Farewell to Love: The CEO's Desperate Chase novel Chapter 219

Bella just looked at him, her gaze calm and unwavering.

She said quietly, “Sir, you can give those gifts to the other kids at the home.”

Tyler stared at the little girl before him, struggling to find the right words.

Bella let out a small sigh. “Sir, if I need something, my mom will buy it for me. And even if she’s busy, Miss Joyce or Mr. Donovan will help me out. I’m only here because the paperwork isn’t done yet.”

She raised the floppy-eared stuffed dog in her arms and added, “Miss Joyce gave me this. I really like it.”

“If you like that one, I can get you as many as you want,” Tyler offered.

Bella didn’t answer. She simply hugged the stuffed dog tighter, her silence lingering as she looked at Tyler.

The two of them—one grown, one small—locked eyes.

Finally, Bella spoke again.

“Sir, don’t you get it?” she said softly. “I only accept things from my mom or her friends. I won’t take anything from anyone else.”

Despite her small, delicate frame, Bella seemed remarkably strong amidst the run-down walls of the orphanage. She looked fragile, but her spirit was anything but.

“Sir, you should go home now,” she whispered. “Please don’t come looking for me again.”

But Tyler didn’t move. Underneath the table, his hands clenched tightly.

“You must already know about my relationship with Emilia,” Tyler began. “So, if you call her ‘mom,’ you should call me ‘dad.’”

“There’s nothing wrong with you accepting gifts from me. It’s what I should do for you.”

“I don’t know if she’s told you what I can do, but you’re my daughter. Here in Alden City, anything you want, I can give you.”

She looked at Tyler, whose eyes were rimmed red, words catching in his throat.

Bella knew what he wanted to ask—whether her mother had told her to say this.

So Bella tugged gently at the long ears of her stuffed dog and said, “Sir, my mom is a wonderful person. Before you ever came looking for me, she never mentioned you. You forced her to tell me who you are.”

“She didn’t want to hurt me, or make me worry, so she didn’t say much.”

“I asked Miss Joyce, but she wouldn’t tell me either. I had to go to the director and ask for help to find out about you.”

“Sir, I know there’s someone named Vivienne in your life now.”

“If you look up your name, it’s not my mom who comes up, but Vivienne. Since you like her so much, why not just stay with her?”

Bella’s clear eyes met Tyler’s, and though her voice was gentle, her words struck like a blade: “Please, don’t hurt my mom again.”