Dumping The Ice King His Mini-Tyrant novel Chapter 361

Daph’s voice was pure and innocent, yet the teachers standing behind Harrison looked on with thinly veiled amusement, as if they were watching a juicy scene unfold.

Harrison froze, scrambling for an explanation. His voice was pale and defensive. “I didn’t…”

He glanced at Selene, irritation bubbling up inside him.

“Dad has never slept in the same room with Felicity! That’s never happened!” The way he said it, it was clear he wanted Selene to hear, like he was waiting to see her reaction.

But no matter how Harrison tried to explain, he couldn’t seem to make sense to Daph.

“But, Aunt Felicity is your best friend, and Carrie is Mom’s best friend. Isn’t that the same thing?”

“It’s not the same at all!” Harrison shot back. Daph puffed out her cheeks, her eyes full of stubborn defiance.

She even took it upon herself to lecture him. “Mr. Vaughn, you can’t be soft on yourself but strict with others. That’s totally a double standard!”

Harrison felt his breath catch. Now that the conversation had wandered into the murky territory of adult relationships, he had no idea how to explain things to a five-year-old.

He suddenly turned to Selene. “What exactly did you talk about with Daph that made her see things this way between me and Felicity?”

Selene let out a dismissive snort, making it clear she had no intention of explaining herself—she didn’t even bother to look at him.

“Mr. Vaughn, you’ve got it wrong about my mom.” Daph’s voice was gentle, and Harrison’s heart softened. He lowered his voice and tried to reason with her.

“Maybe I’ve done things that gave you the wrong idea. But let me be clear: Felicity and I are just friends. We’ve never, ever acted like your mother and… well, like them.”

Carmel slid up next to Selene, wrapping her arms around her and resting her head on Selene’s shoulder. She looked over at Harrison with a teasing grin. “Oh? So you’ve never hugged your best friend, then?”

Harrison’s words got stuck in his throat.

Daph jumped in, “But I’ve seen Aunt Felicity hug Mr. Vaughn before!”

The teachers standing nearby looked like they wanted to disappear into the corner and watch the scene unfold from a safe distance.

Carmel’s eyes narrowed in a sly smile. “It’s totally normal for best friends to hug—and for best girlfriends, a little kiss on the cheek is normal, too!” As she spoke, she planted a playful kiss on Selene’s cheek.

In that instant, Harrison felt a rush of heat flood his chest, the taste of blood filling his mouth. His fists clenched so tightly that the veins stood out on the backs of his hands, his knuckles white as bone.

For the first time, he realized—painfully, unmistakably—that he couldn’t bear the thought of another man being close to Selene.

He knew Carmel was provoking him on purpose, trying to get a rise out of him. He told himself not to play into her hands—but his anger was already surging, threatening to drown out his reason.

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