“Oh my God!” I exclaim.

“What?” my mother, the driver of the car Diamond and I are in on our way home from school, asks me in concern.

“Mom, check out that white limo parked on the sidewalk in front of our house!” I tell her.

“Oh! I see it!” our mother exclaims in shock. “I wonder who that could be?”

I close my eyes halfway as I say, “I am not wondering.

“In fact, he's long overdue.

“Diamond,” I tell my “sister” over my left shoulder, who is sitting behind me and to my left, behind the driver's seat. “This may be particularly noteworthy to you. That's your father's limo, isn't it?”

“Well, um . . . I'm not sure,” Diamond says a little lamely. I also see and hear confusion and nervousness in her. “Drive to the front of it, Mom. Is there bull horns at the front of the limo?”

“I was about to swing in front of it anyway to park this car,” our mother noted then proceeded to do so.

In fact, she parked in a very specific spot. There are inward grooves in the driveway to make sure to guide the car to stop on that spot. Once she finishes that, we all look to our right and a bit behind us at the limo.

Sure enough, the limo does indeed have bull horns ahead of the front radiator of the limo. The tips of those horns are white but with a brown base. The horns curve diagonally forward and up, but the tips of the horns curve away from each other.

“Yeah,” Diamond laments as she looks down sadly. “That most likely is my father's limo.”

“Diamond, Honey, you don't want to see your father?” our mother asks her in surprise. “If you want, I can talk to him instead.”

A disturbing thought occurs to our mom.

“Honey, he didn't abuse you too, did he?” our mother checks in concern.

Diamond shook her head as she said, “No, he didn't abuse me per se. He just wasn't there for most of my life. He was too busy elsewhere making our family more money.”

Diamond looks at our mother and tells her, “I'm not afraid of him, if that's what you are asking. I'm willing to see him, too.”

“But you don't sound excited,” our mother noted while still looking back at Diamond using the center rearview mirror. “You even seem disappointed.”

Diamond gives our mother a helpless shrug as she says, “To be honest, I don't know what to feel about the guy. I barely know him.”

“I'm sure he came here to see you,” our mother points out.

“Quite likely because of the fiasco with his wife,” I add grimly. “She's been quite the embarrassment in the family lately, and she put some legal and financial strain on the Rich family as well.”

“Then why is he here talking to me instead of his lawyers?” Diamond wonders.

“That might explain his delay,” I theorize.

“I can talk with him instead if you want me to,” our mother reminds Diamond.

“No. That's okay. Let's just get this over with,” Diamond says with a sigh. She groans as she opens up the rear passenger door. We all follow suit a moment later.

Before our mom walks around her car, she clicks something with a remote she has on her keys. One of the buttons locks the car. Another button activates a device built within the driveway, and this is the reason the car has to be parked at a very specific spot.

A hole opens up near the left rear of the car. A tube lifts up from that hole which ejects a robotic arm. That arm reaches forward to open the hatch leading to the socket of mom's electric car. Once it is open, the robotic arm plugs itself into the socket then proceeds to recharge the car.

Meanwhile, a middle-aged male limo driver gets out of the car then walks near the back of it to open a passenger-side door facing towards our home. From there, Diamond Tiara's father, Filthy Rich, emerges from the limo.

Filthy Rich is a moderately tall man. He has deep brown skin and smooth dark hair which is short and mostly concealed under his cowboy hat. His face is wearing his age a bit, causing his cheeks to sag slightly. He also wears a white leather coat jacket that is open at the front. A button-up dress shirt is beneath that. He has a bolo tie at his neck. His fancy-looking jean pants are secured with a square silver buckle that has a money sign on it (I figure it is mostly his Horse-Land cutie mark). He wears what looks like snakeskin cowboy boots. I see a hint of a golden wristwatch under the leather jacket sleeve.

Filthy Rich spares a brief moment to nod to his limo driver for opening the door for him while he grabs the front edges of his jacket and hangs his elbows low. Shortly after that, his eyes scan among us and, quite predictably, settle on Diamond Tiara the longest.

I quickly look back and forth between them to gather as much information about their early reactions to each other.

Diamond can't seem to meet the gaze of her father. I judge her reaction to not be embarrassment or shame, but rather that of quiet anger.

Filthy Rich, on the other hand, looks eager and concerned at his daughter. I also see hints of pain at her reaction, but he hides it pretty well.

Filthy quickly redirects his attention towards my mother. Not only that, but he approaches her until he stands just ahead of her.

“It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Miss Sparkle,” Filthy Rich greets upon arrival. “I do believe we have not been formally introduced.”

“Formally? I suppose not,” our mother agrees as she adjusts her smart glasses on her face for a brief moment. “But I've seen you plenty of times before. I believe the first time I saw you was at Camp Everfree almost fifteen years ago.”

Filthy blushes in a bit of embarrassment. “Well, I hope we can put that nasty business behind us,” he requests. “Except that I would like to thank you for you and your friends raising the funds to save the camp. I do declare that I did not expect that at the time but, in hindsight, I'm glad you did. I had other plans for the camp, I must admit, but I'm an alumni of that camp as well. I do suppose that what I would have replaced at that camp might have been financially successful, but hardly a replacement for its sentimental value. One cannot put a price tag on that, now can we?”

“Um . . . no,” our mother shyly agrees as she claps her hands and hangs them low in front of her short, form-hugging business skirt. “I suppose one can not.”

“But that is neither here nor there,” Filthy goes on in a dismissive way. “All of that business is in the past.

“Rather than that, I'm more interested in our current dilemma. One which I feel that we need to discuss further.

“Please, Miss Sparkle,” he gestures to the front entrance of our house, “would you be so kind as to offer me admittance to your fair place of residence here?”

“Um,” our mother hesitates to answer as she quickly checks on Diamond again.

Diamond, for her part, is still pretty much staring at her feet, unwilling to look her father in the eyes yet, but our mother notices that she didn't openly object to the suggestion.

Based on what our mother says next, I take it that she takes it as a moderately positive sign from Diamond, or at least not a negative sign.

“Sure,” our mother agrees as she looks back at Filthy. “You may come into our home.”

After a moment, our mother nods to Filthy more confidently.

“You're probably right,” our mother agrees. “I think we do have much to discuss.”

Filthy gestures to our front door again as he says, “After you, Miss Sparkle. Ladies first, I always say.”

* * *

Shortly after sitting down, Filthy Rich gives an odd look to an apparently floating television screen with robotic arms that serves him a cup of tea.

“Ah . . . thank you?” he asks the floating droid, then looks at our mother a bit more confidently. “Thank you for the tea and inviting me into your home, and say . . . nice, um . . . contraption you have here,” he says as he regards the floating droid again a bit guardedly.

“Either of you girls want something?” our mother offers from the main armchair of the living room.

Both Diamond and I reject our mother's offer while we sit on the same couch along with Filthy. I take up one end of the couch, Diamond sits in the middle, and her father takes up the last seat at the other end.

Filthy Rich's interested gaze follows the floating droid until it veers out of sight into our kitchen, then he looks at our mother with an impressed expression.

“I must say, Miss Sparkle, you do have a fascinating home. I heard that you invented some of these machines yourself. Do you have a patent on them, perchance?”

“Some of them, yes,” I answer in my mother's stead. “Some are also pending.”

“Well,” Filthy raises an eyebrow at me for a moment then passes that same look to our mother, “when that goes through, you and I should do some more business together. With inventions of this caliber of quality, I'd be a fool not to attempt to partner with you on this.”

Our mother lifts up her saucer with a teacup on it daintily as she says to Filthy, “Be that as it may, I don't think you came here to discuss that business with me today, have you?” our mother asks Filthy seriously, trying to cut straight to the chase, probably for Diamond's sake.

Filthy Rich sighs, then admits, “This much is true, Miss Sparkle, but first thing is first.

“First of all,” he sets his tea aside on a table beside him then looks back at our mother while placing his cowboy hat on his chest. “I need to thank you, Miss Sparkle, from the bottom of my heart for taking care of my most cherished possession. You have done me a great service for taking care of my daughter in her time of need. I wish to assure you that I will never forget it.”

Our mother brightens a bit as she responds, “Oh, it's been my pleasure to take care of her.”

“I sincerely agree,” Filthy replies. “I can just tell by the look on your face, the way you speak, and the way you carry yourself that this has not been a burden on you, but rather a privilege. I must say, knowing that touches my heart even more deeply, and for that I can't possibly thank you enough, but if you don't mind . . . I will spend the rest of my days trying to repay you for this.”

Our mother's pleased look shifts to worry. She stares at Filthy with that expression for four quiet seconds. After that, she set her own cup of tea aside then decides to address her main concern.

“If you don't mind, I must ask you,” our mother looks at Filthy squarely, “is it your intention to assume direct custody of Diamond?”

Filthy sighs as he regards our mother with a bit of regret, then says, “You don't beat around the bush that much, do you, Miss Sparkle?”

“Sometimes I do,” our mother replies. “I would even say I usually do, but this issue is very dear to my heart. I want to get it over with so I know where we all stand.”

Filthy puts his hat aside as he says, “I can sympathize with that remark. Forgive me if I find your candor rather blunt, Miss Sparkle, but in some ways . . . and indeed, many ways . . . I also consider it quite refreshing.

“For you see, for years I've danced a courtship with many of my fellow businessmen. Very often we don't cut straight to the chase, instead preferring to test the waters a bit before making a firm commitment. After all, millions . . . sometimes billions of bits can be on the line, so we prefer to get to know our potential business partners well before cutting to brass tacks.

“This isn't always the case, however, for a businessman understands that time is money. It isn't always baseball games, yacht rides, golf courses, or dinner meetings, much like a romantic date. Sometimes it's just, 'Sign here. Dot there. Put an X there, and . . . there you go.' We shake hands, and business is concluded.”

“I don't think she wants to know more about the way you conduct business, Father,” Diamond says in minor annoyance as she stares forward at nobody. “And for the record, I'm not some commodity to be bought and sold.”

Filthy Rich winces at her words, but tells her frankly, “Nobody said you are, my treasure, but I do think there is room here for negotiation so that all parties involved can walk away from this meeting satisfied.”

Filthy whips his head to look back at our mother as he quickly adds to that, “I want to make something perfectly clear to you, Miss Sparkle, and everyone else involved in this room. I have absolutely no intention to force your hand into anything. I'm not planning to make any official moves until I first establish what exactly we all want here. For the moment, I do not see a reason I need to rush anything. I'm sure this situation has been plenty stressful enough, and I, for one, have no intention to add to that burden.

“More to the contrary, in fact. It is rather my hope to cause some relief to the situation, and I,” he gestures to his chest, “am a man with quite a few resources, and I have every intention to use whatever is in my power to make this whole situation better.

“So let me be the first to dispel any illusions you have that I'm going to force you to give up custody of my daughter right away. Instead of that, it is rather my intention to facilitate a smooth transaction, if indeed one is necessary.”

“But you do eventually wish to assume full custody?” our mother asks Filthy with worry.

“That depends,” Filthy answers.

“On what?” our mother reflects.

Filthy shrugs as he says, “On what we all want.”

Filthy gestures to himself as he says, “For my part, what I want is to be a part of my daughter’s life again. The situation I'm going through with Spoiled has been a rude wake-up call for me. It caused me to realize that I've put my faith in the wrong people, and I also feel somewhat at fault for this whole darn nasty situation.”

He looks at his daughter and resumes speaking, except to her this time.

“I've recently come to an epiphany in my life that I've put all of my financial businesses first far ahead of my family, and I don't like it. I don't like the man that looks at me in the mirror anymore.

“I used to be proud of that reflection. I used to straighten my shirt and tie, figuratively and literally speaking, as I venture out into shark-infested waters in order to make more money, but recently it's come to my attention that all that time and effort has come at a cost and I'm so ashamed that I didn't even realize it.

“While I was out there making enough money to buy frivolous things for you, me, and my whole family, I was losing the thing that matters to me the most at the same time.

“Diamond, please look at me!”

A little reluctantly, she eventually does.

When she does, her father goes on with his speech.

“The day you were born,” Filthy begins but scrunches his face in a bit of pain. At first I thought it was emotional pain, and it probably is to some extent, but then I observe him pounding at his chest with a fist to clear some bubbles from his lungs. When he burbs it out, he begins again.

“Sorry, and excuse me.

“As I was saying, the day you were born, you made me feel like the richest man in the world. My Diamond in the ruff was at last bequeathed to me. You are a treasure so sacred to me that no price tag could possibly be put on you. You are immeasurable; beyond the value of any count. When I inherited you, I felt like I had inherited the earth and beyond.

“Diamond, when you came into my life and I held you in my arms for the first time . . . for a brief moment, my purpose in life suddenly felt clear! I used to think that earning money was my true calling in life. After that, I still felt it was important to earn money, but the reason changed forever on. From that day on, it no longer became my mission to acquire money for myself, it became my mission to repay you as much as I could in sheer gratitude that you have come into my life.

“The day you were born and I held you is the day I also realized that I am a father! I really don't know how you're ever going to possibly know the honor I felt on that day until you become a mother someday. That is, if you choose to become one someday. If you do, then you might gain some glimmer of an idea how I felt when I first held you. I won't pressure you into anything but I hope you do know this experience someday just so that you can get a hint of what it once felt like for me, because I can say with all conviction that the day you were born changed my life forever.

“I know that, at first, it does not seem like it's true from the outside if you examine the totality of my life, but I did change in a profound and permanent way . . . in here.” He gestures to his heart with both hands.

“You have a funny way of showing it,” Diamond accuses with a frown. “Your frequent absence advertises your love to me very poorly. That's ironic considering your last name.”

“That's one thing I plan to change,” Filthy promises. “I don't know how I didn't see it before, but I want to be a part of your life from now on. I feel like I missed so much of it already. Practically your entire childhood, but I still hold out hope. Adult years far outlast the test of time compared to childhood years. There is more of that to look forward to if you will have me.

“Diamond, my dearest treasure, even if I did force you to be a part of my life again, I only would have legal authority over you for a few short years. The same thing would happen if I left you with Miss Sparkle. She, too, only has a few years where she has authority over you. Very soon you'll be an adult woman who can decide things for yourself, and that is why I'm reaching towards you as both a fellow adult and as a parent. Since I know neither of us,” he wags his finger back and forth between himself and our mother, “can force you into anything for long, I'd rather give you this power just in the hopes that I can earn your trust and love again.

“For you see, my treasure, I have to proceed with this relationship with an eye to the future. I don't want a prisoner or a slave. What I want is my daughter to choose to be a part of my life by offering the same in return. I may not have as much experience with fatherhood as I'd care to admit, but I understand that a healthy business relationship involves an equal give and take, and I think family runs on similar core principles except the true currency of family is love.

“Spoiled Rich, unfortunately, never understood that.”

“Why did you marry that . . .” I almost say bitch, but I manage to stop myself and instead say instead, “nasty woman?”

Filthy sighs as he pulls his hat to his chest and nervously pinches the edges of his hat. His fingers seem to crawl along the edges of his hat as it slowly rotates in his fingers.

“Spoiled and I came to a sort of business relationship,” Filthy answers. “She was part of a business deal that I'd prefer not to go into too much detail about.”

Filthy looks at me.

“She wasn't as wealthy as me. Not by a long shot, but as a business partner . . . she came with extra benefits, if you know what I mean.”

“I know how sex works,” I reply a bit tiredly. “I haven't experienced it yet, but I know the mechanics of it.”

“Spoiled and I kind of got thrust together,” Filthy explains. “We simply made the best out of our situation as we could.

“Especially me. I developed very real and deep feelings for her. So much so that I probably blinded myself to some of her negative qualities. Even very obvious negative qualities. I guess I was desperately trying to convince myself that things could work out between us, and for a while it did.

“For most of our relationship together, our marriage was quite traditional. I'd go out of the house and be the primary breadwinner, and she'd stay behind and manage the affairs of the home.

“Although, to be honest, I would have been mostly fine either way, but she had strong traditional values. The way our relationship worked out was mostly her idea.

“Image is everything to Spoiled. Although she kind of resembles a housewife, she takes care of the home more by bossing our maids and butlers around rather than doing the work herself. Instead of that, most of her true efforts were spent on social pursuits. She was the one arranging meetings with wealthy business tycoons in order to suck up to them.

“Basically, she was the one who'd first introduce a potential new business partner, then she'd leave me to close the deal. She dealt with the social stuff, and I did the logistical stuff. That was our deal, and for a long while . . . it seemed to work out very well between Spoiled and I.

“But I loved her. I truly loved her. After all, she wasn't just the woman in my life and a symbol of status accordingly, but she was the mother of my only child, one of the greatest gifts I ever inherited on this earth. You can't imagine how grateful I was to her for that.

“But recently I learned that she also spent most of her time abusing my greatest treasure. The treachery I feel for that cuts so deep. It's quite ironic that the very reason I fell in love with her is also the reason I fell out of love with her.

“In fact, Diamond,” he waits until he has her attention, then he says, “you need to know that, in light of the situation I've learned about and how she treated you, I have filed for a divorce from her.”

Diamond gives a blank stare. The room hangs silent for quite a while, broken first by me.

“How's she taking it?” I ask Filthy curiously.

“With a disgusting amount of aloofness,” Filthy answers, “although that might be just a social mask. I've known her well enough to know she can be quite good at hiding her true feelings, but what she hides might be far less than I originally thought. I don't know how such a frozen heart can beat inside her chest enough to keep her alive.

“She seems to just shrug this off but, in a way, she's looking forward to this because, according to our marriage contract, she'll assume half of my assets upon our divorce. Maybe even more than half, if she has her way.”

“You should fight it!” our mother encourages him in anger. “She doesn't deserve anything from you after what she's done to Diamond! I'm pretty sure the jury would agree with you.”

“I . . . I could, but honestly, I don't care as much as I used to,” Filthy says in an empty and defeated way. “All of this fortune is simply a reminder of what I gave up to attain it. I'm willing to give her anything she wants just to get rid of her except for one thing. If Spoiled Rich tries to sue for custody of Diamond Tiara, then that is the one thing I'll fight like hell to prevent.”

I almost ask him if that is exactly what Spoiled intends to do, but my mother beats me to it.

“Is that something Spoiled intends?” our mother asks quickly with sharp worry.

He seems to age in depression as he shakes his head.

“No. Fortunately and unfortunately, she's all too willing to give up custody over Diamond.

“On the one hand, I am relieved that I don't have to fight her over this point.

“On the other hand, I am disgusted and appalled how easily she's giving up what I consider to be this world's greatest treasure. She's throwing away Diamond as if she's nothing more than a worthless hunk of coal. It's hard to describe how much I hate her for observing this. Our minds might think kind of similar, but our hearts seem to be direct opposites on this point.”

I notice a brief wince of pain on Diamond Tiara's face, but she quickly tries to squash it down.

Glancing at Mom, I notice her regarding Diamond with a look of sympathy and pain. Seeing that touches my heart despite where my mother's affections are directed.

“Well, it's good to hear that at least she's not going to be trouble for us when it comes to Diamond,” our mother says in consolation as she looks back at Filthy. “That's the most important thing here. Diamond is the one I care about the most in this situation.”

“I know,” Filthy acknowledges gratefully. “Which is why I think you'd make an excellent surrogate mother for Diamond. I'd even be willing to pay you.”

“Pay me?” our mother winces in disgust. “No! If anything, I'd pay you for the privilege of allowing me to take care of your daughter. I love her, Sir, and I'll do anything I can to protect and provide for her in every possible way I can.”

“She is not kidding,” I concur.

I notice Diamond's chin wrinkle with emotion. Perhaps it is a bit of pain, but mostly it's out of happiness this time.

I think her father notices that, too.

“Before we finalize any decision,” Filthy interjects with a raised hand, “there is one thing I want to know.” The hand he raises then points at Diamond beside her. “Diamond, my treasure, what exactly do you want for your future? Do you wish to come live with me, stay with Miss Sparkle, or somehow both of us?”

“Are you seriously asking me?” Diamond asked with surprise towards her father.

“I warned you that this might happen someday,” I remind Diamond just to taunt her.

“Yes, of course you did,” Diamond sneers with a brief glance to me. “You're very smart, so you can predict almost anything.”

Almost is right.

I inwardly lament how that pattern is getting more and more broken lately.

“Yes, of course I'm asking you,” Filthy confirms. He even seems offended and hurt at his daughter's surprise over that. “You'll be turning eighteen in a few months anyway, so you might as well get used to making decisions for yourself.”

“My birth mother never said that to me!” Diamond informs her father firmly.

For a moment, intense rage seems to seek deep into Filthy's eyes and facial expression, but he forces himself calm a moment later as he regards his daughter again.

“What she said to you no longer matters,” Filthy replies firmly to his daughter. “She might not have cared about your independence, but I do, and I'm your father! It's my right and my job to care about your feelings and your future. I'm not asking you but rather telling you that your wants and desires in this issue matter because I will make sure that, no matter what you say, it will affect the final outcome.

“I owe you that much, my precious little girl, so please tell us all what you want.”

The room grows silent as everyone waits for Diamond's reply.

For her part, she seems to seriously be thinking over all of her options. She especially glances several times at our mother. Our mother, in return, regards Diamond very openly and eagerly. Our mother's love and concern is so very apparent. One could feel it across the room.

Diamond's eyes water a bit as she smiles happily at our mother for that, and finally she says, “I so wish that you had been my true mother all along. As it stands, I don't want things to change between us unless we have an opportunity to get closer.

“I've never known, until I came to live in this house, what feeling wealthy is like. All the money and stuff in the world cannot replace the love from a truly caring woman. You nurture my mind, body, and soul to levels I had never dreamed of before. I didn't even know how to imagine such a scenario as this because it's so utterly foreign to my previous life experience.

“If things were up to me, I'd want you to become my true mother . . . for real.”

Diamond regards me.

“Besides, if I lived here, I'd get another very pleasant bonus.

“During a time when I felt like a lifeless and broken doll, Cozy Glow reached a hand down to me and not only picked me up from out of the gutters, but raised me up high! She has inspired me, empowered me, and made me feel whole again. I don't just regard her as a friend, I easily see her as a beloved sister.

“I used to hate you, Cozy Glow!” Diamond went on.

Back at you, BITCH!

“I hated you because I was jealous of you.”

Again, ditto.

Though I have to admit, I don't feel as jealous of you lately now that I more fully understand the price of the power you used to have.

“You used to be another source of my woes and a reminder of how worthless I was until I realized how much you cared for me and also taught me that, in many ways, for every quality that I used to be jealous about you, I could instead become that which I envied.

“You taught me that I am beautiful, and smart, and charismatic, and worthy of loving friends and family. You taught me that I don't need to fight so hard to win the approval of those who truly care for me for who I am! You taught me that it's not just okay to be myself, but also wonderful!

“I want you to know that you, Cozy Glow, and all of my new friends are the reason I am alive today. Not just alive, but I thrive! I am now as grateful to be alive as I used to dread it.”

Real tears rise to my eyes. All of my anger and bitterness towards Diamond is still there, but it's mixed with so much more emotion now, not all of it negative.

In fact, I'd even go as far as to say that most of my emotions towards Diamond are now positive, and that makes me feel like a monumental failure.

Because I grew to care for my greatest enemy, I am now disgusted and revile myself.

Thanks a lot, Diamond Tiara! Yet another casualty of war lies at your feet.

“As for you, Father,” Diamond looks back at him, “my feelings to you are largely neutral, but leaning on anger and disappointment. You helped to give birth to me but . . . beyond that . . . I don't know what else to feel towards you.

“When I look at you now, I remember the bitterness and disappointment of my early childhood as I wished for years that you were there. In my darkest hours when I felt weak and vulnerable, you weren't there to protect me.”

Those words stabbed into Filthy Rich's heart. Although his face was still directed at Diamond, he closes his eyes and wrinkles his face in pure pain. It's far too intense for him to try to conceal it anymore.

“But I am stronger now, Father, so I don't need you to protect me anymore,” Diamond goes on.

Since Filthy is in too much pain to speak, he merely nods in understanding.

But he pops his eyes open, stunned, when he feels her reach her hand out to embrace his.

“Instead of that,” Diamond resumes after a rather lengthy and highly emotional pause, “I want you in my life.”

Filthy regards her in stunned surprise, but it quickly shifts to tearful hope.

“I may not need you to protect me anymore, but I could use you to improve my mood when I am well,” Diamond explains. “From now on, if you want me to love you and forgive you, then simply be there in my life. Give me a reason and excuse to look forward to seeing you every day. I want you to encourage me to say to myself, 'I'm looking forward to what this day will bring me because my dad wants to be there for me and help me to be happier.' If you can do that, then your mere presence alone is enough.

“I don't want money.

“I don't want fame.

“I don't want meaningless social tripe anymore.

“What I want . . . is you!

“I want my father. I want you to actually be there for once and truly feel like a part of my life.

“So now I will reflect back the question you just gave me: What do you want to do?”

Filthy Rich needs some time to compose himself enough to speak, and then he does.

“Right now, I'll settle for a hug,” he requests.

Surprisingly, Diamond hesitates as she seems to think it over, then she says after a shrug, “Well, since you're finally making an attempt to reach out to me, I'll toss you this bone.

“Here.”

Diamond Tiara crawls into her father's arms in order to give him a warm and tender hug, which he gladly returns.

Hearing my mother sniffle draws my attention to her. I see her wipe happy tears from her eyes as she beholds this loving scene.

That's so like her. Scenes of love and friendship always seemed to have a profound effect upon her for as long as I have known her. Even fictional characters tend to drive her to tears.

“Thank you, my treasure,” Filthy Rich says with a shaky voice. “I promise you, I'll do everything I can from now on to be a source of your happiness rather than an empty source of bitterness.”

“Telling me that is a great start, Father,” Diamond replies. She sounds much more composed, but her emotions affect her vocal cords a bit. “As long as you keep on polishing me, I'll be the brightest, shiniest, and most sparkly Diamond in the world!”

Next Chapter: Chapter Thirty Nine: The Final Blunder Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 36 Minutes