Dumping The Ice King His Mini-Tyrant novel Chapter 412

Daph reached into her pocket and pulled out an orange candy. With a hint of disappointment, she said, “I thought if I won first prize, Ms. Vaughn would finally let Penelope have one of these.”

Selene crouched down to encourage her daughter. “There are plenty of ways to help Penelope get her candy, sweetheart.”

Daph lifted her chin, eyes shining with hope. “Mom, can I go talk to him?”

Selene nodded gently. “You’re not enemies, you know.”

Taking a steadying breath, Daph walked toward Harrison. She opened her small hand, revealing the orange candy nestled in her palm, and held it out to him.

Harrison’s expression shifted slightly, a ripple of emotion breaking through his usually composed eyes. “Is this for me?”

Daph spoke earnestly. “Mr. Vaughn, could you please give this candy to Penelope for me?”

The brief light in Harrison’s eyes faded, but when he realized his daughter was willing to ask him for help, he nodded.

He took the candy from her hand. “Alright. I’ll make sure Penelope gets it.”

Daph let her hands fall to her sides and bowed politely to Harrison. “Thank you, Mr. Vaughn.”

When she looked at him again, her shoulders were squared, her posture proud.

For as long as she could remember, Harrison had always seemed tall and distant—a towering tree she never dared approach. He was a father she barely knew, and he’d always treated her with a kind of silent reserve.

In her memories, he had never once held her.

She’d even asked Selene about it once.

“When I was a baby, did Dad ever hold me?”

“…Yes, of course,” Selene had answered, but after a brief pause and a fleeting sadness in her eyes, Daph knew it was a gentle lie meant to protect her.

But now, she was no longer Daphne Vaughn, and somehow, she finally had the courage to face Harrison and speak to him without fear.

Without a backward glance, Daph turned and skipped back to Selene, her steps light and free.

“I’ll practice with you next time!” Daph replied, her voice bright and cheerful.

Monica shook her head. “It’s not that—I just wish I had a mom like yours. She’s beautiful, confident, a math genius, and she even races cars! When your dad upset her, she just—bam!—divorced him like it was nothing.”

She sighed. “My mom could never do something like that.”

Monica’s smile faded, her eyes clouding.

“Monica, you shouldn’t talk about your mom like that,” Daph said softly.

“But it’s true! My dad wants a divorce and she just won’t let go. Daph, do you know what it means to cling to someone in a pathetic way? That’s my mom all over!”

Outside the dressing room, Claudia paused, overhearing the girls’ conversation. Children from well-off families always seemed to grow up faster, forced into maturity by the world they lived in.

Claudia turned and found Selene standing behind her.

Selene caught the shimmer in Claudia’s eyes and, her own throat tight, murmured quietly, “I’m sorry.”