Chapter 446.

Chapter 446.

Chapter 446. A Father and Some Stupid Horses: Chatting with a Father in the Bathroom. (2/2)

“Uh... who’s fault is it exactly?” Was it the doctor I saw her with? He did say before during our conversation in the barn that Aurelia left him because of what that doctor did.

When I suddenly spoke up, his head stiffly jerked to the side and our eyes met. It looked like he’d completely forgotten I was here when he lost himself in that tsunami of emotions.

“Sorry... kid... I accidentally let yuh see a pretty unsightly and unbecoming side of me just now. This is uh haha... pretty embarassin.”

“Don’t sweat it. Everyone’s got a side they don’t want others to see.”

“Right...”

“...”

“Kid... what about you?”

“What about me?”

“You listened to me rattle on just now and everything... you got anything you wanna get off your chest?”

“Get off my chest? Hmm... I’m just a stupid kid, I haven’t really lived long enough to have complicated problems like that.”

“No shit, I meant some more normal stuff. You gettin bullied in school and want to vent or anythin?”

“Bullied? No, I don’t get bullied.”

“What? Not even a little?”

“No.”

“Then what about problems with friends.”

“None.”

“No way, there’s got to be something.”

“There really isn’t.”

“How is that even possible?”

“Well, what makes you think I have friends to fight with in the first place?”

“Huh? Wait, are yuh suggesting yuh got no friends?”

“No, I don’t have any friends.”

“That’s... a bit too sad. Kid, yuh should really make some friends. Yuh don’t want to end up alone like me. Oh, wait, I forgot yuh got your girlfriend so I guess yuh wouldn’t.”

“You're not alone either though, you have your daughter there for you.”

“Haha... yeah, I guess yer right. I do, don’t I?”

“Hey, about just now...”

“What?”

“When you said it was all someone’s fault... who were you referring to and how is it all that person’s fault? Is it the doc-”

I was cut off when he let out an abrupt sigh, “Haaaaaaah. It’s best if you don’t know or stick your nose into it.”

I sat up as requested. As soon as I did, Rosa took a seat before she placed her hand on my forehead and forcefully pulled my head back down onto her soft exposed thighs.

Rosa tenderly caressed my cheek with her hand in a loving fashion.

“You two sure are... intimate...” Dawn chimed in awkwardly from the side.

“Hehe, you jealous?” Rosa joked.

“Uh... a little. I kind of wish I had someone to do those sorts of things with.”

“Then just go out there and find someone. I’m sure a lot of guys would line up.”

“I’d like to, but I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Because she’s worried about her father.

“It’s... too hard...”

For her to leave her father behind to chase after a guy.

“Of course it’s hard. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you can’t do it.”

“I’m fine alone.”

Like her father.

“Haaaaaah. If you say so.” Rosa shook her head regretfully.

I shut my eyes and allowed Rosa to do as she pleased.

Having spoken to Dawn’s father, I had a better understanding of Dawn’s internal conflicts. They weren’t easy problems to solve. One way to resolve them was to bring her mother back into the equation. But that seemed to be a complicated problem to tackle with the circumstances behind their separation.

Even if she was brought back, so long as the one who caused all those problems for the farm wasn’t taken care of, history would only repeat itself. The only way was to eliminate the root of all those problems.

On the other hand, there was a more peaceful alternative. It was to hook her father up with another woman. Theoretically, that was the simplest solution. But from the sounds of it, her father only had eyes for Aurelia. He must be aware of this solution too. For him to not do so meant he couldn’t bring himself to.

That, or there just aren’t any women who’re interested in a farmer who’s a divorced father raising another woman’s child alone. That’s entirely possible when I consider how difficult it actually is for men to connect with women these days.

But it really felt like he’d chosen to remain faithful to a single woman for the entirety of his life. Haaaaaah. His dedication is admirable to the point of foolishness.

Deep down... I think I wanted to do something to help him. It wasn’t any of my business though, I shouldn’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.

To help him also meant taking another person’s life. However, even if I wanted to do that, and had the means to do so, I technically hadn’t ascertained the identity of the target. Despite the odds being very high that it was the doctor I saw together with who I presume to be Aurelia, he still refused to tell me that person’s identity. All he confirmed was that it was a former friend of his.

I currently had my own doubts about things as they stood. How could a doctor be able to pull strings with suppliers in agriculture? There was a bit of a disconnect there in my mind.

It just didn’t make any sense to me. It’d make much more sense if the friend he spoke of was a farmer like him. Because of that disconnect, I felt an unsettling sense of discongruity. Something wasn’t adding up. Even if his family was wealthy, were they that wealthy? How much would they need to pay a supplier to get them to cut a farmer off? I had no idea.

Was his family possibly involved in some shady dealings? What sort of shady things could they even be involved in though? Why was he so obsessed with Aurelia anyway? Actually, why’d Aurelia become a surgeon when it sounds like she wanted to be an agronomist? Did she simply lose confidence after her failures and setbacks on the farm?

I suppose just because you like something, it doesn’t mean it’s what you’re talented in. Perhaps her talents simply laid elsewhere, that friend saw that, and wanted to bring her down a path she’d find more success in. When it came to large clunky machines she might have sucked, but when it came to smaller instruments that required fine precision, such as in the medical field, she excelled.

This was all speculation though. At the end of the day, the only way to figure things out was to go undercover and investigate.

What am I even thinking? I’m supposed to be on vacation together with Rosa here. I don’t want to do something so tiresome. I shouldn’t get involved.

...