Ariel POV
Three days on
Although it was hard to talk to Mom, but I managed to change her mind about Dad, and I’m glad that they’ve made up now, although my supposed dad is married to another woman and now has children with him, so I doubt they can get back together. I’m not sure Mom will even be happy about it.
I’m supposed to go to his house today to meet his family, but I’m nervous.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Max asks me, but I shake my head, giving her an assuring smile that everything will be fine. He has been acting weird since I told him about my dad, but I don’t seem to wrap my head around why he has been like that.
“Are you ok?” I ask him, and he sighs briefly as he sits on the bed, running his fingers through his hair.
“Babe… I need to tell you something, ok?” He utters as he makes me sit on his lap, even though I weigh really heavy now.
“What is the problem?” I ask him, and he sighs briefly.
“Mr. Daniel… He is Alicia’s dad,” He finishes saying, and I freeze on the spot. For seconds, my brain seems to be shut out of everything, as his words ring in my head, and I just stare into space. Is this some joke or something?
“Alicia? Which one?” I ask, even though I only know of one Alicia.
“She’s just his surrogate daughter, but I think they have a pretty close relationship. None of the kids have any idea that she’s an adopted child… Alicia blackmailed him into believing that she has no family. Actually, she belongs to another family, and I found out lately who her dad is,” He further explains to me, and I feel a bit relieved. It’ll make me feel weird that I have been on bad terms with my sister all this while, it’ll break me to know that I’m with my own sister’s ex-husband. That will be the craziest shit ever.
“When he introduced her to you later as his daughter, you shouldn’t freak out, ok? I will expose her dirty secret soon, and I promise to find a way around it, ok?” He whispers as he tucks the strand of hair on my forehead, behind my ear.
“How much more secret are you keeping from me, Max?” I ask him after a long silence, and he slowly throws his gaze away, which only means that he is really hiding something from me, but what the hell it is that he’s hiding, is what I don’t know of.
“I’m going to tell you everything when the time is right, ok? You don’t have to worry about anything, babe. Everything will be fine, and I’m sure of that, ok?” He assures me, and even if I don’t want to budge, I convince myself to trust him as I’ve always done. Slowly, I nod my head even if my heart and mind don’t agree with the decision.
“Thank you for trusting me, baby,” He whispers as he pulls me close and kisses my forehead.
He finally escort me to the parking lot, where Henry takes me from there, as he drives me to the address the man gave me.
All through the journey there, I couldn’t stop myself from having millions of thoughts going on in my mind. I’m scared of his children not liking me later, I’m scared they will reject me. I have been hated by so many people in my life, so that is not going to be a big deal, but on the contrary, I’m still scared.
“We are here, ma’am,” Henry utters after a long drive, and I realize that we are already parked in front of the big iron gate.
“Go inside,” I instruct him, and he nods his head before he starts the car and drives into the gate that is widely opened.
The beautiful magnificent building welcomes me as I hop out of the car. The house is big and pretty. It has a swimming pool in the compound, a fountain, and the white paint that is complimented with gold paint make it look like those houses I see in movies. The design is simple, yet breathtaking.
My heart pounds violently against my chest as I walk toward the entrance door which pulls open just before I got there, and I stand shocked when two little girls came running into my arms as if they’d met me before.
“You are welcome to the family, Ariel. Daddy told us so many things about you,” The blonde-haired little girl of about ten years of age whines as she hugs me tightly.
“You are so pretty. Now, I know why I look this beautiful. I look like you,” The other one that is about seven years says as she rests her head on my big baby bump, and I just hold my mouth open in shock, not knowing how to react to this. You won’t blame me, right? It’s too sudden, honestly.
“Uhm… Thank you,” I smile at them uncomfortably, trying to look natural. I don’t want them to think I don’t like them. I’m just shocked by their warm welcome when I was expecting the otherwise.
As I finally raise my gaze upon hearing thick footsteps and the sound of clicking heels sounding on the floor, my heart misses a beat when I spot a woman about the same age as my mom. She should be in her early forties. She has her blonde hair flying down her shoulders, her pair of piercing brown eyes are charming, and as she smiles at me, I get a glimpse of her perfect white dentition.
My Dad is walking right behind her, graced in short three-quarter black trousers, and a white t-shirt, and his thick black hair is curled in his forehead with some strands on his forehead. It’s crazy how he still manages to maintain this look at this stage of his life.
“You are welcome to the family, Ariel,” She pulls me into her arms gently, engulfing me in her warmth.
“Thank you,” I reply to her casually, while still trying to sound natural. I don’t know why, but I don’t feel comfortable around these people. What if they are just pretending to like me? Those are the questions that keep running through my mind as she hugs me in her arms.
After she pulls away from me, Dad further hugs me, before they finally lead me into the house. The sweet scent of the house welcomes me into the spacious and neat living room, which has white and golden painting the walls and giving it the best compliment it deserves. These two colors must be their favorite, as it dawns on me that the couches and curtains are also the same color as the paintings.
A large glass center table is placed in the center of the living room, a big chandelier light hanging on the ceiling, a TV on the wall, and flower vases filled with flowers to compliment the sight and make it a beautiful one.
“You are welcome to our humble abode, Ariel. You should feel free while you are here,” The woman utters as she smiles at me.
“Thank you,” I slowly nod my head.
“Your baby bump is so cute. We are expecting a nephew,” the ten years old girl utters as she rubs her hand on my stomach, and this time, I feel a bit comfortable around the kids. I mean, they are just kids, and I know they would’ve shown their displease if they don’t like my sight. Children are not always good at hiding their feelings since they are slaves to their emotions.
“The baby is going to look like me. Don’t you see that I look like our sister?” The other one says, and I can’t help the excitement that fills my heart at the sound of that. So this is how it feels like to have people around you that care about you? I have always wanted a sister, and I guess God has finally answered my prayers now.
“Thank you,” I smile at them.
“Come on, allow her to rest. There is still time to talk to her, ok? Come and join me in the kitchen, girls,” The woman utters before she walks away to the kitchen.
“We will be back, ok?” They utter before leaving for the kitchen.
“I understand, but you really don’t have to feel uncomfortable around them. They have known about you for years, and have been looking forward to seeing you. My wife is not someone to be bothered about… She is free and doesn’t have a problem,” Dad, who has been sitting in the living room, says to me, and I slowly nod my head. I just pray that it’s as he said it. I just pray that the woman is not pretending to like me and not even care for me…