Chapter 91
A R I A N A
“So you’re our daddy?” she asked him.
I felt a huge lump form in my throat I couldn’t breathe.
Dante looked at Isabella as his lips part slightly then he closed it, he didn’t answer.
He just looked lost.
Isabella was not done she was too smart for her age.
“You said yes to Asher’s question,” she continued. “Does that mean even the part where he asked about you being our daddy… is that also true p>
My heart was pounding in my ears this was happening too fast and I was not ready, before Dante could form a single word I cut in.
My voice was sharp and loud.
“Kids! That’s enough I need you to go to aunt sarah’s apartment right now p>
All three of them looked at me their eyes were widen in confusion.
“But mummy—” Isabella started to argue.
“No buts!” I said, my voice shaking. “I need to speak to Mr. Dante alone and you need to excuse us, now please p>
Isabella sighed a big dramatic sigh and stood up.
Asher slowly got down from his chair and Sophia looked like she was about to cry.
“But he didn’t finish helping me,” she whined pointing at her math paper.
She turned her big sad eyes to Dante. “You won’t go anywhere right? You’ll stay until you’re done helping me p>
Dante looked at her his face was softening as he nodded. “Yes Sophia I will be here p>
That seemed to satisfy her a little, she followed her brother and sister to the door.
I watched them walk down the hall towards Sarah’s apartment.
My whole body was tense.
As soon as I closed the door I turned around the fear and the panic turned into annoyance.
“What are you doing here Dante?” I fired at him. “What is this p>
He stood up from the table the softness was gone from his face he looked angry too.
“What am I doing here?” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “I am looking at my children The children you hid from me p>
“I did not hide them p>
“You did!” he roared stepping closer to me. “You knew! You knew you were pregnant with my child! My children! And you ran away! You never told me! You let me believe you betrayed me with another man! You let me think my son was someone else’s! How could you do that Ariana? How could you keep them from me p>
“I was protecting them!” I shouted back, tears in my eyes.
“From what? From me? Their father p>
“Yes from you! From your world! From the pain! You think I wanted this life for them? You think I wanted to struggle every day? To be alone? To be scared p>
“You should have told me!” His voice was raw with hurt. “You should have come to me, we could have figured it out together p>
“Figured it out?” I laughed, a harsh, broken sound. “How Dante? You thought I was a traitor! A liar! You hated me! My own father threatened to hurt my my child if I didn’t steal from you! Who was I supposed to trust? You who thought our alignment was only based on paper? or him who wanted to use me p>
He flinched like I had hit him. “You could have tried! You could have given me a chance! Instead you made a choice for all of us and that was very selfish of you Ariana, you took away my right to be their father. You took away their right to have a father p>
“I did what I had to do to keep them safe!” I cried. “You have no idea what it was like! You have no idea how scared I was! Every day for past years I have done everything for them! Alone p>
“You didn’t have to be alone!” he yelled his own eyes shining now. “That was your choice! A stupid, proud and selfish choice p>
“Selfish? I have given up everything for my children! Everything p>
“Including me!” he shouted stepping so close I could feel the heat from his body. “You gave me up! You threw us away p>
“There was no ’us’ to throw away Dante! You ended us the moment you believed I could hurt you like that! You never trusted me! Not really! I gave you signs Dante but you never picked them up, you thought I was being distant when we both know it was far from that p>
We were both breathing heavily the air was thick with all the hurtful words we were exchanging.
He stared at me his chest rising and falling the anger seemed to drain out of him replaced by a deep terrible sadness.
“You are right” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I did not trust you…I should have picked out the sign when you were distand, I should have been there for you, and for that I have missed eight years of Asher’s live and four years of the twin’s lives because of it, I missed their first steps, their first words… Hell I missed everything p>
He looked around our small messy apartment at the drawings on the fridge, the toys on the floor.
“And I missed you,” he said, his eyes finding mine again. “Every single day I missed you and I hated myself for it I hated myself for still wanting you thinking you where a backstabber”
His words took all the fight out of me as they got to me.
“It’s too late Dante,” I whispered sinking into a chair. “You can’t just show up now and be their father you can’t just walk into our lives p>
He knelt down in front of my chair and looked up at me.
His face was open full of pain.
“Why not?” he asked, his voice soft. “Tell me why not Ariana. Give me one good reason why I cannot try to be their father now and why I cannot try to be here for you now p>
I looked at him, at the man I had loved so much at the father of my children.
And I had no answer.