CHAPTER 121
ROBERT’S POV
~ “You are,” he insisted sternly. “You lied to Miss Hampton about being our daddy while you’re not…”
“I didn’t lie Liam. That’s the truth. I am your father.” ~
Lila gasped in intense shock with her hands slapping her cheeks. She glanced at Liam who didn’t bother returning the glance. He just stood there unfazed and staring at me with a sardonic expression as though he’d been expecting me to drop that biggest lie in the universe.
My chauffeur whispered to me that we were being loud and that might distract and draw the attention of the students and teachers learning in the nearby classrooms. I didn’t really like we were doing this in the middle of the hallway. I wished there was someplace else we could go.
But I had no power to take them away now, especially during school hours. Plus, their teacher, Mrs. Hampton will be back at any moment to take them back to their classroom. I want to spend more time with them. I needed more time to explain this to them because, from the look on their faces, it was obvious they didn’t believe me.
“You’re lying,” Liam snorted cynically, crossing his arms against his chest.
I let out a deep sigh, rubbing my nose bridge, knowing this would be much harder than I thought.
“I’m not lying, Liam,” I said. “You’ve got to believe me. I know this seems like a lot for you two to take in right now. And you have every reason to be angry with me for missing out on all those years of your life. But I’m sorry. I truly am even though that’s not enough to fix everything. I can assure you of one thing. I have come to stay. I’m never leaving you guys alone again and I’ll do anything to make up for those years I was absent from your lives.”
Lila’s hands fell from her cheeks. She exhaled deeply and a corner of her lips twisted as if she understood my feelings, even if it was just a little. She reminded me so much of the old Lily-soft-hearted, caring, and easy to love. I wished I could bring that Lily back. Something told me it wouldn’t be long before Lila saw me for who I truly was-a repentant father desperate to make amends. But I wasn’t so sure I could say the same for Liam. I just needed to hold on and keep trying.
Leaning in, she whispered something into Liam’s ear. Liam looked away with a cold frown as if he wasn’t in support of whatever she told him.
“If you claim to be our daddy then prove it,” Lila said as if to challenge me.
My mind raced with the thought of what to do. I looked back at my chauffeur who shrugged his shoulders, showing he had no clue. I hadn’t thought about a moment where they’d ask a question like this.
From the looks of it, it was clear Lily didn’t tell them a single thing about me. Which meant they knew absolutely nothing about their birth father. Lily wanted to keep me a secret from them for as long as she could. As much as I wanted to blame her because I thought she was going too far, I couldn’t. Everything happening now is all my fault, so I had to accept the harsh reality.
What do I do now? How do I prove to them I’m their father and I want them to love me and see me as one?
Like a flash, I remembered I still had a small photo of my younger self in my suit pocket. I usually carried it wherever I went and often stared at it when I was alone to reminisce on the good old days.
Taking it out of my suit pocket, I approached them cautiously because I didn’t want to startle them any more than they were already and showed it to them.
“Here. This was a picture of me when I graduated from middle school. My father made us take photos in literally every moment of our lives. As you can see here, I look so much like Liam,” a wistful smile curved my lips as I explained while staring at them.
I thought that would be enough to convince them. If not fully then at least a little. But the expression on their faces wasn’t the one I expected.
“This doesn’t prove anything,” Lila was unconvinced, and so was Liam. She shook her head, making my heart crack in my chest. “People like Uncle Noah look just like Liam, and they’re not in any way related to him. A photo isn’t enough, Mr. Man. You’ll need more than that to convince us you’re our father.”
I stared at them, and couldn’t help feeling helpless and shocked at what she just said. How can she say my own son looked like that fool? Just how in the world would that be possible? I never had the time to look at him properly and assess his features, not that I even cared. But I’m a hundred per cent sure my son looks nothing like him.
Lila saying this made me realize just how close Noah was with my wife and kids and I wasn’t in any way comfortable with it. It hinted at danger. I could lose my family to that man if I didn’t take drastic measures to get them back and prevent it from happening.
I stood properly and sighed in defeat, my facial expression sour like I had taken vinegar. I wanted to ask them what else I could do to prove myself to them because I was running out of options when Liam spoke.
“Mummy said our father is away on a secret military mission on Planet Mars, saving lives and fighting bad guys. Because of how dangerous and urgent the mission is, she said they didn’t allow them to use phones and apparently, the internet doesn’t work there. I had a feeling she was lying but she explained everything well it was hard not to believe her. She never said anything about it again and always avoided our questions whenever we asked her about it. If you’re our daddy like you claim you are then you should have at least visited us in your military uniform and not dressed like you’re running for US president,” Liam said, twisting his lips wryly.
My chauffeur slashed out a breath in amusement from behind me, briefly drawing our attention.
So Lily did say something after all. The perfect and clever lie to cover up and explain my absence in their lives. I thought of playing along because the perfect explanation just came to mind. But now, standing in front of my children, I realized I didn’t want to keep lying. Not to them. Not to anyone.
Kids were naturally curious. If I lied now, they’d eventually find out the truth, and when they did especially from somewhere else, it would only backfire on me. They’ll hate me and not want anything to do with me forever.
Taking a deep breath, I lowered myself to their level, meeting their eyes with honesty.
Overcoming a lump forming in my throat, I said, “I’m sorry but your mummy… lied.”