Irresistible Boss Succumbing to Your Touch (Maria Anita) novel Chapter 442

Manuela’s POV

When my father and brother arrived, their reactions were very similar to Olivia's. They looked at me in bewilderment, and my father had tears in his eyes.

"Is nobody going to give me a hug?" I put my hands on my hips and complained, as they both stood frozen in front of me, staring.

"Manu, what happened to you?" My brother asked and finally hugged me tightly.

"A friend helped me update my look. What do you think? Does it suit me?" I said excitedly and spun around.

"You look beautiful, sis!" My brother's voice was choked with emotion. "Those eyes..." My brother was overly emotional, which left me confused as I looked at him. "Where are the braids, the bangs that used to hide your eyes, and those rosy cheeks?"

"Your sister isn't a little girl anymore, honey," Olivia answered for me with a smile.

"She certainly isn't." My father cleared his throat and pulled me into a hug. "My little girl, you look beautiful!"

"She looks so much like-ow!" I heard my brother say, but he didn't finish saying who because his wife was glaring at him.

"Stop comparing people, Cam. She looks like a movie star, she's so beautiful," Olivia scolded her husband and smiled back at me.

"But, Oli, she..." My brother tried to say something else, but Olivia almost growled at him. I found it so curious.

My father wiped his eyes and pulled me to sit beside him on the couch. He was looking at me in a way he had never looked at me before. Wow, he had really missed me!

"First, I want to know about your boyfriend. Does he treat you well?" my father asked while hugging me.

"Couldn't be better," I replied happily.

"And why didn't he come with you?" my father wanted to know. "I want to meet him, Manu."

"He wanted to come, but he's a detective and he's on duty today, and I was in a hurry to sort something out with you," I explained.

"A detective?" my brother asked, impressed. "You leave here as a little girl and come back all beautiful, grown up, and dating a detective? Are you really Manuela?"

"Don't be silly! Of course it's me. If you had visited me, you wouldn't think I'd changed so much." I laughed at how impressed they were with my transformation.

"Well, I'm going to visit you. I want to meet your boyfriend. He seems like a good person and seems to care about you a lot, but I want to meet him," my father said. "Daughter, you said you needed to sort something out with me, what would that be?"

"Dad, a friend invited me to live with her and I decided to accept, so I want to give up the apartment you rented," I said all at once.

"Wait, wasn't it your boyfriend who invited you to live with him, Manu?" Olivia teased, and I felt my cheeks burn.

"Sweetheart, no need to be shy, you know I don't share your mother's views, and I know nowadays it's natural for couples to live together. You can tell me the truth," my father said, thinking I was telling half-truths, which I kind of was.

"You should have done that a long time ago, Dad. I understood you staying with her to protect Manu, but now my sister has spread her wings and doesn't even live here anymore. And you know you can stay here as long as you want," my brother supported.

I knew my father had been enduring my mother because of me - I always knew - and I really did need him, but it was time for him to break free from that failed marriage. My mother made his life hell, always fighting, screaming, breaking things around the house, accusing him of having affairs, even though he had never cheated on her. He was living in hell, and it was because of me.

"I know, son. Thank you," my father seemed exhausted.

"She's always made your life miserable. Why did you put up with it for so long? I mean, I know it was for me, but was it only for me?" I asked, feeling a twinge of guilt.

"Manuela, I endured it because I wanted to see you grow up and take care of you. I made a very serious mistake with my first wife, and I regret it every day, but you were a gift God gave me, as if forgiving me for my error. I'll do anything to keep you safe and to make you happy, daughter. But it wasn't just for you; it was also because I wanted my marriage to work." I was moved by my father's words.

"Oh, Dad, I love you so much. But Mom doesn't deserve you!" I said and hugged him.

"I love you too, my daughter. Now let's go to the garage because I want to see that flashy car you bought." He laughed. "Wasn't there a more subtle color?"

"No, this model only comes in bold colors. The other option was lime green..." I joked with him, and he laughed. It felt so good to be there with them, to be embraced by family.

After showing him the car, my father said goodbye and asked me to leave early the next day and not stop anywhere in town, as my mother was out of control, and he was afraid she would fulfill her promise to drag me by my hair and lock me in the room. He assured me he would visit me soon.

The next morning, with a heavy heart, I said goodbye to my brother and Olivia and hit the road back to Paradise Port, which was my home.

At every stop along the way, I called Flavian. He said he was eager for my arrival and missed me. I was also dying to see my detective; I couldn't wait to be back in his arms.