The Cursed King

Elise was so touched when she saw the middle-aged man. She couldn\'t believe that she finally could see her father again. Tears slowly rolled down her face as she walked closer to Mr. Yok.

"Father?" Her voice was hoarse when she called out to him.

The older man turned in the direction of the voice and his eyes widened when he saw Elise and also noticed Loriel\'s presence. His face instantly beamed and a smile curved up on his face

He placed his book aside and tried to get up from his bed to approach Elise.

"Maddie! You\'ve finally come to visit." His voice was hoarse and filled with longing.

"Yes, yes I have. I am here father," Elise said and ran up to his bed. She knelt in front of her father and smiled. "I\'m terribly sorry that I wasn\'t able to come any sooner..."

Daniel York coughed lightly and took Elise\'s hand in his. He simply smiled at her. "I\'m just glad you finally came here and that it seems like you\'re doing well."

Elise smiled back at him. "I... I am. I have so much to tell you, but how are you doing? Father, how are they treating you?"

She wanted to tell him that Tessa and her family treated her badly, basically locking her up in the house and made many sinister plans to snatch the family\'s wealth from Elise and put her in the mental asylum.

However, seeing how frail her father look, Elise didn\'t have the heart to burden him with her problem.  She better pretended that everything was fine and she was doing well.

"I\'m doing as fine as I can be while staying here." Daniel laughed. "However, I\'d like to hear your story, my child. It seems like there is a good reason as to why you haven\'t been able to visit."

"No… there\'s never going to be a good reason for that." Elise bit her lip and forced a smile. "Something happened at home and I ended up moving to NYC. It\'s great. I even visited the place where you and mother met."

"Ah, how was it?"

"The Blue Jacaranda trees were blooming wonderfully when I got there. I wouldn\'t be surprised if that was the moment that mother fell in love with you."

Daniel York smiled at that. "I can imagine. It must be so pretty."

He looked up and saw Loriel, then pointed at the man. "Is this.. your friend?"

Elise looked at Loriel, blushed, but nodded. "Yes... I met him by chance. Father, this is Loriel. He is a friend and he has been helping me a lot."

"Hello, Mr. York. Nice to meet you," said Loriel with a smile. He reached out his hand and shake the older man\'s hand. "Madeline is a really sweet woman and I am glad to be friends with her."

"Where are you staying in New York?" Daniel York looked at Elise attentively. "And what have you been doing there?"

"I am staying in the city center," said Elise. "Loriel has been helping me to find accommodation and he also helped me get a job. I\'m currently working at a good company and also taking baking courses."

Daniel smiled and cupped her cheeks. "I\'m relieved to hear and see that you\'re doing great, Madeline sweetheart."

Elise wanted to cry when she felt the man\'s bony fingers on her cheeks. Her father was so frail and thin.

In just several months that she didn\'t see him, he had changed so much physically. She wiped her tears and forced a smile. "I miss you so much."

"I miss you too, child,"  Daniel York hugged Elise and rubbed her hair affectionately. "I was worried about you. I keep asking Tessa and her mother to bring you but they gave me so many excuses. I thought something bad must happen to you and I was right."

"No… I am fine," Elise quickly said to her father. "Father, you don\'t have to worry about me. Tessa and Auntie Liz can\'t do anything to me now because I no longer stay with them."

"..."

Elise\'s words unintentionally indicated that when she was staying with her uncle\'s family, they could do bad things to her. And this didn\'t escape Mr. York\'s observation. 

Elise immediately realized this too and she regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

"I mean… I am really okay," she whispered. "Isn\'t that what matters?"

She let go of herself from her father\'s embrace and looked at the older man deeply, and her lips were smiling sweetly. "To be honest, I have never felt so happy and free and alive until I left home. Now, I have learned so many things and I am excited about a new chapter in my life."

Mr. York looked at Elise with gleaming eyes. He wanted to cry for his inability to protect his beloved daughter when he was sick like this.

However, seeing how healthy and happy she looked, and how she seemed to function well in the society and even made friends with this lovely man who came with her… Daniel York felt some sense of relief.

He was always worried about Madeline. How she would take care of herself after he was gone. She was autistic and couldn\'t speak like normal children, and when they found her again after being missing for more than 15 years, her condition was so heartbreaking.

He thought she would need a guardian to help her care for her life. But.. it looked like she could manage really well on her own now.

This made him proud as a father. The man finally nodded and smiled. "I can see that you are well. I am very happy."

KNOCK

KNOCK

A nurse came with a tray filled with a teapot and two cups for Elise and Loriel. She smiled and nodded her head to Mr. York.

"Sir, this is tea for your guests," she said. She entered and put the tray on the small table next to the patient bed.