ARIS' POV

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I'm standing inside the school gates waiting for Elodie, purposely avoiding the tribe of mothers gossiping away at the other end of the playground court. My eyes keep wandering out of curiosity but I know once I catch a glance with one of them, it's game over.

The last person I want to talk to is Emily. She's cornered me a good few times, always asks questions about Nick. I certainly didn't miss the massive diamond ring on her left hand which had me raising my eyebrows in suspicion.

I get it. Nick is a fine man. They're certainly missing their eye-candy and unfortunately I'm his replacement. Clearly below average. But I don't care. I'd rather not be swarmed by them like seagulls circling someone holding a portion of chips at the beach.

If anything I got lucky and I should be grateful.

The doors to the school open and the children come flooding out as usual. I glance above the heads to find Elodie glancing around desperately, as soon as she sees me she comes running towards me. But something is wrong.

Her face is covered with tears, eyes burning red. She's sobbing. I take two large steps forward to meet her, lowering down to her level.

"Sweetheart," I say desperately as I grip onto her shoulders, searching her face for an answer. "What's wrong? What's the matter?"

My entire heart shatters which isn't good for its weakness in general. Seeing children upset is like treading on a puppy. It fucking hurts and right now, the last thing I want is for Elodie to be upset. This bright and bubbly child, completely devastated and down.

Elodie continues to cry, her little hands wiping away at the tears that stain her cheeks. "I want to go," she whimpers in a blubber.

"Go where, Elodie?"

"Home. I don't want to be here."

I glance over her shoulder looking for something–I'm not entirely sure what. "Okay," I nod and without hesitation I take her in my arms and carry her away from the school. Those tiny arms wrap around my neck and she clings onto me for dear life.

We walk down the road to where I've parked my car. Luckily it's a quieter area with barely any parents or children walking by. Before I reach the car I perch her on the edge of a wall and place my hands on her hips.

My head dips as I glance at her face. "Tell me what's wrong, Elodie," I say calmly. "Because I need to know if I should go back into the school and talk to someone about this."

She hiccups and slows her breathing. "T-They were all talking about a party," she mumbles quietly. "But I'm not allowed to go. They were being mean and made fun of me in front of everyone."

"Els," I whisper and stroke back her hair. "I'm sorry that people aren't kind."

"I-I don't know what I did." Her little lips begin to tremble. "I don't know why she doesn't like me."

I give her a hug because I can't stop myself. She clings onto me once more. I pray this hug helps even a fraction, to remind her that she's not alone and that I will wipe away her tears from bullies. I know the feeling. "Is this Faye again?"

A flash from a past conversation crosses my mind, I remember how badly Elodie wanted to be friends with this girl. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same kid.

Elodie nods into my shoulder. "Yeah."

A silent sigh falls from my lips as I glance down the road at the school. From a distance I can spot Emily with a girl Elodie's height who I presume must be Faye. My jaw grits at the thought of someone being nasty to this kind soul.

"Hey," I say as I pull back and offer her a smile. "How about we go and grab some doughnuts and ice-cream before heading home?"

She tilts her head slowly. "But daddy doesn't let me eat ice-cream before dinner."

"Your daddy isn't here," I let the corner of my lip tweak. "And I'm sure he'll understand."

Elodie studies me for a moment before something crosses her eyes. "Can I get strawberry?" She asks, her cheeks rosy from her crying. "I love strawberry."

"You can have all the strawberry ice-cream you want."

Then her expression changes even though I can still see all the sadness washing in her eyes. "Okay," she flashes me a weak grin but I'll take it for now. Later I'll be making her laugh to forget about the mean kids because there is no way in hell I'm going to let this bad day fester, I'm going to turn it into something positive.

Of course I'm not going to keep this entire situation to myself, Nick has a right to know. But I want to treat this little girl because sometimes things can be helped with a nice sweet treat and a little conversation.

Once I get her down from the wall, I strap her into the carseat and drive to town to find the nearest dessert shop. Elodie's eyes practically widen at all waffles, cookie dough, endless flavours of ice-cream.

"Wow," she exhales as she slaps her hands down onto the laminated menu. "I want it all."

A chuckle passes my lips. "Looks good, huh?"

She nods, not once taking her eyes off the images in front of her. I quickly swipe my phone from my pocket and shoot Nick a text. If we don't get home in the next five minutes he might start panicking and I'll be sure to tell him about today when he gets home.

Aris: Be home in forty-five minutes.

He responds instantly.

Nick: Is everything okay?

I chew on my lip and glance back up at Elodie who doesn't know what to order. If I say his daughter has been crying her eyes out, he'll come rushing home. But I want him to know that I've got this under control and he can trust me.

Aris: Yeah, everything is fine. I'll see you later.

I slide my phone back into my pocket, just in time for Elodie to point down at the menu. "I want that one!"

My eyes move to her finger to find the biggest strawberry sundae underneath. Of course. I smile to myself. "Whatever you want, it's yours."

"Yay," she grins and claps her hands together.

The waitress comes over and we order. A part of me wants to ask more about the situation with Faye, but at the same time I don't want to upset her. Instead, I decide to ask something else.

"So what did you learn at school today, Elodie?"

She hums softly and runs her finger down a little brunette ringlet. "We read a book," she says. "How to put words together to form lines."

"Do you mean sentences?"

"Yes," she nods. "I'm getting better."

I smile gently and prop my head on my fist. "That's what practice is all about, right?"

"Miss Redwood says that I'm doing really well." She states proudly. "Better than some of the other children in the class."

"That's good. Well done. You should be proud of yourself." I say softly.

After a few moments her face falls and she slumps back into the booth seat. "Then Faye told everyone I couldn't come to her party."

I frown and lean over the table. "It's her loss, Elodie."

Elodie meets my eyes again. "Why doesn't she want to be friends? She likes the other girls."

"Hmm," I pause for a moment to think. "Remember that conversation we had before? When I said that not everyone on this earth is kind?"

"Yeah," she nods.

I clear my throat quietly. "Not everyone is kind and it sucks. It really does. But her being nasty to you says more about her than it does about you. You are a smart, kind and lovely girl, Elodie, and you should find friends that are nice to you. Don't settle for anything less than you're worth. She's probably jealous of how amazing you are."

Her face twists with confusion. "I don't get it."

My lips stretch into a warm smile. "You deserve friends who are as kind as you, don't go for the Faye's. Go for the Elodie's because they're the nicest. I should know, I love spending time with you."

"You do?"

"Yeah," I say confidently. "Don't you like spending time with me?"

Elodie nods eagerly. "Yeah. But I can't find friends like myself. I should find friends like you. Like Aris." Her hand points in my direction and it warms every vessel in my body.

"Sure thing," I nod. "Find friends like me. But you know what you should say next time, Elodie? If she starts showing off again you should say, 'I don't even want to come to your party, Faye. I have better things to do.'"

"But I don't think I do."

I shrug. "We can make plans. Do something even better. Huh?"

Her eyes light up as she nods. "Yeah."

The waitress is over a few seconds later to drop Elodie's sundae right in front of her. It's huge, taller than her head. As soon as she sees it she lights up with excitement, practically jumping off her seat at the sight of it.

"That looks delicious," I say as she grabs the spoon and squeals.

"I'm going to eat all of it!" She declares with dedicated eyes.

A small chuckle rumbles from my chest. "I doubt it. Don't make yourself sick, that's the last thing I need. Especially from your father."

She picks up the spoon and hums as she tips it in the ice-cream and brings it to her mouth, leaving a splash against her nose. When a chuckle falls from her lips I can't help but take my phone out of my pocket and take a picture. One that I'll definitely be showing Nick later, it might give him comfort knowing his girl is smiling after balling her eyes out to me.

After our trip to the dessert shop, Elodie is experiencing severe sugar-rush. She didn't finish the entire sundae but she gave it a good shot. I quickly make some dinner because ice-cream can't be a meal, not that she ate much but it's better than nothing.

Straight after she wanted to put on Taylor Swift and dance. I've never seen a five year old give so much energy for an hour straight. Somehow she encourages me to dance with her before she shows me an online game where you can follow dance routines and now I'm a pro at the Katy Perry firework routine.

Listening to her laugh and giggle away is the highlight of my day.

"Look, Aris," Elodie jumps down from the sofa. "Watch my walk."

I'm still catching my breath as she starts doing a catwalk down the hall, flicking her hair over her shoulder and posing at the end. My lips are in a permanent smile as she shows off her sassiness.

"Wow," I clap her. "You're a natural."

She rushes up to me and grabs my hand. "It's your turn! It's your turn!"

I hesitate. "I don't know how to do that. I'll be stealing your limelight."

"Try it," she flashes me puppy dog eyes. "Please."

My body slumps. There is no way I can say no to that face.

"Fine," I grumble and walk to the spot she started at. "Here goes nothing."

I start walking like I've seen those runway videos online but I'm practically a walking corpse. My eyes are set forward and I try to relax my shoulders. I'm laughing before I finish because I know it looks atrocious.

When Elodie bursts into fits of laughter I know that it's true. I'm showing myself up to a five year old but I don't care, as long as it's bringing her joy, I'd do it all day. "No," she chuckles. "You need more confidence."

I fake gasp at her. "More confidence? I think I need some from you."

She rubs her arms aggressively and then places her hand on my stomach. "There. Now be better."

"You're so cheeky, you know that?"

Elodie raises her shoulders up to her ears and giggles. "Do it, Aris."

I suck in a breath and give this walk my all, even if it feels alien. As soon as I start Elodie starts cheering like my biggest supporter and I've never felt so stupid but happy at the same time.

"That was better," she nods enthusiastically. "But it could use some work."

A laugh barks from my mouth as I grab her waist and throw her up into the air, she squeals with a large grin on her face. "Yep, definitely cheeky."

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Author's Note

Death by the cutest chapter ever?? UGh. I love Aris and the way he cares for Elodie it's so damn sweet🥹🥹🥹

What did you guys think of this chapter?👉🏼

Let's hope that a certain someone has been watching the security cameras hahah😈

I get so excited when I write this story, it's so much fun!🥰

Love Savanna x

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