THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 447: GIA

For a long moment, Georgia said nothing, studying him with that same unyielding look. When she finally spoke again, her voice was tinged with something sharper. "Where were you all these while? Why haven’t you been here with us?"

George’s breath again caught in his throat. He’d expected questions, but not the kind that cut this deeply. He tried to find the right words, but each one seemed too flimsy, too inadequate for the maturity and level of intelligence Georgia was displaying.

"I... I didn’t know, Georgia," he began slowly in a voice rough with emotion. "I didn’t know you existed. If I had... if I’d known, I would have been here sooner. I promise you that." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Georgia looked unconvinced, her arms still crossed tightly over her chest. "That’s what grown-ups always say. But it doesn’t change anything, does it?" She turned her gaze to her mother, her expression almost defiant. "Why do I have to meet him now?"

Ariel was able to hear the unspoken question in her words. In other words Georgia wanted to know why she chose to stop lying to her all of a sudden.

Ariel knelt down beside her, cupping her small face in her hands. "Because I never saw him for years and thought..." she trailed off as she couldn’t complicate things by telling fourther lies.

"He’s your father, sweetheart," she said, cleverly avoiding calling her ’Gigi’ after the showdown she gave George. "And he wants to get to know you. I know it’s confusing and maybe even scary because of what I told you before, but he’s here now. Can you try, for me?"

Georgia huffed a little, rolling her eyes like a teenager instead of a seven-year-old. But after a long pause, she uncrossed her arms and looked back at George, a hint of curiosity mingling with her frustration. "Fine," she muttered. "But don’t think I’m going to just like you right away."

George let out a breath he must admit he’d been holding all the while then his lips twitched into a wry smile as he said,

"I wouldn’t expect you to, Georgia. But I’m here now, and I’m going to make things right, my Gia. I promise. I’m sorry," he quickly added when he realized he got carried away again.

All he got was a snort from Georgia and after spending a few minutes with them, Ariel more or less escaped under the pretext of leaving them alone to bond.

After Ariel left, an awkward silence settled between the two, but not for long as it turned out, they had more in common than their looks... What they both hated most was silence.

It took them some time, but as the minutes ticked by, Georgia’s initial coldness began to thaw as George engaged her in little conversation starting from the half finished puzzle that she’d been working on.

Her grandmother had been of little help and her mother was a sorry case when it came to things like that.

She’d always tell her to concentrate on more girly stuff her age. Maybe it wasn’t bad having a father after all, even if it was one from the land of the dead... a father was a father.

But she didn’t plan to let him off so easily as she bombarded him with questions, some normal and others surprisingly deep for her age.

She demanded to know where he lived, what he did, and why he thought he could just show up after all these years.

Did he have a girlfriend or a wife already? George, on the other hand was of course just too eager to oblige her and answered her questions with as much honesty as he could muster, maybe he might win a sliver of her trust.

"So what is your plan concerning my mother?" she asked when George confessed that he was single.

George almost shouted ’hallelujah’ when this question popped up in their conversation. He’d been thinking how to tell the little girl that he wanted to be a part of their lives so he seized the opportunity.

"My plan is not just for your mother but for all of us. I want us to be a family... to live together as one big happy family... but I don’t know if you and your mother would want that?"

"Are you so unconfident?"

"I’m tired of people calling me names because I don’t have a father," Georgia continued in an aggrieved tone which of course didn’t last for long, "so I won’t let you off so easily."

"You’ve dodged your duties for years and it’s time you start living up to your responsibilities in my life. As for my mother, that’s your kettle of fish, but I’ll see what I can do about you two," she said dismissively.

For a moment as George stared at her in awe, he had to deliberately convince himself that Ariel couldn’t have lied about her age... that would mean she wasn’t his daughter, right?

Snapping out of his daze, he quickly nodded. "Thanks so much, my darling Gia, I’ll be counting on your support."

"It’s okay, but you should stop calling me... that."

"Gia is such a sweet name for an invaluable angel like you. Can’t you see that Gia suns up all that you are to me. It is not just some random nickname but to me it is rather a symbol of who you are and will always be. "G, stands for Georgia, I’ for Indomitable and ’A’ is for Angel. You are my indomitable angel... my Gia."

Georgia considered her father’s analogy seriously for a while, then slowly nodded as if she understood. "I think I can manage that explanation, though I’m not fully persuaded yet, after all, you barely know me," she said and George directly flashed her one of his charming smiles that instantly swayed Georgia’s resolve. "Okay, you can call me Gia," she reluctantly agreed.

"Oh... you’re a darling and I think I love you already," George announced, overwhelmed by emotions.

Georgia made a face. "You think?"

"No I don’t think, I love you, darling."

And slowly, almost imperceptibly, Georgia’s stern expression began to soften. She didn’t smile or laugh, but there was a glimmer in her eyes when she eventually sat down beside him, and allowed George to hold her hands, even though she pretended she didn’t care about it.

Hours passed, and by the time Ariel’s mother peeked in to check on them, she saw Georgia and George sitting side by side with Georgia animatedly showing her father the books she enjoyed while George listened with genuine interest, asking questions that brought a spark of excitement to her eyes.

Ariel who later joined her mother at the door, also saw this scene and as she watched the scene unfold, she felt the tight knot in her chest slowly loosen.

She had always known that George had a way of charming people, but seeing him connect so quickly with her strong-willed daughter was something she hadn’t expected, especially not in the span of a single day.

She couldn’t blame Georgia though; she herself had once fallen under the spell of that same charm years ago, and despite all her efforts to resist, she could feel herself being drawn in again now that he was back in her life.

"Poor us," she mumbled under her breath, not realizing she had spoken aloud until her mother turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you disappointed?" Marie asked.