Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Von POV

"I'll wait for you here," I told Aphrodite. She nodded and got out of the car.

I went with her to buy things for Leana's party later. 'Girl bonding' said Leana. I don't know why they still have that. It's hard to understand a woman.

I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Peace.

"Forget me, Von."

I opened my eyes when I heard Lit's voice.

Even when I close my eyes, I can still hear her voice.

I took a deep breath and looked ahead.

"How can I forget you? If you were there in every corner of my life?" I asked myself and shook my head.

I should go with Aphrodite.

I hit the steering wheel of my car and then angrily got out of the car. I took out my phone and immediately dialed Aphrodite's number.

(Hello Von?)

"Where are you?" I asked while walking to the parking lot.

(At a grocery store, just going in. Why?)

"Wait for me," I said and hung up.

I was about to cross the other side of the parking lot when I heard a child crying. I stopped when I saw a child sitting on the side of a car. She was wearing a black dress and white denim pants.

I wouldn't have approached the child but something in me pushed me to approach her.

"Hey, are you all right?" The girl slowly raised her face towards me and that's how I was surprised to see her familiar face.

It's like I've seen her, somewhere.

"Y-you're the one... Of Mama's friends, right?" She asked and smiled at me. I frowned and then I started to recognize that she was the girl Aphrodite and I saw at the White House. She is Yezrah.

"You're Yezrah right?" I asked and knelt in front of her.

She called Lit's mom.

"Yes," she said with a smile and suddenly came to me and then hugged me. I was suddenly surprised by what the child did but there was a part of me that liked the way she hugged me. There was also a part of me that suddenly felt relieved that it shouldn't be.

I loosened up when she hugged me because it immediately occurred to me that she was Lit and Franco's daughter. I'm not bitter, but I just don't want to have any connection with Lit again. As she said, let's forget about each other.

"Who are you with? Where are you with?" I asked. The smile suddenly disappeared from her lips. And cried again.

"I-I don't know if... Where is the nanny who was with me? When... I turned around and she was gone." I frowned at what the child said.

"Maybe she's inside, let's go find her," I said and even though I don't want to pick her up, I did. We went inside.

I immediately saw Aphrodite that we were in front of the grocery store so I approached her and she was very surprised to see who I was with.

"She's missing," I said and looked at Yezrah. Aphrodite smiled at her and wiped her cheek because it was wet from crying.

"Are you okay? It's good that Tito Von saw you." Aphrodite said and smiled at the child.

"Do you want ice cream?" Aphrodite asked Yezrah. It was as if Aphrodite said a magic word because her face suddenly lit up.

"Will you give me?" asked Yezrah. Aphrodite laughed and nodded.

"Come on, let's eat first. You can have ice cream later." I said so they looked at me.

"You're going to treat me?" Yezrah asked me so I laughed and nodded.

"Yehey!" She said happily then suddenly hugged me. Suddenly, the feeling of wanting to hug her came back, but there was also a part of me that didn't want to because I always remember that she was Lit's daughter with Franco. We walked to a restaurant to eat.

When we sat down, Aphrodite immediately asked Yezrah what she wanted to eat.

I noticed that Aphrodite was close to children, something that made me smile inside. There are only a few people who are close to children these days.

"How about you Von?" Aphrodite asked so I looked at her. As usual, she was smiling, a smile she always showed to everyone.

"Anything," I said and smiled. She nodded and walked to the counter while Yezrah and I were left where we were sitting.

"Uncle Von, is Aunt Aphrodite your girlfriend?" she asked suddenly, making me look at her. I had no intention of talking to her, but because she asked, I had no choice but to talk to her.

"No. Why did you ask?" I asked. She giggled and placed both hands on the table.

"It looks like you guys are in a relationship," she said so I laughed and shook my head.

"I want something else," I said.

"Is that mom?" she asked so my smile disappeared. I looked at her and she was very innocent of such things thing.

"How is your mother?" I asked. She smiled at me.

"She is okay, she and Papa are in the Bermuda Triangle." She said so I lost my appetite even more. Why did I ask that thing?

"It's like you're sad." She said that made me look at her again. She talks like Leana.

I just smiled at her and didn't say a word.

"Do you believe in the wishing star?" she asked suddenly so I closed my eyes because I was a little irritated with her, she looks like Leana. If I didn't know it was Lit's daughter, I might have mistaken it for Leana's daughter.

"No," I answered and remembered the times when Lit and I asked the Wishing star together.

"There's one more!" Lit said happily and suddenly closed her eyes. I frowned at what she did so I just watched her. What is she doing?

"What did you do?" I asked her when she opened her eyes.

"Wish," she answered so I laughed.

"My grandmother told me that a wishing star can give everything." She said so I also looked up and waited for a wishing star. When I saw one, I closed my eyes and wish.

'Hopefully, the woman in front of me will be my wife and the mother of my children.' I wished then opened my eyes.

"Those are not true," I said bitterly then looked away.

"Why, have you made a wish?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Did it come true?" she asked.

I looked at her and shook my head. I saw the disappointment in her eyes. I immediately felt guilty, ' Von gasped. That's still young. Don't let your bitterness get in the way.' I almost hit myself.

I didn't know what to do with this child so instead of speaking I just kept silent.

"I thought wishing stars were real," she said and took a deep breath.

"I would still ask to see my real father." What she said made me look at her.

Her real father? Isn't Franco her father? Is the child's brain shaken?

"What are you talking about? Isn't Franco your father?" I asked. She laughed and shook her head.

"Papa Franco is just my stepfather, I don't know who my real father is," she said making my forehead frown.

"Mama said, I look like my dad's sibling when it was young," she said and pouted.

"I'm excited that my wish from the wishing star will come true because when I see my dad, I'm going to hug him tightly and kiss him on the cheek until I'm he wants me to stop," she said smiling.

"I also want to see my dad's sibling who looks like me. I'm sure we'll get along," she said happily so I fell silent.

Apart from me? Is Lit in a relationship with anyone else?