***Flashback continues.
“Who is the lovely little girl?” Mrs Antonio asked her husband. They were currently seated round the dining table, enjoying their dinner. Mr Antonio had taken Alexa to join the rest of the family on the dining table where she was currently munching on a cookie.
“She is part of the family.” he replied simply, going for a glass of water. She stared at her husband in surprise. What did he mean by she’s part of the family? She eyed him, her eyes begging for more explanation but he only nodded his head. He was going to explain to her later. They continued their dinner in awkward silence and she cleared the dining after they were done.
Jack and Alexa returned back to the sitting room after the dinner while their parents went up to the room.
“Something doesn’t feel right, Mike” She started, immediately they both stepped into the room. She sat on the bed with many thoughts running through her mind. Her husband stood by the door, watching her with eyes that showed that he was sorry.
“Actually, I have something important I need to discuss with you.” he muttered slowly and she raised her head to look at him. She could see the sea of worries in his eyes, and how nervous he was, staring at her.
“What is it?” At that moment, she feared for the worst. A thought had come to her mind, that maybe, the little girl downstairs was his child. They had the same eye color and a little facial resemblance that was a little too obvious to ignore.
“It’s about Alexa.” he started and her heart missed a beat. From the look on his face, she knew her thoughts were actually true. She was her child. He had cheated on her during their marriage.
“She’s your daughter, right?” she asked with a breaking voice and he stared at her in surprise. How did she know that?
“How did you know that?” he couldn’t help, but ask in utter surprise.
“It’s quite easy to know when you bring home a little girl that looks like you.”
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence after her statement. Her face bore hurt and pains as she stared at her husband for an explanation.
“Why-why did you do this?” she asked, breaking into tears. She was clearly hurt by his actions.
“I’m sorry, my love. I was drunk” he pleaded, now standing beside her by the bedside.
He pleaded with her while she continued sobbing. His actions had pierced her deep in the heart, she found it difficult to forgive.
“I was drunk that night at the bar. My friends made me drink and I dunno, I woke up the next morning with a strange woman beside me.” he explained, sitting dejectedly on one side of the bed.
“And you hid this away from me”
“I didn’t know how to face you. I knew I had failed you and our marriage. I knew if you found out, you’d get heartbroken and I was afraid for our marriage. I was afraid you were going to walk away from the marriage.” he explained, almost breaking down in tears.
“And you think that this is going to make me feel better?” she questioned bitterly after some minutes of silence had passed between the both of them. “I trusted you. I never thought you would ever do this, but you did it. You fucking did it.” she yelled bitterly at his face and he gulped, staring at his wife who was now staring at him viciously. It took a lot of time and plea to get her to finally calm down
“You kept it away from me for four years. Four whole years since it happened. You never thought I was qualified to know.” she burst into a fresh set of tears. He felt very bad within himself. He didn’t plan for this.
She spent the night in the room crying into the pillow while he slept in the guest room, unable to sleep throughout the six hours of the night. Very early the next morning, he rushed to his room, and from the door, he could hear his voice whimpering softly. His heart broke into a million pieces as he stood by the door, transfixed to the spot. After standing by the door for over ten minutes, he pushed the door open softly and stepped in. His wife was curled at one corner in the room, still clothed in the dress she wore the previous day as she soaked the pillow with tears. He walked softly to her and placed his hand on her shoulders, squeezing it gently. She raised her head to stare at him with swelled up eyes, tears dripping down her cheeks.
He bent down to her level and pulled her into his arms in a tight hug, and for the first time since he broke the news to her, she let him hold her. He stroked her hair gently and she calmed down.
“Everything is going to be okay. I promise.” he cooed, holding her in his arms.
~•~
It took his wife some weeks to warm up to reality and after some months, she finally opened up to Alexa. She treated her like her child. She was enrolled in one of the best elementary schools in the city while Jack just started junior high. She was one of the most intelligent students in her class and grew up to be a beautiful and intelligent student. She graduated from highschool with distinctions and was currently studying law at Texas. She had refused studying in California, saying she needed to get exposure in other parts of the country. Truth was, she wanted to be away from the Antonio’s, especially Jack’s mom, who she felt hadn’t warmed up to her completely.
“You will need to call and inform her. I would love to see her before my death.” Jack’s father informed him and he nodded.
“I’ll do that when I leave.”
He hung around for a few more minutes before informing his father of his departure. After bidding goodbye to the ailing man, he took his things and walked out, closing the door gently as he stepped into the lobby.
A car horn sounded outside of Ciara’s house and she stood up from the chair, peeping through the window. A smile graced her face when she recognized Harry’s car parked in the driveway. She immediately picked up her bag, smoothened her hair with her hand once more before straightening her gown.
A knock sounded on the door and her face lit in smiles. It was time to enjoy the night!