My Dad's Bestfriend
Chapter 80 Something Anew

Jacob

She stood before me, utterly shocked, unable to utter a word. She just gazed at me, as if her mind was processing a complex equation to ascertain whether this was reality or a hallucination-certainly it was not a hallucination but I wasn't gonna clear her doubt yet.

I concealed my smile as she blinked twice, then thrice. I could read her well; currently, she was likely suspecting that her mind was playing tricks on her.

At this point, I was almost tempted to kiss her until her pink lips were swollen, but I couldn't take that risk with Samuel present. I still didn't have complete freedom to do whatever I wanted with my girlfriend when he was around. I had already figured it would take a few more months.

"Am I dreaming?" She finally whispered, and an involuntary grin spread across my face. I leaned in, planting a kiss on her soft cheek, then the other. They were soft just like rose petals. "Do you still think it's a dream?"

"Holy... what the " She breathed out, still bewildered. She turned to look at Samuel, who chose to act oblivious because seemed to enjoy the bewildered expression on his daughter's face, which was undeniably adorable. Her plump cheeks, her eyes filled with surprise and curiosity, and her rapid blinking made her look like a doll.

My doll that I could play with all day long...shit! I shouldn't entertain such thoughts right now.

Evelyn's gaze finally settled on Clara, whom she saw as her only saviour in this chaos. "Clara, please, tell me what's happening."

A chuckle escaped Clara's lips. "Why don't you ask your boyfriend, Evelyn? I think he can explain it better than I can."

She blushed red at Clara's statement before turning to me. "What's going on, Jacob?"

"I convinced your dad, baby," I whispered, sliding my arms around her, and pulling her close. Her back met my chest, and although her body relaxed, everything about her still hinted at her profound confusion. It had been just one night, and I already missed her dearly. God, she was like oxygen for me.

"Hey, excuse me? You're not the one who convinced me. I decided to let it slide and let your sorry ass stay here, especially with my wonderful daughter, whom you certainly don't deserve," Samuel spoke up, as expected, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Okay, Dad!"

"What the heck!" His face contorted with anger.

"What? I think I should start calling you dad from now on. It's obvious, isn't it?" I shrugged.

"No, you can't. You'd have a daughter now if you were married at my age," he pointed the spatula at me. "So, don't you even dare to call me dad! God! I never thought when you said you'd take away my most precious thing from me because I broke your PS5, it'd be my daughter. You are a fucking rascal, you know that?"

It almost made me laugh at how he was still struggling to believe that his daughter was now mine. Evelyn was mine! What more could I ever wish for? Fuck, I felt like I was over the clouds.

"This is just the beginning, Samuel," I rested my chin on Evelyn's shoulder. "Guess what? You'll be calling my children your grandkids. Isn't that wonderful?" As I burst out laughing, his face turned a shade of red, a mix of anger and sudden realisation.

"I should have never made you my friend!" He was already fuming, but I knew this anger wouldn't last long.

"You can make me your son-in-law; I won't mind," I shrugged.

"Hey, get away from her right now," He finally intervened, grabbing my very confused Evelyn's wrist and positioning her beside him, "She's too young for this. No marriage until she's twenty-five!" "That's our personal matter, Dad," I chuckled, enjoying provoking him just like in the old days in our dorm rooms. "So, you better not butt in!"

"You"

Before he could continue, Evelyn interrupted, "Guys..." She hesitated before speaking, "Can you please tell me what I've missed?"

"God, you're adorable!" Just as I was about to walk over to her and kiss her, Samuel, with his spatula, created a boundary between us, stopping me where I stood. I could bet he would slap me with it if I had taken one more step ahead.

"Stay exactly where you are!"

"She's my girlfriend, Samuel," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Only because I allowed it. Otherwise, your sorry ass would still be crying on the streets of Italy."

"Okay, guys, enough of your argument for today," Clara finally spoke up as she hopped down from the counter. "I think your first priority should be explaining to Evelyn what has led to this sudden friendly relationship between the two of you, because I don't know if you can tell-she's freaking out from confusion."

"Should I tell her?" Samuel looked at Evelyn, making a thoughtful sound, "No. She hurt me by keeping it all behind my back, so she should suffer a bit."

"Dad, I'm sorry," she stuttered, immediately panicking. "Trust me, I didn't want to hurt you. It all just—"

"Calm down, Bubba," Samuel chuckled, placing a kiss on her temple. "I understand, and I know you never wanted to hurt me. You don't need to explain anything to me. I had told you, hadn't I? You'd have everything you want in your life, no matter if it's a jerk like him."

Okay, now this was offending.

"Hey! You're no less of a jerk!"

"I didn't get into an affair with your daughter, did I?" He shot back with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well, I don't have a daughter."

"But you know I wouldn't do it even if you had one."

Sheesh! He got me there.

ד".

"Okay, fine. You got this one," I gave up.

"Can you two please tell me how all of this happened?" Evelyn asked, her soft eyes nearly pleading with us to break it to her.

"Come here... I will tell you," I grabbed her hand and pulled her close to me. This time, Samuel didn't object.

I slipped my arms around her, pulling her into my embrace, and kissing her forehead. A sigh of relief slipped past my lips.

"You know, I'll be forever grateful to

your dad for giving me you," I spoke.

"I had no doubts that he was the best friend anyone could ever have, but last night, I became sure of another thing-he's the best dad and the best person. It's not about what's wrong or right, what's fogical, or what should be done; he just wants you to stay with the one you love because, for him, you matter more than anything. He just wants you to be happy, always happy and smiling," A smile tugged at my own lips, and I could see tears brimming in her eyes already.

"Last night, when I was about to leave, he—"

Flashback:

I descended the stairs, dragging my luggage behind me. My heart still ached from the sight of her tears. The way her hands had clutched onto my shirt-I never wanted to leave, but damn it! This had to be done for things to be fine. I didn't want my Evelyn to lose anything, especially not the relationships she cherished, like the one with her dad.

As I walked down and headed for the doorway, a familiar voice interrupted me.

"I see. So you're leaving, good. Really good."

My feet froze at the sound of his voice, and my eyes sought him out, sitting at the barstool with a glass of liquor in his hand. I knew him too well not to notice that he was having second thoughts about everything.

I gazed at him, rooted in place. When he realised I wasn't about to say anything, he spoke again, taking a sip from the glass.

"Finally making the right decision, huh?" he chuckled bitterly.

"Is this not what you think is right?" I finally asked. What the heck was he referring to? I knew him well, but this? It was confusing as hell.

He remained silent for a few moments, staring at the glass in his hands and the swirling ice cubes.

"Come here, sit, and have a drink with me," he finally said.

"What?" I blurted out in shock.

"Did you not hear me, you motherfucker?" He looked at me incredulously. "I said come here and have a drink with me."

With a sigh, I let go of my luggage and walked over to the bar, taking a barstool next to him. He poured me a glass of rum before leaning against the barstool, a sigh escaping his lips.

What was going on in his mind?

He rubbed his forehead, then ran his

hand down his face before he finally spoke, "Look, now, whatever I ask, you have to answer honestly, and what I say, you have to listen to me very carefully because this is what's going to be needed for the rest of your life, okay? This conversation, it should fucking matter, alright?"