A poor bachelor’s life takes an unexpected turn when a little orphan girl comes up to him and calls him daddy. After meeting her, he decides to quit his job and change his life completely.
“Sure, I’ll be there on time. Yes, thank you,” James replied before hanging up the phone. He had applied to be a volunteer at a shelter and had finally been accepted.
James, who was only 29 years old, had never thought about starting a family. He always wanted one, but quickly gave it up, preferring to remain a bachelor because finances never allowed him to think about starting a family.
In his spare time, James enjoyed helping the underprivileged and orphans, as he had once been in their shoes and understood them better.
When he was finally accepted as a volunteer at the shelter, he felt very fulfilled. Although he always felt lonely, volunteering at the shelter allowed him to be in the company of children, and James loved children. He was also a very nice person.
One day, while James was working at the foster home, a little girl was brought there. She had two braids and a pretty hair clip, and she held tightly to her teddy bear as she walked from the car to the front door.
James had heard the shelter manager talk about the young girl, and he knew she had been brought there because her single mother had passed away, leaving her an orphan. When she entered, James saw that her eyes were filled with tears and she looked around, confused.
Still feeling sorry for her, James returned to his other duties for the day. Suddenly the girl ran up to him and started tugging at his shirt.
“Daddy, have you come to take me? Will you take me home?” she asked, smiling through her tears, which shocked James. He had never had a girlfriend, let alone a child. Why did she call him Daddy?
Trying hard to hide his shock, he smiles and kneels down in front of her. “Hi, I’m James. You’re Leila, right? I’m sorry, darling, but I’m not your father.”
The girl’s smile disappeared and she began to cry. “But… you’re supposed to be my daddy. Why are you lying to me?”
James didn’t know what to say. He had never met this girl before.
“Well, honey, maybe you’re confusing me with someone else. I’m not your father.”
But the girl refused to listen to him. “NO! You are my daddy! Mr. Fluffy knows that too! You bought Mr. Fluffy for me! He’s my favorite toy!”
“But…” James didn’t have time to finish because a voice suddenly interrupted him.
“Leila, darling, come inside!”
James looked up and saw Clara, the childminder, who looked very worried. “Leila, dear, why don’t you go inside and freshen up,” she told the girl. “You can talk to James later. Mr. Fluffy is probably tired too.”
Leila was initially reluctant to go, but after Clara had carefully comforted her, she agreed.
When Leila left, Clara apologized to James. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t easy for her.”
“But why is she calling me Daddy? I don’t even know her. What happened to her?” asked James.
Clara sighed. “Her father was not a good man. He abandoned her and her mother. She’s only six years old. After her mother died, Leila couldn’t deal with it. She’s stressed, she cries all the time and hopes someone will come and take her away.”
“But no one will come. Leila’s mother never told her the truth about her father. She said he would be back soon, and Leila kept hoping. You are the third person she calls Dad today. She was very young when her father left, and only a vague image of him remained in her head. She is currently undergoing therapy, and I hope she will get over it soon.”
“That’s terrible. Is there no way to contact her father?” asked James, concerned.
Clara shook her head. “I don’t think so. He hasn’t contacted them in years, and according to the papers, Leila’s mother divorced him, and she has legal custody of Leila. And Leila has no family because her mother was also an orphan.”
James had never thought about starting a family, but after meeting Leila, something in his heart ticked and he couldn’t stop thinking about her big blue eyes looking up at him and the way she fondly called him “daddy.
Over time, James developed a close bond with Leila, and one day he asked her if she wanted him to be her father. “Would you be happy if I adopted you, Leila?” he asked, and she smiled stupidly.
“You’re my daddy! I’m very smart and I know that fathers don’t adopt their children!”
Leila had always called James “Daddy” since they met, even though he told her he was not her father. At some point, he gave up and let her call him that. But since his finances weren’t at their best, he knew he couldn’t adopt Leila.
So James made a decision. He decided to leave his volunteer position and began looking for a well-paying job. The whole process was nerve-wracking, but James was hired as a waiter after several attempts. It wasn’t much, but it gave him hope to improve.
While working as a waiter, James took online courses, began to study on his own, and decided to become a private tutor. Both jobs increased his income, but he still wanted more. His motivation was little Leila, who came to cuddle him every time he came to the orphanage.
“When can we come home, Daddy? I want to live with you!” she asked hopefully.
“I assure you it will be soon, dear. Very soon.”
But it wasn’t meant to be. It took James a year to find a stable job with a private company. Various jobs gave him a lot of experience, so he was certainly smarter than most applicants and had more experience. These qualities were emphasized in the interview, and he was hired.
After James started making good money, he took Leila up for adoption. At the same time he met a woman named Amelia in his company, and they fell in love at first sight.
His compassion for the underprivileged touched her, because she used to work as a social worker. A relationship quickly developed between them, and when James officially adopted Leila, he proposed to her.
“I can’t wait any longer, Amelia. It’s like my dream of having a family has finally come true! Will you marry me?” – he asked her.
“I would love to be a part of this RVE, James! That’s a yes!”
Amelia accepted Leila just as she had accepted James into her life and loved her as her own daughter. After finding his dream, James realized he needed a powerful push to reorganize his life. For him, it began the day he met Leila.
