Dave
After she left, I sat down on the edge of the bed keeping my head low while I closed my eyes recalling her words.
She said she wanted to sleep in my room. But, how can I allow that to happen? If we by any chance get discovered by Emilia, I don’t know how to explain myself to her.
No matter what, I’m sleeping with my stepdaughter while living under the same roof as my wife.
I may have married Emilia for the sake of supporting her and Aileen, but the marriage is still intact.
Then, isn’t it cheating? I’m cheating on her without any remorse. Aren’t I the horrible husband ever?
The next morning, Emilia came back home and went to sleep straight away. While she was asleep Aileen and I were having breakfast together cause we had to leave.
During breakfast, I noticed that Aileen looked a bit down, and quite absent-minded as well.
Is it because I didn’t allow her to sleep with me? Was I quite harsh with her yesterday?
I should ask her about it.
“Uh, Aileen,” I called, clearing my throat.
But she wasn’t listening, stirring her spoon in the scrambled eggs while thinking about something.
“Aileen?” I called again. But no response came.
“Are you listening?” I tapped on her shoulder to make her notice me.
She was a bit surprised, looking in my direction.
“What?”
“Are you alright? You aren’t eating at all. What’s going on in your head?”
She glanced down at her plate and had no words to defend herself.
“Uh…. I’m eating, don’t worry.” She hurriedly gobbled down her food in front of me.
“It’s okay, take your time. We’ll leave in 20 minutes,” I replied. She’s definitely thinking about something.
I need to make her talk about it when we are outside.
After breakfast, we got up to leave.
She looked back behind the stairs, thinking about something.
“Do you want to see your mom before leaving perhaps?” I asked.
She turned to look at me, shaking her head in disapproval. “No, it’s okay. She must be tired. Let her sleep. I’ll see her in the afternoon. Let’s go.”
“Uh…okay then.”
Wewe were out of the house together in my c for a few minutesar. She still looked absent-minded so I decided to turn on the music to change her mood.
“Which song do you like to listen to?” I asked, changing different genres of music to find her preferred music.
“Songs? I don’t know,” she answered hesitantly. “Jack gave me some of his favorite albums to listen to. But, I never liked them that much after one try so they were sitting on my cupboard eating dust.”
Poor Jack. He tried so much to impress her but failed.
“So, what do you like to do in your free time? Do you still like to draw like you used to do before?” I asked, keeping my hands on the driving wheel while staring at her in the mirror.
“Drawing was long ago. I don’t like to do it anymore,” she grunted, staring down at her hands. “I’m more focused on my studies now. Cause I want to graduate college to start working and build a career for myself. I don’t want to burden you two for money anymore.”
I stepped on the break the very minute hearing her statement without thinking.
“What did you say?” I retorted, turning to her.
“Why did you stop the car in the middle of the road? At least park it at a side if you need to!” she yelled, looking around.
“What? Uh…. sure. But, what did you mean by you are burdening us with money? Who told you that you are a burden to us?”
She looked away. “You don’t need to spell it out for me to understand,” she mumbled low. “I’m 18 years old, an adult. I want to learn how to take care of myself financially and independently. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“Well, yeah there’s nothing wrong with it. But, you should start working to have experience. Not because you need money. I’m going to support you. You don’t need to worry about money at all.”
She paused for a second before looking at me with her narrowed eyes.
“You are going to support me because you are my dad and you have to do that?”
“That’s…. yeah. But, I would”
“Aren’t you the best dad ever? I’m the luckiest girl on earth,” she interrupted with a forced smile.
I heaved a sigh and parked the car at a side taking off my seatbelts to face her properly.
“Why did you park suddenly? Aren’t we late for college?” she asked, seeming a bit confused.
“Aileen, look at me,” I asked sternly.
Her eyes widened, and she adverted her gaze immediately. “Why? What do you have to say to me? Let’s get to college already.”
“Do as I say!” I stated, “I won’t repeat it again.”
She pressed her lips together and turned to face me, looking into my eyes showing visible signs of rebellion.
“What? Are you going to lecture me or something? Finally acting like my dad, aren’t you?”
“Lecture you? Do I really need to do that? Aren’t you already smart enough to tell right from wrong? Why would I need to lecture you about anything?”
She fisted her hands in response, narrowing her eyes.
I reached out my hands and placed them on her shoulders.
“Aileen, I’m going to support you not because I have any duty towards you neither because I’m your dad. It’s because I care about your well-being. I don’t want to see you suffer, no one wants their loved ones to suffer. So, don’t think I’m obliged for anything, it’s your imagination.”
She raised her eyes to look at me surprised.
“Emilia and you, are my precious family, my responsibility. Don’t just call it off as my duty to look after you. It’s as if I’m forced to do it unwillingly, which is clearly not true. I never thought of you as a burden. Why would you assume that?” I retorted.
She was about to speak up but didn’t know what to say.
I retreated my hands, looking at the steering wheel.
“As a family, we are supposed to look out for each other and support each other in any situation. And I was doing just that. But, you called it my duty because I’m your father. If you want it that way, it’s fine. I don’t mind fulfilling duties as your dad. I’m more than happy to do that”
Out of nowhere, she hugged me pressing her head against my chest. I was confused but patted her back in response.
“What now? What are you trying to pull here?” I asked.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“Huh? Sorry for what?”
She raised her face to look at me with a sad expression. “I’m sorry for hurting you without realizing it. Even though, I know better than anyone that you are more than just a father figure to me. I still acted selfishly and managed to hurt you. Forgive me. I won’t do that again.”
Well, at least she realized her mistake fast. It’s not like I’m angry about it anyway.
But, I’m not forgiving her easily.
I removed her hands from my body, pushing her away. She looked at me confused.
“I’m sorry but, I can’t forgive you. You managed to hurt me quite deeply. It’s going to take time for me to recover from it.” I replied in a monotone voice.
She looked at me with a surprised face. “What?”