Chapter 18: He has a daughter

Dorah walked towards Jace, who was chatting with some girls at the school gate. "What are they even talking about?" she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. She tapped his shoulder from behind. "Oh, babe. You're here already?" Jace said, surprised to see her. "No, I'm just coming," Dorah replied with a smirk. "Seriously, babe?" he asked, frowning. Dorah walked off without responding. "See you later, girls," Jace said quickly, jogging after her. "I see you've left your girls," she said as he caught up, slowing his pace beside her. "They're just classmates. I was actually waiting for you," Jace explained, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Waiting for me, or you just got delayed by your girls and couldn't enter the school?" she said, folding her arms. "I'm serious," Jace insisted. "Dorah," a voice called, making them stop in their tracks. It was Ronald. "Jace," Dorah mumbled, her arms dropping to her sides. She snuggled close to him. "Hey, what's up, buddy?" Jace greeted, wrapping an arm around Dorah and patting her shoulder gently. "Nothing much," Ronald replied. "Hi, Dorah." "Hello," she mumbled, only loud enough for him to hear. "Can you spare some minutes? Please," he asked with a pleading expression. "No can do, buddy," Jace said with a smirk. "Why? You should let her talk," Ronald said, pointing at Dorah, who was clinging tightly to Jace. "Can't you see how she is just because of your mere presence? Do her a favor—stay away from her," Jace said. Ronald glanced at Dorah and sighed. "I'm sorry. Dorah, I'm sorry for what you've been through because of me. I'll try giving you space," he said, then walked away with his head down. "You good?" Jace asked, watching her closely. "Yes," she nodded, pulling away slightly. "You sure?" "Yeah," she gave a small smile. "That's my girl," he said, pecking her forehead. "Let's go," he added, taking her hand and gently dragging her along. --- Dorah and the Flower Boys were in the studio, except for Jace, who had told them earlier he'd meet up with them. "Practicing is so tiring," Dorah said, collapsing onto the couch. "You're really something, you know," Ronald said, tossing a water bottle to her. "I don't need it. Jace will bring me one," Dorah replied, tossing it back. "You don't know when he'll be back, so just take it," Ronald said, throwing it again. "But—" "Just take it," he cut in, turning away. "You guys should just date and stop trying to get on each other's nerves," Max muttered with a shrug. "I don't wanna die young," Dorah said, frowning. "I've had enough from the time at the music room. If we end up dating, what do you think she'll do this time around?" "She'll probably chop off your head. Gosh! That girl is crazy," Jason said, laughing. "You think this is funny, huh?" Ronald asked, clearly pissed. "Well, yeah. I can't even imagine what she'd do," Max added, laughing along. "She's better off without him," Jace said, entering the room with a young girl whose hand was bandaged. "If she's with him, she'll always end up in trouble. I don't want that for her," he said, walking over to Dorah and pecking her cheek. "Awwwwn," Max and Jason cooed, clearly trying to annoy Ronald—which actually worked. "So, what was posted on the blog a few minutes ago was true?" Ronald asked, probably jealous. "What's that?" Jace asked, confused. "This," Jason said, showing them his phone. "Dating?" Jace echoed. He and Dorah looked at each other, then burst into laughter. "Someone needs to shut down this school blogspot," Dorah said, still laughing. "Yeah, that's true," Jace added. "So… you guys aren't dating?" Ronald asked. "Why do you care?" Jace said, rolling his eyes. "Who's this pretty little angel?" Dorah asked, changing the topic when she noticed the tension. "Sylvia," Jace answered, sitting beside Dorah and placing the girl between them. "What's with the bandage?" Ronald asked. "She hurt her hand, and it was bleeding. I took her to the clinic, and the nurse took care of it," Jace explained. "Oh… but why is she here?" Max asked, confused. "The nurse said she shouldn't play for now, but you know kids. That's why I brought her here," Jace said. "No more questions, guys. Your interrogations are too much," he added, glaring. "Oh, easy, man," Max chuckled. "Baby girl, you're so cute," Dorah said, smiling as she caressed Sylvia's cheek. Minutes later, Mr. Alfred entered. "Sylvia? What are you doing here?" he asked, looking around. The boys just stared, shocked. "What's with the look? Didn't I tell you I have a daughter in this school?" he asked, raising a brow. "Oh," they all echoed in unison. "Baby, what are you doing here?" he asked, squatting before her. "My hand was bleeding, so Senior Jace took me to the clinic. The nurse said I shouldn't play, so he brought me here," Sylvia explained in her tiny voice. "Didn't I tell you that too?" Mr. Alfred said gently. "I'm sorry, Dad," she said with a smile. "Okay. You can go to class now. Be a good girl," "Okay, Dad. Thanks for today," she said to Jace. "You're welcome, darling. Take care of yourself. You can always come to me," Jace replied. "Okay!" Sylvia said happily and left.