Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Anton shot his wife a glance, cocking a brow in challenge. “She’ll walk, Vine.”
“But not today.”
“She’ll walk,” Anton repeated.
Viviana waved Anton’s statement off, leaving the living room without another word. Anton watched his daughter as she fluffed the frills of her tulle skirt, completely unbothered by her father’s frustrations.
“Ana, if you walk for Papa, I’ll buy you pretty shoes.”
Nothing.
Not even a blink.
He should have known better. Sure, his girl liked her sparkly, pretty nonsense, but bribing her never worked well in Anton’s favor. Most times, anyway. Not that it mattered. He didn’t want her to grow up being easily manipulated or quieted with a piece of jewelry or fancy clothes.
Ana was too good for that shit.
Problem was, the kid could be stubborn as hell, too. Like now. Ana could walk. Anton knew she could. She already took a couple of wobbly steps when she wanted to get from point A to point B, but only if she thought no one was watching. She absolutely refused to walk whenever her father was in the picture. She rarely crawled, either.
Anton needed to correct that issue without admitting to his wife she was right.
Well, there was only one thing left for Anton to do, then. It was going to hurt him a hell of a lot worse than it would Ana, because he couldn’t stand to listen to her cry, but his child was going to walk whether she damn well wanted to or not.
Anton stood, walking toward the entrance of the living room. “Okay, no walking, Papa is leaving, dushka. Bye, Ana. Papa is leaving, now.”
At just the suggestion of her father leaving her behind, Ana squealed at the top of her lungs. The noise level could have broken the fucking sound barrier. Maybe it cracked a window or two, who knew? Anton froze at the entryway, chancing a chance over his shoulder.
“Enough of that, Ana Christina. No screeching.”
“Papa!” Ana made grabby motions with her hands as fast as they could go.
Anton shook his head. “No walking, no Daddy, Ana.”
“PAPA!”
“Anton!”
“Everything’s fine, Vine,” Anton called down to the kitchen.
Ana’s innocent stare began to well with wetness before fat tears slid down her puffed up cheeks. She huffed and pouted, still making grabby motions in the air for her father to pick her up and take her with him. Anton forced his expression to stay a mask of calm composure, but it killed him inside to see her cry for him and refuse her.
“Ana Daddy, Ana Daddy,” she wailed. “Want, want, want!”
“Ana’s Daddy is leaving,” Anton said firmly.
With that, he disappeared around the corner of the entryway and rooted himself against the wall. Viviana appeared at the other end of the hall, shooting him with an inquisitive look as the noise really started. Thankfully, his wife left him be.
Anton cringed, tapping his knuckles to the wall to keep from going back into his daughter’s sight. For an entire twenty seconds, his daughter screeched to the high heavens for him. Some people might not like how he handled getting his child to walk, but for Anton, it was more than just teaching her how to move her little legs.
It was independence.
It was going for what she wanted.
It was taking what she needed without him giving it to her.
Not directly, anyway.
Anton heard a thump followed by a gasping sob. Sticking his head around the corner to check on his daughter, he watched her bend over at the knees, pushing up from the floor to her two feet. Clearly she had tried to stand and must have fallen. Just as quickly, he ducked back out of sight. Anton pulled a Hershey chocolate bar from his pocket, unwrapping the treat and breaking off a piece before putting the rest back.
It took Ana a while and a few more falls before she came into view at the entryway. As soon as she saw her father hiding against the wall, Ana’s little hand shot up with her finger point right at him, anger narrowing her little brow.
She was so goddamn indignant in her action, Anton couldn’t help but laugh.
Ana pointed again, angrier the second time. “Ana Daddy!”
“Vine?”
“Yeah?” His wife popped her head out from the kitchen, immediately finding Ana in her sights. “Oh!”
“She’ll walk,” Anton said, smug as fuck.
Anton hunched down on his heels and presented the piece of chocolate to Ana. “Daddy’s sorry, Ana. I won’t leave, dushka.”
The anger dissipated but a wariness remained.
Anton plucked his daughter up into his arms, sticking the piece of chocolate in her hand at the same time. Ana shoved it into her mouth without a word, chewing and happy.
“Ana’s going to walk now, right?”
Ana kept on chewing.
Despite his joy over her new found achievement, a sadness settled in Anton. Once a kid started walking, they began to walk away, too.
“Kisses for Daddy?” Anton asked, nudging his daughter’s nose with her own.