Chapter 9: I Swear I’ll Never Leave You Again

“You can leave now.”

Elise pointed at the door.

Suddenly, Leslie held Robin’s legs. “Dad, please don’t leave me. When I was at school, my classmates laughed at me for having no father. I finally found you. Please stay with Mom and me. Sometimes, Mom cried at night. Dad, please stay with Mom. Please!”

Her words made Robin’s heart tremble.

Robin looked at Elise, but she looked away with an indescribable expression.

He had thought he didn’t deserve Elise in the past. However, he had never thought Elise would be pregnant after that night. He wondered how much they’d suffered and how others had mocked them in the past seven years.

He had to admit he was an irresponsible husband and father.

“I’m sorry.”

Robin made an important decision.

With a loud bang, he got his hands and knees and begged Elise’s parents. He kowtowed so hard that blood oozed on his forehead. “Dad, Mom, thank you so much for raising Leslie in the past seven years.”

Proud men were not supposed to kneel to anyone easily, let alone kowtow.

However, Robin decided to do it for his daughter.

His movements shocked Elise and her parents.

With another bang, Robin kowtowed again and said apologetically, “I was indeed a bastard for not saying farewell to you before leaving. I disappointed Elise. Dad, Mom, please give me another chance. I’ll make it up for her and Leslie. I’ll treat them well and protect them. I swear with my life. Dad, Mom, please give me a chance.”

Then he kowtowed ten times.

His forehead was covered with blood, which still streaming down his face.

Robin meant what he said.

If he left again, Leslie would lose her father again.

He had missed her once, and he would never repeat the mistake.

“Uh...”

Elise was too shocked to utter a word.

Much to their surprise, Leslie knelt to them tearfully. “Mom, I finally found Dad. I don’t want Dad to leave.”

After a moment of silence, Rodney was touched and asked Elise, “Elise, what do you think?”

“I don’t care,” Elise uttered a few words.

The scene just now poked the softest corner of her heart. Leslie had heard too many rumors at school and suffered a lot of grievances. Other kids bullied her and called her a bastard without a father.

Elise had witnessed such a scene before.

Leslie always held their only wedding picture and asked her when her father would return, but Elise had no idea how to answer her.

She knew Leslie needed a father.

“I disagree. My son-in-law must be an outstanding man. You are just a resigned soldier. You don’t deserve to be with my daughter. Tell me. What’s so good about you to deserve her?” Karen asked him harshly in disdain.

Rodney thought for a moment and flicked his hand. “Robin, I must tell you one thing. Seven years ago, you and my daughter were set up, so you had that night. Before that, you didn’t love each other. After you married, you left without informing us on the second day. For seven years, my daughter suffered greatly to raise Leslie. You don’t know how much she has suffered and been aggrieved. You know nothing about it. Even Lands Corporation, which was founded by her, has been forcibly occupied by our family. It was all because of you.”

“However, you are still my daughter’s nominal husband. I can give you a chance. I don’t have high requirements on my son-in-law, but he must be decent and have fame.”

“You’ve just resigned from the military. I’ll give you six months. If you can earn 400,000 dollars through legal ways without relying on Elise, I can let you not divorce.”

“If you failed, I’d rather die than let such a loser like you be with my daughter.”

Rodney sounded determined, looking at Robin with mixed feelings. Initially, he also liked Reginald, but his behavior made him decent, and Rodney could tell Reginald wouldn’t treat Elise well.

He hesitated.

Robin, however, looked sincere, so he wanted to give Robin another chance. It would depend on Robin if he could grasp the opportunity.

“Honey, why...”

Karen was unhappy.

“Enough is enough, Karen. You chose Reginald Lucas. Look what he’s done!”

Rodney glared at Karen in a warning. After all, he still had the final say in this family, so Karen stopped retorting.

“Thank you, Dad.”

Robin was surprised.

“No. Stop calling me Dad. Please call me Mr. Houry. After six months, if you achieved the goal, you could call me Dad.”

Rodney heaved a sigh, wondering if he had done it right. Then he went upstairs. Karen followed him unhappily.

Elise was expressionless, holding Leslie’s hand, returning to her room.

However, in the evening, she opened a door crack for Robin.

Earlier, Robin stayed in the living room. The blood had dried on his forehead. He was physically strong, so he recovered pretty soon. After seeing the door crack, he entered the room immediately, which was Elise’s bedroom.

He looked around the neatly decorated room filled with pink ornaments, dolls, and hairpins. He also saw some school textbooks and notebooks from the second year of elementary school. He knew they belonged to Leslie.

Elise wore pajamas, her hair wet. Evidently, she had a shower. After taking out a blanket from the cabinet, she darted Robin and put it on the ground. “Sleep here from now on. You can’t sleep on the bed.”

She continued, “From now on, you must send Leslie to school and pick her up. You don’t need to buy new clothes for Leslie, as my mother dislikes them. I bought some for her before, but my mother tore them into pieces. She dislikes Leslie, and so does my father.”

“I see.”

Robin nodded.

He finally learned why Leslie wore a shabby dress when he first met her.

It turned out that was the reason.

After Robin lay on the floor, he suddenly felt something fall on his chest.

“Leslie?”

Robin stared at the little girl on his chest, feeling warmth in his heart. She was his blood, the evidence that he had existed in this world and one of his most precious ones.

“I want to sleep beside you, Dad.”

Leslie widened her eyes, lying on Robin’s chest, pressing her head on his arm. Staring at Robin, she requested, “Dad, tell me a bedtime story, please.”

“OK. I need a kiss in exchange.”

“Mwah! Your beard stings.”

“I’ll shave it tomorrow.”

“No! Dad, I like your beard. One of my classmates told me her father’s bear stung, but I didn’t believe it. But I believe it now. Haha... I like your beard, Dad. Please tell me a story.”

“All right. A long time ago, there was a wolf... He likes eating white rabbits... One day...”

Robin started telling a bedtime story while holding his daughter.

However, Leslie soon nestled into his chest and fell asleep. Looking at her pink cheeks, he thought she was indeed adorable.

Robin also noticed Leslie had worn his necklace and could tell she treasured it a lot. It might be because the necklace was the first gift from her father.

“It was all my fault in the past, Leslie. From now on, I’ll take good care of you and your mother. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll never leave you again.”

Robin rubbed Leslie’s hair while staring at her face, determination flashing through his eyes.

Everyone in the military knew General Bailey was a man of his word.