Dan still had a few things left to finish before he could finally leave work.
Despite the dull ache spreading from the side of his jaw and the soreness in his ribs, he forced himself to push through the remainder of his shift.
The bruise on his face was beginning to darken, and every now and then, a sharp sting reminded him of the fight with Joe, but he had no intention of letting it stop him. He had already had a long enough day, and the last thing he wanted was to create another problem by leaving his work unfinished.
By the time everything was finally taken care of, exhaustion had settled deep into his body. Dan washed the worst of the dust from his hands, collected his things, and left the construction site with a tired sigh.
The anger he’d felt earlier hadn’t completely disappeared.
It was still there, sitting somewhere deep in his chest, mixed with the lingering frustration of the day’s events. His jaw hurt, his body ached, and he was looking forward to nothing more complicated than getting home, taking a shower, eating something, and collapsing onto his bed.
Then he passed a small store and slowed down as the bright lights inside caught his attention.
Inside were shelves filled with colorful packages, biscuits, chocolates, sweets, and all kinds of little treats were visible through the glass windows. He stared for a moment before a familiar little face appeared in his mind.
His expression softened almost immediately.
’My cute little Lily...’ A faint smile appeared on his battered face. ’She really is my light in this world.’
Whatever bitterness remained inside him suddenly didn’t seem quite as important.
Dan stepped into the store and spent a few minutes picking out several things he knew Lily liked. He bought a small assortment of candies, chocolate, biscuits, and a few other treats that he knew would probably have her eyes sparkling the moment she saw them.
By the time he stepped back outside, he was carrying a small bag filled with sweets.
The smile on his face remained.
For the first time that day, Dan felt like he actually had something to look forward to.
After the kind of day he had endured, even a few hours of uninterrupted quiet sounded like a luxury.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for him to reach his neighborhood. The familiar streets gradually replaced the noisy construction site he had spent most of the day in, and with every step toward home, the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease a little.
He was already imagining the warmth of a shower and the comfort of finally sitting down when, just as he approached his house, movement caught his attention from a nearby building.
A cute little face briefly peeked through one of the windows, disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared. A moment later, the front door of the building swung open, followed by the hurried sound of small footsteps.
"You’re back!"
The excited voice immediately made Dan look up. A tiny figure came rushing toward him with all the enthusiasm her little legs could manage, her black-to-blonde ombré hair bouncing wildly with every step.
Lily looked as though she had been waiting for the exact moment he returned, and the bright smile covering her face was so genuine that it seemed completely untouched by all the unpleasantness of the world around her. The sight of her alone was enough to make Dan’s exhausted expression soften.
"Slow down, Lily," he called out, although there was very little authority behind the warning.
Despite hearing him, she didn’t listen. She rarely did whenever she was excited.
Lily continued running toward him, clearly intending to throw herself straight into his arms.
However, just before she reached him, her attention shifted toward his face. Her eyes landed on the darkening bruise spreading across the side of his jaw and the small cut near his lip, and the excitement that had been so obvious in her expression immediately faded. Her steps slowed until she finally stopped in front of him, staring at his injuries with an unmistakable look of concern.
Dan noticed the change immediately. So before Lily could even ask what had happened, he bent down and scooped her into his arms.
The little girl instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, but she was careful not to touch the bruised side of his face. Her earlier excitement had almost completely disappeared as she examined him from the safety of his embrace.
"You’re injured..." She murmured as she looked at his with worried eyes. Her voice was much smaller than it had been moments earlier, and there was genuine worry behind it.
Dan couldn’t help smiling. Despite everything that had happened during the day, seeing how concerned she was over a simple bruise made something warm settle inside his chest.
"It’s nothing to worry about, Lily," he assured her as he adjusted her comfortably in his arms. Then, noticing that she still looked unconvinced, he decided to make the situation sound much less serious than it actually was.
Adopting a deliberately serious expression, he added, "I was fighting some bad guys."
Lily blinked at him. "Bad guys?"
"Yes, very bad guys," Dan replied solemnly, as though he had just returned from some dangerous battlefield instead of a construction site.
Her eyes widened slightly, but she still looked unconvinced. Dan nodded with exaggerated seriousness before continuing.
"But guess what?"
"What?" Lily asked.
"I won."
For several seconds, Lily simply stared at him.
Dan could see that his answer hadn’t completely reassured her. Her eyes remained fixed on the bruise on his face, and the small frown on her lips told him that she was still worried.
Apparently, telling her that he had defeated some imaginary bad guys wasn’t enough to make her forget the injury.
Dan smiled mischievously when he realized this.
"Actually..." he began, shifting his grip slightly. "There’s something else I can do."
Lily barely had time to react before Dan carefully lifted her into the air. A surprised cry escaped her mouth, but the sound quickly turned into delighted laughter when he caught her safely against his chest.
"Ah!"
"Got you," Dan said with a laugh.
"Again!"
Dan stared at her for a moment before chuckling. "You want me to do it again?"
"Again!"
He shook his head with an amused smile, but he lifted her into the air once more. Lily squealed happily, her little legs kicking through the air before Dan brought her safely back against his chest.
The worried expression that had occupied her face only moments earlier had completely disappeared, replaced by the bright smile he had seen when she first came running toward him.
"Again!"
"You’re really enjoying this, huh?" Dan asked.
"Yes!"
Dan laughed under his breath before doing it again. Then again. Each time he lifted her, Lily’s laughter grew louder, filling the quiet street with a happiness that seemed completely disproportionate to such a simple game.
For those few minutes, Dan forgot about his aching jaw, his sore ribs, the argument with Joe, the humiliation of dealing with his boss, and the exhausting workday that had seemed endless only an hour earlier. Everything that had been weighing heavily on his mind became distant beneath the sound of Lily’s laughter.
All that mattered was the little girl in his arms and the happiness on her face.
Eventually, however, Dan’s tired body reminded him that he had spent the entire day working. He lowered Lily and settled her comfortably against his chest, taking a moment to catch his breath.
"Enough?" he asked.
Lily immediately shook her head. "No!"
Dan couldn’t help laughing. "Well, suit yourself. I’m tired."
Lily stared at him for a moment, her lips forming a small pout. She clearly wasn’t happy with the end of their game, but after seeing the tiredness in his expression, she finally gave a reluctant nod.
"Okay..."
She rested her head against his shoulder, and Dan smiled as he gently patted her back.
"Good girl."
It was only then that Dan remembered the small bag hanging from his hand. He had nearly forgotten about it after Lily had rushed toward him.
"Oh, I almost forgot."
He brought the bag forward and held it out to her.
"Here, Lily. I bought you some treats."
The little girl lifted her head immediately. Her eyes moved from the bag to Dan’s face, then back to the bag again as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. Slowly, her eyes widened.
"Are those candies?"
Dan nodded.
"And chocolate?"
"Yep."
"And biscuits?"
"Those too."
Lily’s entire face lit up. Whatever concern she had felt about Dan’s injuries seemed to vanish beneath the sudden excitement of discovering the contents of the bag.
"Thank you!" She eagerly reached for it with both hands and immediately began looking through everything inside, inspecting each treat with barely contained excitement.
Dan watched her with an amused smile as she pulled things out one after another, apparently delighted by every single item.
"I love candies!"
"I know you do," Dan replied.
Lily hugged the bag against her chest as though someone might suddenly appear and attempt to steal it from her. She looked up at Dan with a huge smile.
"You’re the best!"
Dan raised an eyebrow playfully. "Am I?"
"Yes!" She nodded so vigorously that her hair bounced around her face.
"You’re my favorite!"
Dan’s smile grew. "Well, don’t let your mum hear you saying that."
Lily giggled. "She already knows!"
Dan laughed softly. "Then I guess I’m in trouble."
The sound of Lily’s laughter made the quiet evening feel warmer. For a man who had spent most of the day feeling as though everything had gone wrong, there was something strangely comforting about standing there with her. It was difficult to remain angry or frustrated when she was around.
Her happiness was infectious in a way Dan couldn’t quite explain.
He looked down at the little girl in his arms and felt something settle peacefully inside him.
It was strange how easily Lily could make him forget an entire day’s worth of frustration. He could walk through the door feeling as though the entire world had turned against him, only for her to run toward him with that bright smile and somehow make everything seem a little less difficult.
At that moment, another door opened.
A beautiful voluptuous woman, with a nice set of breast and blonde hair stepped out of the neighboring house.
The moment her eyes landed on Lily safely in Dan’s arms, she released a quiet sigh of relief. She had watched the little girl run outside and had been about to call after her, but seeing her happily standing with Dan eased the concern that had briefly crossed her mind.
Then her attention shifted toward Dan.
Her expression changed immediately. The smile disappeared from her face, replaced by a concerned frown as she examined the bruise on his jaw and the small cut near his lip.
From where she stood, it was obvious that he had been involved in some kind of altercation.
"You had a bad day..." she said quietly.
Dan glanced toward her and gave a tired smile. "Yes."
There was no point pretending otherwise. Anyone looking at his face could tell that the day had not gone particularly well.
The woman looked at his injuries again before sighing softly. "I’ve got some first-aid supplies. I’ll come over and take care of those before they get infected."
Dan hesitated for a moment. Normally, he might have brushed off the offer and insisted that he could handle a few bruises himself, but he was too tired to argue. Besides, he knew she was only trying to help.
"Thanks."
He carefully lowered Lily to the ground. The little girl immediately looked up at him while still clutching the bag of treats against her chest.
Dan gave her a small smile. "Don’t eat everything at once."
Lily’s eyes widened innocently. "I won’t."
Dan raised an eyebrow.
She quickly added, "Probably."
A laugh escaped him. "That’s what I thought."
With that, Dan turned toward his own house and began walking. His body was starting to feel heavier now that the excitement of seeing Lily had worn off, and the aches from the day’s events were becoming more noticeable.
Behind him, the woman watched him go. Her eyes remained fixed on his back until he disappeared through his front door.
Only then did she let out another quiet sigh.
She looked down at Lily, who was happily examining the assortment of treats inside her bag, completely unaware of the complicated thoughts occupying her mother’s mind.
’Does he really not remember anything?’ Her fingers tightened slightly. ’How am I supposed to tell him that Lily is actually his daughter?’