When I Was a Wallflower (Leo and Amelie)
Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Amelie hastily picked her up and looked toward the woman.

Meanwhile, the woman was looking at them as well. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

Her expression softened a little.

She roughly pushed her messy hair over her head, revealing her entire face.

"Mrs. Gordon?" Amelie recognized the woman as she called out.

When Abby Gordon heard the beautiful girl calling her that, she couldn't help but examine the latter.

"It's me, Amy," Amelie introduced herself.

It was only then that Abby recognized her. With a stomp of her foot, she clapped both her hands on her thighs 'Amy! It's been years since I last saw you. You've grown even prettier now. I almost couldn't recognize you, and I thought you were a celebrity from somewhere."

Amelie smiled shyly.

Abby continued, "Sorry for just now. I thought my stupid son came back, so that's why I threw the washbasin. You weren't hurt, were you?"

"No." Amelie wasn't concerned about that. She looked up and gazed at the yard behind Abby. "Where's my dad? Is he no longer living here? Or-"

A sudden extreme fear invaded her heart, and even her voice trembled.

"Your dad is fine." Noticing Amelie's pale face, Abby guessed that Amelie was overthinking things, so she hastily said, "He complained about how this house was too big for one person, so he moved into the smaller house at the end of the street. Our family is huge, so I discussed it with him, and he agreed to rent the place

to us."

Abby grinned, a guilty look flashing across her face.

Even though they called it renting, she never paid him a single cent all this while.

Steven never urged her, so she pretended it never happened.

On the other hand, Amelie wasn't in the mood to think about these things as she said, "Can you take me to my dad?"

"Of course." Abby thought that since she was living in their house, she should at least help them with this little request

As she strode with her thick legs, Abby took Amelie to the end of the street.

Soon, they found a small shop facing the street.

It was rundown and shabby, and it didn't even have a sign.

"Your dad is in there" Abby pointed at the shop as she spoke.

Amelie looked at the shop

It wasn't just worn-out, it was pitifully tiny.

A few items were piled outside the shop, and most of them were the toys she used to play with during her

childhood

There was a little bicycle, a skateboard, and skating shoes....

Looking at the items bearing so much history, Amelie couldn't stop her tears as they streamed right down her

face.

Abby was about to holler for Steven to come out when Amelie stopped her. "I'll go in on my own."

Taking Bria's hand, she took step after careful step inside.

She made it past the darkened old alley and finally reached the interior.

The interior wasn't much more spacious than the shopfront, and it was filled with shoe patterns.

The shoe patterns were various and exquisite.

When Bria saw the colorful shoes in their novel styles, she couldn't help but pause in her tracks and reached out to touch them.

Amelie didn't see her father anywhere, so she could only proceed further to look for him.

A small yard lay at the back of the house.

In the yard, someone had his back to her as he sat at an antique shoe machine. His back was bent over as his limbs moved to operate the machine. His movements were slow, whereas his hair was a mixture of gray and white.

Amelie stared at him, perfectly still.

She could recognize at a glance that this man in front of her was none other than her father, Steven Dillon.

However, she doubted herself a little.

In her memories, her father's hair wasn't this white. When she got married, his hair was still dark with an occasional silver strand here and there.

His back wasn't bent so much either. He was a bonafide middle-aged man with broad shoulders and a proud

stature

His movements weren't this slow either....

"Dad... Unable to contain the sorrow in her heart, she called in a low voice.

The working man paused visibly.

Then, he slowly turned around.

As he did that, he revealed his wizened and wrinkled face.

His features were calm and gentle from all the years spent on intricate work.

Large black-rimmed reading glasses covered his face, adding to him a hint of a bookish aura.

He slowly took off his glasses as he finally recognized her. "A..... Amy."

"It's me, Dad. It's me Amelie took a few steps toward Steven, sobbing. In her raging emotions, she wanted to hug him, but she couldn't bring her feet forward.

She simply stood there as tears fell from her eyes.

Steven hurriedly went to her and took her hands. "It's really you, Amy-you're back. No wonder the magpie

was singing so happily this morning."

He examined Amelie from head to toe, wiping away the tears on her face. "Child, why have you gotten so

thin?"

In his memories, Amelie always had some baby fat on her face, which was a stark contrast to her appearance now. Now, her chin was extremely sharp, and her body was terrifyingly thin.

Her father didn't hold any grudges against her for ignoring him after she married into the Alston Family. Instead, he worried greatly for her health, and this only made Amelie even more remorseful.

She felt like she had been too cruel, and she wanted more than anything to give herself a heavy slap or two.

"Welcome home. I'm so glad you're back." Steven was obviously happy about her return.

He didn't ask too much as he led Amelie outside. "I'll whip something up for you. What would you like to eat?"

Steven had always loved Amelie to bits, and he would always pamper her ever since she was a baby.

Even if it were the middle of the night, or if he had to go through a lot of trouble, he would still do everything he could to provide her with all the food she craved.

She had a father who loved her to the moon and back, but she chose to go to the Alston Family to suffer.

le should've been repaying her father's grace and love for her with her whole heart, but she wasted her time

Tears of regret rolled down Amelie's cheeks once again as she hugged Steven

Steven patted her firmly on the back, comforting her like he used to do in her childhood.

A long while later, the two finally went back inside.

When they arrived at the room, they caught sight of Bria.

"This child..." Steven gazed at the adorable little girl in between the shoe racks, his eyes lighting up in an instant.

Amelie briskly walked over to Bria and led her to Steven. "Dad, this is my daughter. Her name is Bria."

She nudged Bria again. "This is your grandfather."

"Hello, Grandpa," Bria said crisply.

"Yes, hello there," Steven responded with enthusiasm as he crouched down to carry Bria. "What a handsome young girl you are. You look exactly like your mother when she was little." There were tears in his eyes.

Amelie knew then that he was recalling those days he spent raising her all on his own.

According to her father, her mother had passed away not long after giving birth to her.

There was never a mother's existence in Amelie's memories, but she wasn't poorly dressed like other kids who lived with their fathers.

instead, ever since she was young, her father had dressed her up in neat and pretty clothes.

"You're very handsome too, Grandpa." Having spent a lot of time with Jamie, Bria learned to sweet talk as if her words were coated with honey. Hearing his granddaughter praising him like that, Steven was so joyful that he kept smiling.

His old face instantly seemed to turn years younger.

In the afternoon, Steven went to the market and bought some groceries, then proceeded to cook up several delectable delicacies.

Enticed by the food, Bria ate so much that her stomach bulged out.

She licked her lips in satisfaction. "Grandpa, your cooking is so good. It's as delicious as Mommy's cooking."

Bria was absolutely sincere about it, but Steven suddenly froze and looked at Amelie.

Amelie felt a guilty panic spreading across her heart as she lowered her head.

At home, Steven pampered her.

Amelie never had to do housework on her own, and she didn't know how to cook ramen even when she turned 20.

After getting married into the Alston Family, she learned how to cook and even shared Miss Potts' burdens as she cleaned up around the house.

"Dad, I'm all grown up now. I have to know how to do these things, she comforted Steven in a low voice.

Steven nodded. "Yes,"

Even though he responded like that, his eyes were obviously moistened.

Steven had turned his face away, but Amelie still noticed it. Her heart instantly ached like a needle had been driven through it!

Amelie offered to wash the dishes, and Bria also pulled up a small stool to help her.

When they were living with the Alstons, Bria helped her just like this.

However, the atmosphere back then was suppressive because they could be reprimanded at any moment. The two didn't even dare make a sound.

Now, free of their worries, they chatted and laughed as much as they liked.

After the dishes were done, Amelie came out but couldn't replace Steven anywhere.

She told Bria to stay at home, then ran out to look for Steven.

She couldn't replace him even after a round of searching, but she did run into Abby, who was panting as she walked out of the alley toward Amelie.

As soon as Abby saw her, she grabbed Amelie's arm. "Quick, Amy! Follow your dad. He doesn't look too good, and I fear something might happen to him!"