One might think Felicia should feel resentment toward my daughter. After all, it came out of the blue for her, not to mention having me always in her face. But nothing but joy fills her voice, and I think that’s because she loves Sebastian so much, and she knows how important it is to him.
His hands tremble when he pours whiskey into the glass, only to curse under his breath and gulp the alcohol from the bottle, getting up swiftly and spilling some on the floor. “How could you have kept it from me?” Anger slashes over me, but he raises his hand to shut me up. “I’m sorry. I know it’s my fault. God, I have a daughter,” he whispers and drops back on the couch, covering his face with his hand while the bottle probably digs into his skin. “And she is almost four.”
Unsure how to react to the distress and shock in his words, I decide to reassure him and maybe put an end to his misery. “I had to tell you about this; it’s your right. You don’t have to be part of her life. According to the papers, she is Zachary’s daughter, and she—”
“She’s my baby, Phoenix. How could you think I wouldn’t want to be a part of her life?” He laughs bitterly. “Don’t answer that one either. Your distrust is justified too.” A beat passes, and then he says, “How do we tell her the truth?”
Exhaling a heavy breath, I lock my hands together on my lap and reply honestly, thinking only about my child and not the agony my ex-husband must experience. “When she is old enough to understand it. I don’t want to hurt or confuse her.”
He nods, swings the bottle to his mouth, and gulps it greedily. “That’s what we’ll do then.”
Emmaline found out when she turned sixteen, and to our surprise, she was very understanding about it, although she asked for some time alone to digest it all in her head. It took her one year to fully come to peace with the information, and that’s when she started calling him Dad, albeit still super awkwardly. She requested to change her surname to Hale-King shortly after that.
“I know you wanted me to go to law school.” Emmaline leans back and adjusts her cap once again. “So it means the world.”
Sebastian huffs, holding the box under his armpit. “I merely suggested that you think about the future.”
She rolls her eyes. “Please let’s stop this conversation before we fight again, okay?” Sebastian hugs her one more time before stepping away and coming back to us as she waves to someone in the crowd then motioning with her head to the building. “You guys need to go inside. Grandpa and Grandma are already there waiting for you all. Uncle Charlie and Nathan are there too.” I smile, remembering the couple who must have been the most hilarious people on this planet for the amount of jokes they can dish out in the most uncomfortable situations. Charlie finally popped the question eight years ago, and Nathan accepted, although he still travels a lot due to his work.
Sebastian shouts for Daisy and then wraps his arm around Felicia, ushering her to the building. “Honey, come with us. The ceremony is about to start.” The little girl darts to them, munching on her ice cream while the boys come back to us.
They frown, and I follow their gaze only to blink in shock when I see Emmaline bursting into tears, although she tries to stop it by wiping away every single one of them before they can ruin her makeup. “Hey,” Ian says, running toward her and hugging her from one side while Wyatt does the same from the other, fishing for a tissue from his pocket and catching all the tears while she fans her face, taking deep breaths. “Don’t cry, pretty girl,” he says, and Ian nods, tightening his hold on her. “We can go and quickly change into suits if you want.” They almost squash her between them. She might be older, but you wouldn’t know by how tall and muscled they are compared to her.
She is tiny in their arms.
“I don’t care about your clothes,” she whispers, and once I’m in front of her, I palm her head, lifting her face to me and silently asking what’s wrong. “I wish Dad was here to see me graduate.”
My heart pangs painfully in my chest, and my breath hitches, hating to see my daughter this sad on her special day, but at the same time knowing I can’t do anything about it.
No matter how many years pass, she’ll always be Zachary’s little girl.
The twins tense as well, wincing, because they know whatever they say will be useless, although Ian tries anyway. “He won’t be at our graduation either. At least everyone else is here, huh?” He squeezes her one more time. “We’re here. And we are freaking awesome.”
We all freeze though when a deep and husky voice speaks, almost booming in the open space, and, as always, it sends shivers down my spine, awakening everything inside me. “Your belief in me astonishes me sometimes.” I spin around to face Zachary standing a few feet away from us, wearing a gray suit that hugs him like a second skin, and I sigh inwardly thinking how handsome he still is; not to mention how his overpowering presence has intensified with the years.
He has a bouquet of roses in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. He opens his arms wide, addressing Emmaline, “How could I miss it, baby girl? Come here.”
Emmaline squeals, rushing toward him, and jumps on him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he catches her, hugging her tight, and she shouts, “Daddy, you’re here!” Holding on to him for a few moments longer before leaning back and smiling wide. “You made it.”
“Of course.” He looks over her head at the twins. “And I’ll make it to yours as well. If you graduate, that is.”
One of the company buildings the Kings own had a fire in it yesterday, so he had to fly there to check on the damage, and thankfully no one was hurt, but we weren’t sure if he’d be able to make it back in time for Emmaline.
I hoped with all my heart he could, but I wouldn’t have held it against him if he didn’t.
Collective groans fill the air, and they quickly stand behind me. “Come on, Dad. Lay off with this education talk.”
“Then you shouldn’t have told me you have no intention of going to college for at least two years after you graduate,” he snaps back and then kisses Emmaline on the forehead. “Go inside, child of mine. I bet everyone is waiting for you.” He gives her the present and the flowers. “Wear it before your valedictorian speech.” She squeezes him one last time before dancing off to the building, and shoving the flowers into Ian’s arms.
I don’t have to see the present. After all, we both picked out the sapphire necklace for her the other day.
They salute us and follow her quickly while I stand still, waiting for my husband to come to me.
He doesn’t do it right away, oh no. He scans me from head to toe, his eyes flashing in appreciation as he says with his husky voice, “You are gorgeous, Mrs. King.” He steps closer until the tips of his shoes touch mine. “Your husband would have been a fool to leave you alone here.”
My brows rise, and I play along. “At a graduation party? I think the crowd is a bit too young for me.”
Possessiveness crosses his face as he wraps his hand around my waist, pressing us so close his muscles dig into my curves, and he tips my head back before trapping my chin between his fingers. “There are always single dads.” He swallows my laughter with his mouth, opening mine for his kiss as our tongues brush against each other, goose bumps rising on my skin, and I fist his shirt, not caring about the audience.