Chapter 48: Seraphina’s performance

"No..." Soren said, stiffening. "It’s my leg."

Seraphina tilted her head in confusion. "Where is Mommy? Why can’t I see her?"

"She is in the bathroom. Go back and brush your teeth first. Or the germs will eat them."

Seraphina giggled, covering her mouth. "They won’t. I brush my teeth twice a day."

"Yeah, I know." Soren scratched his head, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Tell Mommy not to forget about today’s dance competition."

Dropping those words, Seraphina skipped out of the room.

Soren breathed out a sigh.

Elowen lifted her head from beneath the blanket and glared at him. "You... It’s all your fault."

Soren, caught off guard, gaped at her. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but she cut him off.

"Don’t even try to explain. I told you to let me go. But you kept holding me. And then..."

Her cheeks burned as she remembered how he had made her come with his fingers.

"It was embarrassing. Sera almost caught us in the act."

Soren reached out to touch her face.

She slapped his hand away. "No... You are not touching me again."

She scrambled out of bed, dragging the blanket with her.

"Hey..."

Elowen didn’t listen to him. She went straight to the bathroom, leaving him lying naked on the bed.

Once the bathroom door was closed, she pressed her palms against her burning cheeks.

"Oh, God. That was so embarrassing." She wished she could disappear.

How was she supposed to face Seraphina after this?

And Soren...

He looked far too pleased with himself.

"How has he grown so shameless?"

After washing up, she wrapped a towel and stepped out. She found him leaning against the wall nearby. She pressed a hand to her chest, startled.

Soren’s gaze roamed over her, lingering on her bare shoulders, where droplets of water still clung to her skin.

The intensity of his gaze made her cheeks warm all over again. Fearing he would start teasing her, she hurried toward the walk-in closet.

But before she could take more than two steps, her foot slipped. Her eyes widened. She flailed her arms, desperately searching for something to hold on to.

Soren moved instinctively. His arms shot out and caught her around her waist, pulling her close to his chest before she could hit the floor.

Elowen stilled in his arms for several seconds, her heart thumping wildly.

He smirked as he looked at her flushed face. "You know how to seduce me." His voice was low and seductive. He leaned closer. "Not satisfied yet?"

His lips brushed her ear as he spoke.

Elowen’s cheeks burned even hotter. She pushed against his chest. "You are insane."

A crooked smile tugged at his mouth. "Whose fault is that?"

Elowen wriggled. "Sera is waiting for me. She will come looking for me again if I don’t go now."

At that, he released her. He might have enjoyed teasing his wife. But he had no intention of letting their daughter catch them in another embarrassing situation.

Elowen quickly moved into the closet.

Soren followed her, but he stopped at the entrance, giving her the privacy she needed.

"Sera mentioned a dance competition. What’s that about?"

Elowen replied while she put on her clothes, "Yes, there is a dance competition this afternoon. Sera is participating in a group ballet performance."

"Is that so?" Soren’s eyes lit up with excitement.

He had never seen Seraphina dancing before. The thought left a dull ache in his chest.

There had been so many little things about Seraphina’s life that he had never bothered to learn. He had missed her milestones and all the moments she had probably hoped to find him there.

Not anymore.

"I’ll go with you."

Elowen paused midway through zipping up her dress. "Are you really coming with us?"

She couldn’t believe he actually said that.

"Yes. I can’t wait to see Sera dance."

Later that afternoon...

The auditorium was filled with excited parents and the cheerful chatter of children.

Elowen and Soren sat beside each other among the audience, watching the dance performances.

As the solo performance ended, the curtains dropped.

"When will our Sera come?" Soren asked impatiently.

Compared to him, Elowen was calm. "Relax. Her performance will start soon."

When the curtains opened again, a group of little girls in delicate ballet costumes stepped onto the stage.

Their skirts fluttered as they took positions, their hair neatly tied into buns, and their pink ballet shoes shone beneath the lights.

Each little girl looked adorable. But Soren’s eyes moved relentlessly across the stage, searching for just one face.

At last, he saw her.

Seraphina looked so small among the other children, her little hands held gracefully at her sides.

"She is so beautiful," Soren murmured, his voice thick with emotion.

His little girl was standing there, ready to perform.

He had missed so much of her life. He had once been a father in name only, too consumed by his own bitterness to notice how desperately his daughter wanted his attention.

Now, sitting there, watching her daughter, he wondered how he could ever have been so blind.

The music started.

The little dancers rose to their toes, their arms lifting up as they moved in sync with the melody.

Soren didn’t see anything else but Seraphina. How she twirled across the stage, how she bent, and how she took a leap.

She looked like a small flower opening to the sunlight.

His eyes turned watery. Before he knew it, tears were streaming freely down his face.

Elowen turned to him to say something. But she froze, taken aback, when she caught him crying.

Soren Vale, who seemed so intimidating and proud, was crying like a child over his daughter’s dance.

She couldn’t stop smiling.

"Sera is like a princess," he whispered, his eyes never leaving the stage. "I never knew she could dance so well."

He regretted every moment he had missed watching her dance.

Seraphina might have searched for her father in the audience, only to find the seat empty.

The thought hurt more than he could express.

He had no way to return to those moments. No matter how desperately he wished he could, he couldn’t give his daughter back the years he had wasted.

But he could be there for the moments still to come.

’I won’t miss another one,’ he promised silently. ’Not a single one.’

The auditorium erupted into applause as the dance ended.

Soren clapped harder and louder than anyone around him, his chest swelling up with pride. He wanted his daughter to hear him. He wanted her to know that he was there, watching her, cheering for her.

Elowen reached out and wiped his tears. "Stop crying now. You look awful."