Chapter 164

Madeline replied with an icy voice. "Hello. What's going on?"

Cilix was bewildered.

When he was younger, he had held Madeline close just as much as he had Bella. Madeline's fondness for him was every bit as strong.

However, at some point, things changed, and Madeline started to pull away.

Her once playful and affectionate tone turned distant and aloof. He could not help but wonder if he had been too lenient with Bella, letting her lead Madeline astray.

Bella had snuck off to give Madeline lessons, and when he had asked what she had been teaching, Bella, who had always been so compliant, had suddenly gone silent.

To that day, he still did not know what Bella had taught Madeline in secret. Maybe Bella had been plotting all along to sabotage his relationship with his daughter.

It was clear then that Bella had drifted away from him long before, and everything he did afterward was just to protect himself.

Bella's downfall was not his fault, it was just destiny.

Shaking off those t