The Wife You Buried Is Back from Hell novel Chapter 843

He had missed so much of her childhood.

He couldn't bear to imagine what his little girl must have felt back then, watching him treat Raffy with such patience and kindness, watching him pour his energy into another child's life. Had she felt hurt, like she did now, quietly swallowing her feelings without showing a hint of her own needs?

Some things he was only now beginning to truly understand.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Niki asked, her soft voice pulling him from his thoughts. She tilted her head, watching him stare off into space.

Alexander shook himself back to the present, pushing down the complicated emotions. He picked up one of the steamed shrimp from the appetizer plate and smiled. "Nothing. How about I peel a shrimp for you? You love shrimp, don't you?"

"Yes! Thank you, Daddy!"

He carefully peeled the shrimp, and soon, a perfect, clean piece of shrimp was ready on a fork. "Eat it slowly. It might be hot."

Niki opened her mouth, but just as she was about to take a bite, a small figure burst out from behind a partition in the restaurant and slapped the fork from Alexander's hand.

The shrimp fell to the floor, rolling in the dust.

Both Alexander and Niki froze. When he saw the child's face, Alexander's brow furrowed instantly.

He held on to Alexander's leg like it was his last lifeline, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. "Dad, the director at the home said that if I can't find any relatives, I'll have to stay there forever. I don't want to stay there! All the other kids have parents who come visit them, but nobody comes for me…"

He gently pried Raffy's hands off him. "Raffy, I'm not your father. Your mother should have told you that."

"No! You are!" Raffy insisted, shaking his head as his tears flowed faster. "Mommy told me you were my dad, you just weren't living with us. Now that she's gone, you have to take care of me!"

Niki had quietly taken a step back, her little hands twisting the fabric of her dress. She kept her head down, not daring to speak. She snuck a glance at Alexander, who was now crouched in front of Raffy, and a knot of anxiety formed in her stomach. Whenever Raffy was around, her dad had always paid more attention to him, giving him the best food and the newest toys first. Now that her brother was back, was her dad going to go back to favoring him again?