Chapter Ten

She still wants him. He didn't have to hear her say it. Her lucid reactions were already enough for him to push this forward. He was never letting her go anymore.

    "Daisy..?"

    But as soon as Elliot came to that conclusion, another voice popped in from a distance, prompting him to freeze. His arms stiffened around Daisy as Elliot realized the voice that had called out her name was of a man's.

    His off-guard reaction, however, eventually gave Daisy the chance to get back to her senses as she quickly pulled away from his hug and escaped him. That was not a voice Elliot could recognize, and it quickly made his entire demeanor go cold. He slowly dropped his arms to his sides and turned to where the voice had come from... And someone caught his sight.

    Daisy let out a quick sigh of relief at the interference of her boss calling out for her. As soon as it cut the moment short between her and Elliot, Daisy immediately stepped away from Elliot and rushed to the side of her boss. Elliot watched it all happen, and the look on his face went darker.

    His eyes squinted, his face hardened as Elliot witnessed the appearance of another man who seemed to be closely acquainted with his wife. This was not what he expected.

"So... is he the daddy?"

    As soon as Elliot left the scene, giving his formalities after briefly stating, "I'll come back", Denver intentionally dropped the million-dollar question to Daisy, ignoring the glare she sent his way after hearing him, as he tried to understand the situation. 

    When he caught them locked in a really tight embrace, Denver immediately assumed that he was Daisy's ex-lover and they were finally getting back together. But he was wrong, at least on one of his assumptions. 

    The guy who had introduced himself as Elliot Morrison was definitely the ex-lover... but the hug was not a sign of their reconciliation yet... Unfortunately. And when Denver inconveniently cut the moment short between the two of them, he felt guilty inside. He saw the way Elliot regarded him with skeptical eyes, almost as if trying to see through his skin, sizing him up with a threatening stance. Denver almost wanted to laugh and tell Elliot outright that he was not playing on that field.

    Daisy looked conflicted, but she let out a long sigh of relief when Elliot left but still kept that stiff, worried look on her face as she tried to analyze the situation.

    As Denver observed the flash of emotions in Daisy's eyes after asking her that question, he could immediately tell the answer that was obviously written on her face and he did not need any verbal confirmation. She was really trying to avoid this kind of confrontation, but she knew she had to tell that guy just to be fair as well. After all, the man had made immeasurable efforts just to search for her for god-knows how long it took him. Denver really felt sorry for that guy.

    "Are you going to tell him?"

    Even though he had already chosen to side with Daisy since she's a friend of his, Denver still could not ignore the fact that the father of her child deserves the truth from her. And nothing but the truth. But something else was still keeping Daisy from telling the guy about their baby.

    There was no way that hug had meant nothing after seeing the way the guy had gazed at his friend.

    That alone was already solid proof and Denver got definitely curious to hear what Daisy was about to say after seeing her past lover again. But instead of seriously giving him an answer, Daisy just sniffed back, shot him a stern glare, and refused to admit anything. But it was already showing on her face. 

    Elliot is the father of her baby.

    "He's definitely coming back. Are you sure you want to still hide it from him?"

    Daisy didn't really want to think about it too much. But she was feeling anxious. It was not even more than just two months ago when she had revealed to Denver that she was pregnant. Denver had been really surprised and skeptical about letting her work for him at the store. But when she told him about her situation and how she was desperate to accept any job that she can have to save up for her baby, he and took her as his employee. That was how they got close and became friends. 

    Denver eventually realized the gravity of this entire situation. A sad smile appeared on his face. He had already suspected this as soon as he witnessed the way the guy embraced her like there was no tomorrow. He still loves her, but she seemed not to want that anymore. How sad. 

    Why did it have to be this complicated?

    "I need more time," Daisy muttered back in a small voice, averting her eyes as she turned away and grimaced.

    "How long?" Denver probed, frowning at her, "How much time do you still need? Don't tell me you're planning to run away again, Daisy. I swear, if you suddenly disappeared, I'm going to te-"

    "I'll tell him!" Daisy abruptly cut him off with a sneer, looking at Denver with watery eyes, "I'm not running away anymore, okay? I just—"

    She let out a shaky breath, trying to figure out what she will do next. What would she do now? She had to tell him, eventually... She can't keep this forever from him.

    Denver took a deep breath, as he could only sympathize with his friend. He could totally read the troubling thoughts running inside her head through those sad-looking eyes, and he felt concerned. She needed that guy, whether she would want to admit that or not. She really had no other choice.

    "Just tell him the truth," he advised her after a short moment of silence, his voice gentle and comforting as he stared at her intently, "Do it for the baby, Daisy. The father needs to know the truth."