Chapter 265 - 264: Where's Appa, Eomma?

Eunji went into her and Sophie's room with a heavy heart.

She saw Sophie laying down on her side of the bed with her back facing her.

She looked lonely on her sleep.

Seeing her daughter in this position, her heart ached and she could feel a lump starting to build up on her throat.

This was the first time that Sophie had thrown a tantrum at her. Goodness! She's not even two yet but her mind was more mature than the children of her age.

Her daughter was special. She's gifted with a higher IQ. She could tell that even if she had not submitted her for an examination to confirm it.

Well, all of her children are...probably. It's not impossible for their kids to be a genius too given that she and Nathan were.

Aside from that, she guessed that Sophie probably had a higher EQ than her.

She felt the worst mother as she silently looked at her daughter.

Well, she's trying to be the best mother at least for her daughter since she's already the worst for her other children but the result was still the same.

She almost had no time for Sophie given that she was super busy with her other tasks.

She was so busy gathering intel reports about her enemies that she missed the time that she should be spending with her daughter.

For the past twenty-three months ever since Sophie was born, Eunji had already lost an accumulation of twelve months all in all from her daughter's growing stage.

She had already been on a few business trips when Sophie was still six months old. And she would be gone for a month.

Then she would go on a CIA undercover mission for a month after that. Then another business trip and another CIA mission. And that cycle continued until later.

Good thing Sophie did not make a fuss about it and she would just patiently wait for her mother to come back so they could share their mother and daughter bond together.

Yes, she's this type of terrible mother.

She could not blame Sophie if these frequent trips she took without her daughter would make her feel, even at such a young age, that she never loved her.

Of course she loved her daughter so much.

What she did wrong was that she make her daughter to be the second or third in her priority list.

Yes there were times that she prioritized her first but most of the time, Sophie was left in second or third of her priority list. And that's the biggest mistake she ever did as a mother.

Not just even as a mother. Even as Nathan's wife!

She felt like she's a person with horrible character.

"Baby...I'm sorry." Eunji softly spoke to her daughter who was now sleeping. While she had slumped on the carpeted floor with her back arched and shoulders dropped.

She was gently squeezing her little palm as she looked at her tenderly on her sleep.

Her daughter must have been really upset with her that she slept while feeding the last batch of breast milk she left for her to drink everyday while she was gone.

"Baby....Princess...I'm sorry...Eomma loves you but Eomma didn't know how to be a good mother to you." Eunji said while trying to stop herself from sobbing.

"Eomma...Eomma's weak. That's why I failed to protect you from being hurt and hiding important things from you like your father and your siblings." Eunji told her for the first time.

"Your father...He's the most excellent man that I have ever met. However, I misunderstood him big time. It's not my intention to make you be separated from them. My weakness made you to be away from them." She confessed.

If her daughter was actually awake, she would never dare to tell this to her. To show this vulnerable side to her.

Looking at her daughter, she felt ashamed of herself as a mother.

She felt terrible as she's afraid that if Sophie would know about her father and siblings, that she would abandon her and choose to be with her father instead.

Who would want to stay in a household where in your mother was always absent in your life.

That no matter how much you plead not to leave, she would still be gone the other day when you wake up after coaxing you the whole night?

You don't even know your father or if he could exist in your life. If he knew of your existence at all?

Sophie must be young now that's why she had not asked those things to her yet but soon, when she grew a couple of years older, she would start asking.

She then chuckled when she realized that she actually started asking now.

And it's even more painful for her. She could not imagine Sophie's pain as she asked that question to Layla.

The child must have been desperate to know about where and who her father was.

And the fact that she caused it to happen to her was like a big stab directly in her heart.

Sophie steered from her sleep and her eyes immediately opened making Eunji to panic and immediately looked away as she tried to hide her swollen eyes from crying earlier.

"Eomma? Are you crying?" She asked with a husky voice while rubbing her eyes.

"I'm not. Some dust just got inside Eomma's eyes." She said while wiping the tears from her face.

She lied. There's no way she's going to admit that she's crying or else Sophie would feel that she caused it.

"Eomma, you're lying. I'm not even asleep." Sophie admitted making Eunji to be stupefied at how she had fallen in her daughter's tricks.

Since when did her daughter had become this cunning?

That was what was running in her mind at the moment.

Well, she won't be her child if she didn't have this tricks on her sleeve.

"Sophia Bai?!" She squinted her eyes at her as if she was angry and was going to scold her.

Sophie closed her eyes again and pretended that she was asleep.

She knew she was doomed.

She was not really sleep yet when her mother walked inside their room.

She's actually innocent.

She wanted to open her eyes but her mother started apologizing and uttered words that she had not fully understood the meaning behind them.

So, she got afraid that her mother would scold her if she opened her eyes immediately that time so she still kept her eyes closed.

And then her mother started talking about her father and siblings and she got curious that's why she remained still and pretended that she was indeed asleep.

She felt sorry that her eomma was sobbing for a long time in front of her that's why she decided to stop her pretense and opened her eyes.

She might not have fully grasped the magnitude of the problem that her mother was carrying but she somehow felt that it must be troubling her mother the most.

And her tantrum episode must have been adding to that load.

Yes, she's upset that she was not her mother's number one priority as of the moment. Thoughts that she was not really loved by her mother came in her mind sometimes.

But...she loved her mom. She's the only family member that she had before her grandma came.

If she would lose her mom, then...who would she be left with then?

She didn't have her father just like the servant's kid earlier.

She's afraid that one day, her mother won't come back from her business trip.

You can't blame the child. She had accidentally eavesdrop when Angelina and Eunji had this conversation just recently. And she heard that her mother might be killed by the bad guys if she won't be careful.

She understood what death was. If a person dies, she won't be coming back. So if her mother dies, she won't be coming back to her. Making her to be left alone.

And she didn't want that. She didn't want to be alone. No one would love her then juts like how her mother loves her.

Her mother's not perfect...but despite all of that, she's the perfect mother for her. The perfect mother for Sophia Bai.

The reason why she asked about her father was that she thought that if her father knew that her mom was having trouble, he would come to the rescue and protect her mom just like that in the fairy tales where in the king protects the queen mother and the little princess or the little prince from harm.

All of her ideals were a mix of the stories she had read on her books. She didn't question why she didn't have a father unlike the one in her story books.

She didn't want her eomma to be sad at all. She want her eomma to always be happy. That's why she was hoping that her father could make her happy since she's not enough to make her happy and stay.

Going back to the present, seeing that her mother getting angry at her, Sophie could only hope that she would let it slide.

She's still upset with her mom and she didn't ask her to breakdown in front of her.

She then slowly opened her eyes and contemplated on what to do next.

"Eomma, where's Appa?" Sophie softly asked her mother all of a sudden as she tried to divert her mother's anger away from her.

"Don't try to divert the topic Sophia Bai!" Eunji maintained her angry tone as she spoke to her daughter.

"Eomma, why are the prince or princess in my story book has both father and mother." She asked.

"And...why does Taeyang-oppa has his appa while I don't have one?" She continued.

She heard her mom talking about her siblings. Then did that mean that she's not an only child of her parents? The thought made Sophie to be delighted.

"And my siblings? Are they with Appa?" She continued with her voice full with innocence.

Well, there's nothing wrong with her questions though. It's a normal reaction of an innocent child to be curious and have questions for the adults to answer properly.

It was just that...the way she delivered these questions to her mother was very crafty. Gosh! Her daughter would surely be scarier than her when she grew up in the future.

Eunji felt like an incoming head ache was about to knock on her head.

She knew that if she won't answer her questions now, she won't let her sleep tonight.

And if she won't be satisfied, she would trouble others like her mom or Master Liu with this matter while she was away.

"Sophie!" Eunji said helplessly and she sighed.

Sophie got up and got down from her bed and decided to hug her mother. While Eunji awkwardly wiped the tears on her face.

"Eomma, don't be mad, I just want to know who I am. My origin. That's all." She said in maturity that shocked Eunji.

"Are you really my daughter? Why do I feel like you're possessed by someone more mature than your age." Eunji scoffed before she said that.

"Of course, Eomma! I'm still your baby, Sophia Bai." She defended herself with her aegyo (childish) voice.

"If I'll tell you know, are you going to promise me that you won't be creating trouble?" Eunji wanted to use this as a bargaining chip for Sophie to behave and stop this little rebellion towards her but who would have thought that her daughter could outwit her.

"Eomma, why do I feel like it's my right to know these, right?" She looked up and grin to her mother.

"You're indeed your father's daughter." Eunji could only sigh in defeat.

Sophie grinned when she knew that she had won.

"What's my father's name? Can I see a photo of him, Eomma?" She immediately asked as she was afraid that her mother might change her mind and would force her to sleep instead.

"Fine...I'll only tell you his name and what he do. And a little about your siblings since I had not officially meet them yet." Eunji said.

"That's fine Eomma." 'I can look for the rest later.' Sophie continued in her thoughts.

Seeing the anticipation in her daughter's face, Eunji knew that there's no turning back.

With a big sigh, she finally said, "Your father's name is Nathaniel Johnson Bai."