After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 194: The Look in Her Eyes Wasn’t Exactly Innocent
"Auntie Seraphina didn’t take her salary! You said she wouldn’t leave." Yael was on the verge of tears. "You’re the one who said it! Go find Auntie Seraphina. Go get her back, now!"
Julian Dalton’s face darkened.
He had truly believed that Seraphina Sheridan had been mistreating Yael, so when Seraphina said she would leave without her pay, he hadn’t reacted at all.
’A few days’ work for tens of thousands... she’d just walk away from that?’
’Just a petty trick to play the victim and get sympathy.’
He hadn’t believed for a second that she would actually leave.
But later, when Yael told him through sobs and hiccups that the only reason she was upset was that Seraphina Sheridan was leaving, begging him to make her stay, he finally realized it had all been a misunderstanding.
By the time he got downstairs, however, he learned Seraphina Sheridan had already left. She truly hadn’t taken her salary. She’d left just as she’d said she would.
"Daddy, please go find Auntie Seraphina, okay? I only want Auntie Seraphina. I just want her!" Yael kept pushing Julian Dalton, trying to make him go.
The crystal-clear tears clinging to her damp eyelashes broke Julian Dalton’s heart.
He really didn’t want to go.
But he couldn’t bear his daughter’s relentless crying.
"Alright, I’ll go find her right now. If I can’t find her..."
Yael rubbed her eyes. "WAAAHHH."
"...I’ll find her," he quickly corrected himself.
Julian Dalton really couldn’t stand seeing his daughter cry. He sighed, stood up, and called for a maid to bring an umbrella.
The rain grew heavier, and water splashed up from the pavement, seeping into her shoes. The bottoms of Seraphina Sheridan’s pants and her shoes were completely soaked.
She could see that it was less than fifty meters to the edge of the wealthy district. From there, it was another two hundred meters to a place where she could hail a cab.
Two hundred meters...
Another two hundred meters...
Seraphina Sheridan glanced down at her soaked pant legs and her shoes, which were so wet she could have wrung them out. She sighed in frustration.
"Bastard."
"What rotten luck I must have to have met you in this life."
"I should have castrated you back then."
Seraphina Sheridan muttered curses as she walked. In the middle of her tirade, she suddenly heard a chillingly quiet voice from behind her—
"Castrate who?"
Seraphina Sheridan jumped in fright. As she spun around, rainwater from her umbrella splattered onto Julian Dalton.
"..."
Seeing that it was Julian Dalton, Seraphina Sheridan froze for a few seconds. She was still trying to figure out why he was here when he had already closed the distance between them.
"Do you need something, Mr. Dalton?" Seraphina Sheridan stepped back.
Julian Dalton replied, "You don’t seem very happy to see me."
Seraphina Sheridan shot back, "You already know the answer."
’This was supposed to be a happy end to my time with my daughter.’
’Who knew he’d come back and accuse me without even getting the facts straight.’
’As if I could stand the sight of him!’
"I have something to say," Julian Dalton said, clearly finding it difficult.
"Then say it," Seraphina replied, clearly in no mood to listen. "Make it quick. I have to get going."
Julian Dalton suppressed his annoyance. "Yael needs you to comfort her right now."
Seraphina Sheridan froze.
Julian seized on her stillness to continue. "It was a misunderstanding. Yael was just upset and didn’t want to talk, which made me think you’d been unkind to her. A moment ago, when she realized you had really left, she started crying and making a scene. She says she only wants you."
Seraphina Sheridan listened calmly, saying nothing.
"I don’t know how you did it, how you made Yael like you and depend on you so much, but she truly needs your company right now."
Julian Dalton’s tone had softened considerably.
He was just waiting for Seraphina Sheridan to agree to go back with him.
’He figured that after he’d humbled himself this much, there was no way Seraphina would refuse. After all, she was fond of Yael too, wasn’t she?’
But to his surprise, after a few seconds of silence, Seraphina Sheridan refused to go back with him.
"Mr. Dalton, I’m not blaming the child. But the fact is, my job here is finished. I have other work lined up, so please don’t make this difficult."
’There’s no reason to go back.’
’In a couple of days, once Yael accepts someone new, she’ll forget all about me.’
"Seraphina Sheridan!" Julian Dalton’s expression turned icy. "Yael... she needs you right now. Can’t you just..."
Seraphina Sheridan said, "I’m just a nanny. Mr. Dalton can simply hire a new long-term one. That will reduce Yael’s separation anxiety."
Julian Dalton narrowed his eyes. "How do you know Yael has separation anxiety?"
’He always took Yael with him everywhere because she couldn’t handle long separations. This trip abroad had been unavoidable. Fortunately, her emotions had been much more stable this time, and that was probably because of this woman.’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
"I..." Seraphina Sheridan said calmly, "Just a guess."
"A guess?" Julian Dalton clearly didn’t believe her.
Seraphina Sheridan had to try another tack. "I’m a nanny. I’ve been around a lot of children and have heard of this condition. It seems to fit Yael’s situation."
"Since you know, just come back with me. Yael will cry if she has to wait for you." Julian Dalton’s tone softened, a rare occurrence. "Also, I’d like to hire you long-term to care for Yael. I’ll pay you for the past few days as well, every last penny."
"Thank you for your confidence in me, Mr. Dalton," Seraphina Sheridan said with a smile.
Julian Dalton frowned. "You still won’t come back with me? Not even for a long-term position? This would be a stable job for you."
Seraphina politely declined. "I don’t take long-term positions, and I’m not leaving Silvanus. I’m leaving."
’This rain is never going to end.’
’The first thing I’ll do when I get back is take a hot shower. Then I’ll pull myself together and go interview for a new job. No moping, no complaining. Every day will be better than the last.’
Just then, she heard something thud to the ground behind her.
She turned back to see Julian Dalton looming before her. The thud she’d heard was his umbrella hitting the ground. He’d thrown it!
"You..."
"Don’t move."
Julian Dalton grabbed the hand Seraphina Sheridan was using to hold her umbrella, his warm palm slowly tightening its grip. "I’m already soaked. Now, all we have is your umbrella."
"Mr. Dalton, please have some self-respect. My job is over." Seraphina Sheridan tried to pry his hand off, but it wouldn’t budge.
"I am."
"You..."
Their faces were mere inches apart. All Seraphina could smell was the clean scent of plants washed by the heavy rain. She tilted her head back to look at the face so close to her own, and a scene suddenly flashed through her mind.
She was pinned beneath him, crying that it hurt. He had kissed her gently, coaxed her, their fingers intertwined as they did it again and again...
’It’s been so long since I’ve thought about that.’
"What are you thinking about?" Julian Dalton asked, noticing her mind had drifted.
Seraphina Sheridan’s expression didn’t change. "I was just thinking, with you standing so close to me, Mr. Dalton, don’t you feel that being near someone as lowly as me is an insult to your noble self?"
"What is this, the feudal era? ’Noble’ and ’lowly’?" He let out a soft laugh, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Seraphina was only tall enough to reach his chest, so when she looked up, her gaze landed right on his bobbing Adam’s apple. Her mind felt as if it had been bewitched, uncontrollably replaying memories of that night.
’I must have been single for way too long.’
’Why else would I keep thinking about that night with him?’
"Seraphina Sheridan."
Julian Dalton suddenly called her name in a deep voice.
Seraphina Sheridan snapped back to reality, pulling her gaze away from his Adam’s apple and glancing from side to side.
Julian Dalton eyed her guilty expression. "The way you were just looking at me... wasn’t exactly innocent."
