+25 Bonus
90
LYRIC
69
Okay…why was he sweet with the kids and not with me?
Adjusting the strep of my bag over my shoulder, I went after him.
The inside was more beautiful than I imagined with a black theme.
I didn’t want to imagine the amount of money that must have been put into this place.
I continued walking behind Jace until we reached an office. Oh. So, he had a home office here
as well.
“What’re you doing here?” His voice was icy.
I couldn’t hold his stare and was forced to lower mine to the floor. He didn’t look like the man that had been happy to see his kids a while ago.
“I asked a question,” he clipped.
Fuck this, Lyric. Stop showing him your weakness.
“The kids wanted to see you.” My voice came out stronger, my eyes snapping to meet his.
“I came here for a purpose. To be alone.”
“W–Well, I’m sorry, but you heard them. They were worried about you.”
“And you think it is in your right to be the one to bring them to me?”
His words touched a nerve. “Marta wasn’t home. And maybe if you were taking their calls, this wouldn’t have happened. I understand that you’re angry and all, but you shouldn’t take it out on the kids. They don’t deserve this.”
“Stop trying to lecture me. You know nothing!” He yelled at me, making me yelp.
Fear and hurt ran through me. I was only trying to help. What exactly was my offense!?
“I’m sorry,” I gritted. “It was a mistake coming here. I’ll just take them and leave.”
I started for the door.
“Damn it. Stop right there!” He sounded less angry.
I forced myself to stop moving.
My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag. I didn’t turn around to face him.
1/3
90
99
+25 Bonus
“You know me, Lyric.” He was calmer now but sounded frustrated. “I love them. The last thing I want to do is ignore them.”
I turned to him, and the look in his face made me worried. For the first time, I saw beyond his ruthlessness and grumpiness. No, he didn’t look like any of that right now. Right now, he appeared very sad.
It was a first.
“I have been through a lot of shit, you know? But paternity fraud has never been one of them. And it’s never been something I thought I’d get from Marta.” He brushed his fingers through his hair.
“When the twins came, I felt beyond happy. They’re the most important to me. Getting to learn that they might not actually be mine… I have the right to be fucking upset, Lyric. And I don’t want to be alone because I’m avoiding them. I want to be alone because I don’t even know how to deal with them right now.”
I shrugged. “You handled them pretty well out there.”
“I could barely try,” he scoffed.
He leaned against his table, pinching the bride of his nose.
“I don’t know. I don’t wanna hurt them.”
Wow. Seeing Alpha Jaris like this was actually a rare sight. It was quite sad too.
For a moment, I was speechless. I didn’t want to say anything that’d make things worse.
“T–The kids don’t even need you to do much. They just want to be around you–that’s all.”
He said nothing.
“Please, Alpha. Until the test is done, they’re still your kids at least. Don’t do this to them when they know nothing about it.”
He swept his hand over his face, and he was back–the mean, ruthless Alpha.
He pushed away from the table, walked past me and out of the office.
I released a deep breath before going after him.
Fortunately, Jaris heeded my advise and tried to act naturally around the kids. Mrs. Reyes- who I got to know was the house help and had been the one taking care of the house even when he was away–already made dinner and served the table for all of us.
213
90
+25 Bonus
The kids joked about their birthday choices at the table. Xyla was a talkative and would argue for minutes whenever her brother countered one of her ideas.
My heart warmed at the sight of Jaris laughing a few times when the kids said or did something funny.
I was surprised when Mrs. Reyes came down and said she was leaving. I’d thought she’d be sleeping in or something. Jaris meant it when he said he wanted to be alone.
The kids, however, had a different plan in mind.
“Can we sleep over, daddy?” It was Xylon who asked.
“Yes! Tomorrow’s weekend, daddy. We don’t have no school! We could sleep!” Xyla was
ecstatic.
“I–I love the vacation home.”
I glanced up at Jaris, and at the same time, he was staring at me. The kids looked too happy and hopeful. How would he turn them down like this?
“Of course. This is our home.” His smile did not quite reach his eyes. I had a feeling the statement ‘our home‘ must have gotten to him.
It’d stop being their home when the DNA result comes out in a couple of days and the kids turn out not his. I was so afraid of him hating them.
“Ye!!!” Xyla jumped on her feet. “Thank you, daddy!” She touched my hand on the table. “You should stay, aunty. Stay!”
What?
I withdrew my hand from hers. “N–Not at all, darling. I’ll just leave after this.”
“You can stay if you want.”
I froze. It was Jaris.
Our eyes locked.
“There are a lot of rooms here. If the kids want you around…” He shrugged.
日
Comments
Support
