Sometime later, everyone goes home.
Elsa wanted to stay the night, but she’s spent a lot of time with me lately and I can tell Aiden isn’t amused, so I sent her home, saying I need time with Kir.
And I do.
We talk for what seems like hours and he tells me all about the new letters he received and that he might consider replying to one of them.
My baby brother will grow to become a heartbreaker.
He falls asleep as soon as I lie beside him, after making me promise him I’ll never leave him for long again.
I make that promise, and unlike the other time, I have a strong belief that I’ll keep it.
After I tuck him in and kiss his cheeks and forehead, I untangle his small arm from around my waist and leave his room.
As if on autopilot, I find myself down the stairs and standing in front of the huge window that overlooks the Knights’ mansion.
Cole was right, it’s an impulsion and can’t be stopped.
My fingers trail to my scar, feeling over the bandage. Why do I feel like ripped tendons aren’t as bad as the pain creeping under my skin?
It’s slow and almost invisible, but it’ll surely break my heart.
I’m holding my breath for the moment, hoping against hope it won’t ruin me again once and for all.
“Here you are, Angel.”
I smile at Dad as he passes me a mug of Lady Grey tea, then takes a sip of his, its bergamot scent filling the air in no time. Dad is a sucker for tea, British through and through.
For a minute, we just stand there sipping our tea and watching the house opposite us.
“Xander said something that night, didn’t he?” Dad asks.
I pause mid-sip, gulping the liquid as if it’s poison. “How do you know?”
“You were showing signs of improvement before he came in. Besides, you haven’t stopped watching his house since we got here.”
I glance at Dad, unable to understand how he knows so much about me, even though he’s not my real dad.
No – he’s not my biological dad.
Calvin Reed is my real father and the only father I’ll ever have.
That’s why I don’t want to hurt him by revealing Jeanine’s affair, or worse, disclosing I’m not his biological daughter. He’s probably keeping up with my mess because he’s my father. Once he figures out he’s not and we share no familial ties, he’ll throw me away.
My chest squeezes at the thought and I take a large gulp of the tea in a helpless try to hide it.
I’d rather suffer in silence than lose my dad.
“You’re hiding again, Angel. Didn’t we agree you’d tell me everything?”
I keep my mouth on the cup, not wanting to meet his eyes. I’m hiding so I don’t lose you.
Lewis is okay, I guess, but he’s not my dad. He’s not the one who has been taking care of me since I was a baby.
I’m not his Angel.
“Hold on.” He pauses, watching me intently. “Did Xander mention any familial ties by any chance?”
I cough on the tea, some droplets splattering on my hands. Dad pats my back, telling me to take it easy.
“How…” I breathe, then clear my throat. “How do you know?”
“I always have.” His brow furrows. “I’m only surprised Xander does. Did he say how or when he figured it out?”
There’s no way I can keep it inside anymore. I tell him everything about that incident seven years ago and what Xander overheard from Mum and Lewis’s conversation.
“Why did she do that, Dad?” My voice is brittle. “Why did she do that to you and me? How can she make Xan my brother? I don’t want him to be my brother. Please tell me he somehow heard it wrong.”
“Unfortunately, it’s all true.” Dad leads me to the sofa and takes the cup from my hand to place it on the table. “You are indeed Lewis’s biological daughter.”
The tears I’ve been holding in since the hospital flow down my cheeks and my chin and soak the hem of my T-shirt.
“Don’t cry, Angel. It breaks my heart when you do.” He plucks tissues and wipes under my eyes.
“How can you care for me this much when you know I’m not your daughter?”
“The moment I saw your beautiful eyes, I decided you were my daughter. I didn’t care what the world says. DNA doesn’t make a family, Angel. Jeanine is a prime example of that.”
It takes everything in me not to throw myself at him in a hug and ruin his cardigan sweater. “You’re the only dad for me, too.”
He clears his throat. “Lewis isn’t bad either.”
“How can you defend him? Mum had an affair with him.”
“Jeanine lied to him, giving proof that Samantha and I had an affair first.”
My lips part. “S-Samantha Knight?”
He nods. “We had a fling before our marriages, but that’s all it was, a fling. It ended before our respective marriages and each of us went on different roads. We became neighbours, but Samantha and I remained platonic. Jeanine made Lewis believe it was a long affair and demanded revenge. They had their own affair, but it only lasted until she discovered she was pregnant with Lewis’s child. After he found out the facts from me, their affair came to an end.”
I squirm in my seat, but I manage to ask, “So everyone knows I’m Lewis’s biological daughter? Aunt Samantha included?”
“Yes.”
How could she be so kind to me, knowing I’m her husband’s daughter out of an affair?
“Everyone also knows Lewis isn’t Xander’s biological father.”
If my jaw could hit the ground, it would. “T-then who is?”
“I am.” He smiles a little. “He’s the result of that fling with Samantha. Lewis knew about it from the beginning and we made the decision that he and Samantha would raise him as their son. Just like we made the decision that Jeanine and I would raise you as ours.”
My head spins with the amount of information shot in my direction at one go.
Xan is Dad’s son.
I’m Lewis’s daughter.
But we’ve switched fathers. It makes my head hurt.
“Then whose son is Kir?”
He smiles. “Mine and Jeanine’s. There’s nothing in there.”
Oh, okay.
“I know this is too much to take, Angel, and I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but I don’t want you to kill your happiness because of adults’ mistakes.” He pats my hand. “You live in the present, okay?”
I’m an adult, too, and I’ve already made a lot of mistakes.
Most of all, hiding and allowing the fog to swallow me whole.
“So…” I gulp, the question burning at the back of my throat. “So this means Xander isn’t my brother?”
“Not at all.”
I smile as I give Dad the hug I’ve been meaning to. “I love you so much, Dad.”
Xander isn’t my brother.
Not at all.
