“I gave her a stern talk, of course, and there had to be a punishment so she would remember her lesson.”
“You punished her? Really?”
The horror in her voice made Luca shake his head. “You will be a pushover with her if you remain too softhearted like that.”
“But she was being bullied—-”
“Which she chose not to tell me about, and that is something I do not wish her to do so ever again. I had to make her understand that problems could not be solved without proper communication, and not allowing her to see her puppy for one day drove that lesson home loud and clear.”
Vivian slowly nodded, realizing that he was right – and that she clearly had much to learn about parenthood.
“That night, in an effort to cheer her up, I told her that I was close to marrying, but that I couldn’t make up my mind. I wanted someone to make both of us happy, so I told her about several women.”
“Including me?”
“Yes.”
“Were the others made up?” She flushed when Luca glanced at her in surprise, as if asking her why she would even think he had a need to make up such things when he was so darn eligible.
“I hope you do not take offense to the fact that you weren’t the only woman I was considering.”
“Of course not.”
Luca’s lips curved. “Perhaps with a bit more practice, that can sound sufficiently convincing.”
“Whatever,” she mumbled. “Just tell me what happens next.”
After one last amused look, he obligingly continued, saying, “So I told her about the four of you, and in the end she didn’t even hesitate. She just chose you.” His eyes softened as he remembered how excited Eula had been that night. “She kept mispronouncing your name that night, so finally I told her to just call you ‘Vivi.’”
Her lips parted in sudden understanding. “That’s why you call me Vivi, too.”
He nodded. “After that night, she would ask me endless questions about you, and—-” He recalled her question in the car. “Oh, so that’s what you meant.”
She asked straight to the point, “Did you do a background check on me?”
“I did. I wanted to know every little detail, and I think I know enough.” His lips thinned. “I only wished I had the foresight to have asked the men to check if there were any men of your acquaintance who could have been or remained interested in you.”
Which means he’s really jealous, she thought.
“I’m not being jealous,” he snapped.
“I didn’t say anything,” she protested.
“Your eyes were practically crowing the words out loud,” he said disapprovingly.
Oops. She changed the subject quickly, asking, “What kinds of questions did Eula ask?”
“What did you look like, how old were you, why was it taking me so long to bring you here – and she also asked about your job, so I told her that you worked as a cleaner, and that’s when she told me you were like Cinderella.” Luca noticed the way Vivian’s lips started to tremble. “Is something wrong?”
“Nope.” And there wasn’t. She was just having trouble holding back her tears, but other than that, it was fine. After the humiliation the receptionist had subjected Vivian to, the fact that someone thought her job made her a princess like Cinderella sounded like music to her ears, or like a fairytale coming true.
One of the doors at the end of the hallway opened. “Papa, Vivi, let’s eat!”
Luca raised a brow. “Shall we?”
She nodded.
Inside the dining room, which was as breathtakingly luxurious as the rest of the house, Vivian found herself sandwiched between father and daughter. Luca was at the head of the table, she was on his right, and next to her was Eula. Just looking at the girl made her heart squeeze, and knowing that the girl – for whatever reason – had chosen her over the others, had actually wanted Vivian to be her mother, made her feel sort of warm, funny, and ticklish inside. It was almost like she was a kid again, and she already knew what Santa was about to give her. The only thing left to do was to wait for the moment she could hold Santa’s gift in her hands.
“Do you want soup, Vivi?” Eula was on her knees in her seat.
“Y-yes, please.”
Eula filled the ladle with frowning concentration, but when she poured the soup into Vivian’s bowl, some of it still spilled on her lap, and Eula stiffened in realization.
“S-sorry, Vivi.” Eula looked like she was about to cry of shame.
Knowing she had to act very fast, she said, “It’s okay.” After patting her pants dry with the napkin, she told the little girl in a confidential whisper, “Do you know, Cinderella did the same thing, too, with her mother?”
Eula gasped. “She did?”
“Uh huh, and I did so, too, with my own mother. And you told me I’m like Cinderella, right?”