Her Return, His Regret

Jack Davis had walked into the mansion just in time to witness Ryan's heartfelt apology and request. However, the man clenched his hands into fists and his jaw tightened. Lora was his one and only daughter.

When Ryan had a chance to be with her, he didn't cherish her. How dare he waltz into his house to apologise and ask for another chance like his past mistakes could easily be forgotten?

Jack's biggest regret was losing his daughter when she was kidnapped by traffickers at a very young age.

He never got to see her go into first grade, or buy her gifts when she turned into a teenager. He never got to take her to the high school dance or even attend her graduation... after missing so much time with his daughter and regretting not being there to protect her or make her happy, he didn't want her to face any more hardships.

Seeing the man who took his daughter's love for granted beg for a chance, anger flared through Jack. He stepped forward and declared, "Over my dead body."

The room fell silent as everyone turned to look at the imposing figure in the archway leading to the living room.

Jack glared at Ryan coldly and said through gritted teeth, "What makes you think you can just come back into my daughter's life as if nothing ever happened? Do you know how I found her six years ago? How she became afterwards when she thought her whole world was gone?"

"Dad...." Lora remarked, signalling to her father with her eyes for him to watch what he said in front of the kids.

Ryan's heart clenched with guilt. He knew it wouldn't be easy to earn everyone's trust. However, he was determined to go through anything as long as he would end up winning Lora's love back.

He didn't move from his kneeling position. Looking at Jack, he uttered, "I understand how you feel, Mr Davis. Now that I have my own children, I wouldn't want them to be hurt in any way by anyone."

His voice was calm as he continued, "I made a lot of mistakes in the past... one of them was not cherishing Lora the way she deserved. I was blind to the fact that I loved her so much... I didn't know this until I lost her and I've spent the last six years regretting it. But I'm here to not only ask Lora for her forgiveness but yours as well. I want to be a father my children would be proud of... I also want to be a man deserving of your daughter's love."

Lora's heart fluttered when she heard Ryan say this. However, her phone suddenly rang and when she saw who was calling, she felt like cold water had been splashed over her head.

What was she thinking about when she was dating someone else?

Guilt crept into her as she turned her phone on silent... she couldn't pick it up with the current tension in the living room.

Ella suddenly approached her grandfather and grabbed his pants before saying, "Grandpa, Daddy said he's sorry. He said he won't leave us again. Can you forgive him?"

Ryan's heart was filled with warmth at that. Indeed, fathers should have daughters.

At the same time, Jack furrowed his eyebrows. When he looked at his grandaughter's watery eyes, his heart softened.

He smiled at Ella and replied, "Don't worry, I just want to teach him a lesson."

Looking at Ryan, he ordered, "You, follow me!"

Ryan got to his feet and followed Jack outside to the backyard.

They walked for a while until they entered a huge garden.

Jack looked at Ryan and scoffed before saying, "Just because your daughter spoke for you, it doesn't mean that I've forgiven you. I still need to teach you a lesson!"

Ryan nodded, humbling himself

before the man. He proclaimed, "I'll accept whatever punishment you give me. All I ask is that you give me a chance to prove myself. I'll never hurt your daughter again. I promise."

Jack smirked. He cleared his throat and looked at his field before saying, "This is my small garden where I grow my chilli. I love spicy food and love to experiment with different chilli peppers. In this garden, you will find the world's hottest chilli Eating the whole chilli raw can feel like your tongue is not your own...you will feel like someone had placed lava into your mouth... it will burn like hell."

"Oookay," Ryan remarked, not sure where Jack was going with this.

"I want you to eat one whole chilli. If you manage to stay calm without asking for water for twenty minutes, I'll let you be and let Lora make her own decision. I'm not saying I'll forgive you easily, but I'll back off and just watch from the side," Jack

remarked.

He looked at Ryan and asked, "So, what do you say? Do you think my daughter is worth burning your tongue for? Mind you... this is the world's hottest chilli... eating the whole thing is not child's play."

Ryan gulped, looking at the field of chilli peppers. He wasn't one to eat spicy food... spicy food always made him instantly sick.

However, since eating the chilli would mean he would be one step closer to Lora, Ryan didn't hesitate to agree. He glanced at Jack, a determined look on his face as he answered, "I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Jack arched an eyebrow. "Just so you know... my daughter might not accept you back even if you eat the chilli. Are you still willing to go through with it?"

Ryan nodded and replied, "I'm willing to do anything that could give me even the slightest chance."

Jack smirked. He pointed at the field and said, "Pick one and eat it... if you pass this test, I'll think about forgiving you."

Ryan's eyes lit up. He declared, "I'm going to pass this test with flying colours."

Without hesitating, he picked one of the chilli peppers and placed the whole thing into his mouth.

Soon, beads of sweat coated Ryan's forehead and green veins looked like they were about to pop out of his skin.

Jack laughed and asked, "So, Ryan, how is it? Do you still want a second chance with my daughter? If you give up now, I'll give you some milk to ease the heat."