She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 913

Hank's spine instantly went rigid. The hand casually resting on the back of the bench clenched into a fist.

He had absolutely no idea she was going to ask him this. He wasn't prepared, and he was terrified of saying the wrong thing and breaking her heart.

He opened his mouth, his voice tight and raspy. "Gigi, what makes you say that?"

She kept her head down, hesitating for a moment. "You were at the amusement park that day, weren't you?"

Now Hank was truly stunned. "How did you know it was me?"

"I hugged this really clumsy giant bear mascot," she explained. "The bear smelled exactly like you. I made sure to smell you carefully while we were racing earlier. It's the exact same scent, and it's not cologne."

Hank's pupils dilated, utterly floored by her sheer perceptiveness. "How do you know it wasn't cologne?"

"Mommy used to take me on her work trips all the time when I was little," Gigi said matter-of-factly. "My nose has smelled almost every type of fragrance out there—cheap ones, expensive ones. I know what they smell like. But you don't smell like any of them. Your scent is just... you."

She swung her legs a little faster. "Later, I asked the other kids at school. A lot of them have been to that big amusement park in Metropia. But none of them ever got free gifts from the mascots. They said the big bears just stand there for photos and don't give anything away."

Her tiny fingers gripped the edge of her water bottle tighter. "That day, I got special treatment. But I know Mommy doesn't have the kind of money or power to arrange something that amazing. So there's only one answer."

She finally looked up at him. "It was you, Sir."

Hank's eyes stung.

"Sir, you're my dad, aren't you?"

Hearing the question a second time, asked with such careful, nervous bravery, broke him.

He took a deep breath, looking up at the sky for a brief second to keep his emotions in check in front of his child.

After a moment, he looked back down at her. "Gigi... do you still want me?"

She only asked, "Did you really hurt Mommy?"

His voice was barely a whisper. "At the time, I thought I was protecting her. It was my messed-up way of showing I cared, but I was so completely wrong, and it cost me everything. I lost her. I've been searching for you both for years. All I want is for us to be a family."

"Are you going to take me away?" Gigi asked, her brow furrowing. "Like the rich people in the TV shows who steal their secret love children?"

Hank frowned. "Who told you that?"

"Some of the girls in my class, after the whole Lanny thing," Gigi explained. "Since I know you're super rich, I had to ask."

He couldn't help but let out a broken laugh. "I would never steal you away. I know you are your mom's entire world. I just want to prove myself and earn both of your forgiveness, on my own merit."

If he was going to take them, he was taking both of them together.

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