style. Edge is gonna be angry if I don't get you shoes by tomorrow," he said.
"I don't care, Seth!" She growled.
He put the laptop on the coffee table and pulled her in for a hug. She was stunned for a second but then relaxed into his arms and allowed some tears to fall.
"Everything I've been told about him was a lie," she said.
"You know the truth now," he said.
"It's not fair, Seth," she said.
"I know, chipmunk," he said.
He broke the hug and looked at her.
"He loves sushi," he said.
"What are you getting at?" She asked.
"Screw ordering shoes," he twisted a sideways smile. "Tomorrow we're going shopping as soon as the stores open. We're gonna buy you clothes and shoes. His favorite sushi place doesn't open until 2 PM so we're gonna finish there and bring him a lovely surprise. I know his favorites. He's gonna be so happy."
"You will find any excuse to make me get some new shoes, won't you?" She asked.
She broke out in a smile and he couldn't help but chuckle.
"I was right about your smile. You got his smile," he said. "And yes, you need new shoes so tomorrow we're going shopping."
"I didn't agree to going," she said.
"That's what I heard," he winked. "Let me show you to your room."
They both stood up and her stomach suddenly growled.
"Hungry?" He asked.
"Not really," she lied.
"When was the last time you ate?" He asked.
She sighed and looked down at her feet.
"Breakfast," she said.
"Chipmunk, no," he looked shocked. "It's almost 9 PM. That's not happening on my watch. You're gonna march your cute butt to the kitchen. We got some leftovers from last night that I can heat up in the microwave. I'm gonna feed you first, then show you to your room, and tomorrow we're going shopping."
