Chapter 1
“Father, where are we going?” Alessandra, who was just ten years old at the time, asked her father Benjamin.
The man cast a glance in the direction of his daughter before returning his attention to the road.
Before responding to his daughter, he inhaled deeply and paused for a moment. “Sandy, we are going to the city. A long journey from this village.” He uttered his words in a feeble and halting manner.
Benjamin was unable to hold back the tears that were welling up in his eyes.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
“But, daddy, why are you crying?” There was a concern in her tone.
Benjamin Robbins did not respond and instead continued to drive his car without stopping. However, just a few minutes later, he can’t help but start crying.
“Alessandra, I’m sorry. Please forgive me your father,”
“Huh?”
Benjamin reached for his daughter’s little hands and grabbed them. “Because from now on, you won’t have a complete family anymore. Your mother left us and went to live with another man. I don’t want to lie to you in any way, honey. But your mother ended up living with a rich man. And there is no way she will return,” His voice trembled
Even though Alessandra did not have a complete comprehension of what was happening, it appeared as though her tears had a mind of their own and were able to fall freely from her eyes.
“W-What? Did mother leave us? But she loves us… right?”
“I’m sorry, Sandy, but I can’t answer that question. But the only thing I can confirm is that going forward, it will just be the two of us. We are going to live quite far away from this town. We will put this unfortunate event in the past, and from this day forward, you can count on me as both your mother and your father. Forgive me, Sandy. I can’t give you a complete family anymore,”
Alessandra curled her bottom lip and gave her father a tight hug. “I… I understand, dad. I’ll always be with you. I’m not going to leave you, dad. Never,”
“I love you, Sandy. You are my little princess, my baby. You are the only person I have in my life, and the thought of losing you would be too much for me to take. I’ll do everything in my power to make your life better and provide you with a promising future,” The expression of anxiety and worry could be seen on Benjamin’s face.
“That won’t happen, dad. I will never leave you like what mom did. I love you too, daddy.” Sandy said with a smile, but it quickly vanished as she saw something in the road.
“Sandy? Why? Is there any problem?”
“What do you think of my academics, dad? My friends?” Alessandra sighed.
“Once we go to the city, Sandy, you will find it easy to meet new people and form new friendships. And you are going to transfer to a new school. There are more kids like your age. You will expand your circle of acquaintances.” The way he is speaking to her is reassuring.
Benjamin revived the car’s engine. They had put in a lot of miles by the time they spotted something not too distant from them.
“What’s that dad?” Alessandra pointed in the direction of something that was a few meters away from them.
Benjamin did not respond and simply continued driving without stopping. When they arrived at the exact spot, there was a car there, and it appeared like there was some kind of ruckus going on.
“Sandy, I need you to stay here regardless of what will happen. Give me just a second to look into it,”
“But dad… don’t leave me.” The tone of her voice reveals apprehension.
“No, Sandy, I won’t leave you, honey. Stay right where you are, I’m going to go check out what’s going on.” After parking, he got out of the vehicle.
Sandy was there when her father defended an old man from a family who was harassing him while they were in a limousine. The old man is selling strawberries on the side of the busy road.
After a few minutes, the owner of the limousine got out and drove away.
Alessandra had the impression that she needed to go down and ask about what was taking place to satisfy her curiosity about what was happening. She got out of her father’s car.
“You have a very nice heart, sir, and I want to thank you for saving me. I appreciate it.” The elderly man is showing respect for her father by bowing to him. The elderly man was not neat looking and appeared disheveled.
Young Alessandra can say that the elderly man has a hard and poor life. His skin is dry and appears to have a rough texture, and his clothes are unclean. He was holding the hands of her father.
Alessandra can notice that her father did not show any sign of being disgusted by contacting their skin.
“Don’t even bring it up. I’ve only done what I consider to be the right thing. Soon it will get dark here. Do you want me to buy all of your strawberries so that you can go back to your home? If you’d like, I can drive you to your place,” Her father offered a suggestion.
On the other hand, the elderly man shook his head. “There’s no need to bother anymore, I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done for me.”
Benjamin shrugged his shoulders in response. “All right. I won’t force you. But it looks like you haven’t eaten yet, and there are still a lot of strawberries left. I hope that this will already be enough to help you,” She saw as her father gave the elderly man ten bucks.
“My daughter and I need to go right away. The night is drawing in,” After saying his goodbyes, he walked back to his car.
Her father saw her.
The elderly man gave a small nod. “Before you go, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,”