273

273
Alaric’s POV
Francesca giggled as she sat on my lap, swinging her little legs back and forth. She had insisted on playing with my watch, her tiny fingers fumbling with the strap. I let her. Anything to see her smile.
“Daddy, look!” she said excitedly, holding up my watch like it was the greatest treasure in the world. “It’s too big for me.”
I chuckled, adjusting the strap so it wouldn’t slide off her wrist. “That’s because you’re too small, princess.”
She pouted. “I’m not small. I’m big.”
“Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow. “How big?”
Francesca stretched her arms as wide as she could, her eyes sparkling with determination. “This big!”
I smirked, tapping her nose lightly. “Still too small to wear my watch.”
She huffed but quickly got distracted, playing with the buttons on my sleeve. I watched her, my chest tightening.
She had no idea.
No idea that I wasn’t really her father.
No idea that the man she called ‘Daddy’ wasn’t the one who had given her life. And she never would have known if not for that damn accident.
The memory hit me like a punch to the gut.
-Flashback-
I stood in the hospital hallway, my hands clenched into fists. The doctor had just walked away, leaving me with nothing but silence and the words I refused to accept.
Dominic was dead.
The words echoed in my head, over and over again, but they didn’t make sense.
Dominic couldn’t be dead.
He was supposed to be invincible.
Unstoppable.
But he wasn’t.
I didn’t even realize the nurse had been speaking until she gently tapped my arm.
“Mr. Castillo?”
I turned my head slowly, barely able to focus.
She was holding a baby in her arms. Small. Wrapped in a pink blanket.
“She survived,” the nurse said softly. “She shouldn’t have, but she did.”
My throat felt like sandpaper.
“Survived what?” I asked, my voice rough.
“The crash,” the nurse explained. “If that woman hadn’t pulled her out of the car before the fire…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “She’s a miracle.”
I stared at the baby, my mind struggling to process what I was hearing.
A woman?
Someone had saved her?
I swallowed hard. “Who?”
The nurse hesitated. “We don’t know. She left before anyone could get her name. But she saved this little girl’s life.”
I looked back down at the baby.
At Dominic’s daughter.
His flesh and blood.
I should have felt relief that she had survived, but all I felt was the heart crushing loss.
I had lost my brother. And in return, I had gained his child.
-End of Flashback-
“Daddy?”
Francesca’s small voice snapped me out of it.
I blinked down at her, realizing she had stopped playing with my watch and was now staring up at me with wide, curious eyes.
“You’re sad,” she observed. “Did I do something bad?”
Guilt slammed into my chest.
I forced a smile, shaking my head. “No, princess. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She frowned, clearly not convinced. “Then why are you sad?”
I hesitated. “Just thinking, that’s all.”
Francesca tilted her head. “About what?”
I swallowed hard, brushing a stray curl from her face. “About someone I miss.”
“Who?” she asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.
I hesitated for too long.
“Was it my real daddy?” she asked suddenly.
I froze.
My pulse pounded in my ears.
“What?” I managed, my voice barely above a whisper.
Francesca shrugged, not realizing the bomb she had just dropped on me. “Sometimes I hear people talk. They say you’re not my real daddy.”
I felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.
She had heard.
I had worked so hard to keep the truth from her, but she had still heard whispers.
I kept my voice steady. “What else did they say?”
She scrunched up her nose in thought. “That my real daddy is gone.” She looked up at me again, her big innocent eyes searching mine. “But I don’t care. You’re my daddy.”
My throat tightened.
I wanted to tell her the truth. To explain everything.
But how do you tell a three-year-old that her father died before she ever got the chance to know him?
That she only survived because of a stranger?
That I had spent years lying to her?
I couldn’t.
So I did the only thing I could.
I pulled her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m your daddy, and I’ll always be your daddy, princess.”
She smiled against my chest, satisfied with my answer. “Good. ‘Cause I don’t want another one.”
I exhaled, holding her tighter.
Neither did I.
Francesca yawned against my chest, her tiny arms wrapping around my neck as she nestled closer. I ran my hand down her back in slow, comforting strokes, trying to steady my racing thoughts.
She had no idea how much her words had shaken me.
She didn’t care who her real father was.
To her, I was her daddy.
But for how long?
Would she still look at me the same way if she ever found out everything?
Would she still run into my arms and call me Daddy?
I squeezed my eyes shut, pushing away the fear clawing at my chest. I had protected her from the truth for this long. I would keep doing it for as long as I could.
“Daddy?” Her sleepy voice broke through the silence.
“Yeah, princess?”
“Can we have pancakes tomorrow?”
I chuckled softly. “Pancakes, huh? What happened to eggs and toast?”
She pulled back just enough to look at me, her lips forming a pout. “Pancakes are better. They’re fluffy.”
I smirked. “Fine. Pancakes it is.”
Her grin was triumphant. “With chocolate chips?”
I shook my head with a mock sigh. “You’re getting spoiled.”
She giggled. “That’s ’cause you love me.”
I held her close again, pressing another kiss to her forehead. “Yeah, princess. I love you more than anything.”
Her arms tightened around me, and within minutes, her breathing evened out as she drifted off to sleep.
I stayed there, holding her, staring into the dimly lit room.
My mind drifted back to Emilia.
She deserved to know.
I had kept this from her for so long, and the longer I waited, the worse it would get.
But how the hell was I supposed to tell her?
“Hey, by the way, Francesca isn’t actually my daughter. She’s Dominic’s. And she only survived the accident because a stranger pulled her out before the car went up in flames.”
That would go over well.
I sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over my face.
I was a coward.
I had plenty of chances to tell Emilia the truth, but every time I saw her with Francesca-saw the way she looked at her like she was the most precious thing in the world-I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
She loved Francesca like she was her own.
And if I told her the truth now?
She might never look at me the same way again.
I heard a soft knock at the door.
Emilia.
I knew it was her before she even stepped inside.
“Hey,” she whispered, poking her head in. Her gaze softened when she saw Francesca curled up against me. “She fell asleep?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, shifting slightly so I could stand up with Francesca still in my arms.
Emilia stepped forward, carefully pulling the blanket back as I laid Francesca in her bed. She tucked her in, smoothing a hand over her hair before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
I watched her, my chest tightening all over again.
She had no idea how much she had changed my life.
How much I needed her.
Emilia turned back to me, giving me that warm, knowing look she always did when she sensed something was off.
“You okay?” she asked softly.
I forced a small smirk. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She gave me a look. “Alaric.”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I’m fine.”
She didn’t buy it.
She never did.
“Is it Allesio?” she asked, crossing her arms. “You’ve been weird ever since you stopped talking to him.”
I clenched my jaw.
I didn’t want to talk about Allesio.
I didn’t want to talk about the betrayal burning in my chest every time I thought about what he had kept from me.
What he had stolen from me.
But Emilia wasn’t going to let it go.
She never did.
“Alaric, come on,” she pressed. “You guys were close. Whatever happened, you can fix it.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “You think so?”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “Because you’re not the type to hold grudges for no reason.”
I exhaled sharply, glancing toward Francesca’s sleeping form. “Not now, Emilia.”
Her eyes softened, but she didn’t push.
Instead, she stepped closer, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head against my chest.
I exhaled, my arms instinctively coming around her.
This was why I loved her.
She didn’t need me to explain. She didn’t need to force an answer out of me. She just stayed. And that was enough.