AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And I’m choosing to go with my gut feeling and trust Apollo to do what’s right.
Please, let my gut be right!
9
Apollo
Things have been going great. I’ve figured out how to make time for Aurora each and every day since Lucy let me meet her.
A week has passed and today is the day that we will tell Aurora that I’m her father.
I’m almost jumping out of my skin as I wait for them at the trampoline park we decided to meet at today.
As soon as I see them, I jump up and run to grab Aurora, taking her into my arms as she giggles adorably. “I missed you, pumpkin!”
She takes my face in her little hands and kisses my cheek. “I missed you too!”
Lucy laughs as she comes in behind us. “You just saw each other yesterday, and the day before that…”
“And the day before that,” I take over. “But I still miss her when we’re apart.”
“What did you do last night?” Aurora wraps her arms around my neck, then buries her face on my chest. “I slept all night long.”
“I did too.” Taking her to the corner booth I got for us, I sit her down on the inside, then slide in next to her. “Your mommy and I have something exciting to tell you.”
Clapping her hands, her chubby cheeks turn red as excitement fills her. “What is it?”
Lucy clears her throat as she sits across from us. “You know how every child has a mommy and a daddy, right?”
Nodding, she looks at me. “I don’t have a daddy. I only got a mommy.”
“You do have a daddy.” I hold up my phone and take a picture of us, then show it to her. “Do you see how our eyes match?”
“Yes.” She looks at me. “Are you my daddy?”
Nodding, I smile, and feel unshed tears sting the backs of my eyes. “I am your daddy, Aurora. I didn’t know about you before but now that I do, I will always be here for you.”
Aurora looks at her mother. “Mommy?”
Lucy can’t hold back the tears that come cascading down her cheeks. She nods and tilts her chin to me. “Say hi to your daddy, sweetie.”
Taking my face in her hands, she looks into my eyes, frowning. “Why is Mommy crying?”
“Because she’s so happy. And I’m happy too. Are you happy?” Brushing her hair away from her adorable face, I can’t wipe the smile off my lips.
“I’m happy too, but I don’t feel like crying.” She smiles, then says the one word I never imagined I would hear myself being called, “Daddy.”
A few tears break free, and I hug my little girl, burying my face in her hair. “You are my little girl. My baby. Daddy’s little angel.”
“It’s okay, Daddy. You can cry if you want to.”
***
“So, you told her?” my brother asks that night at band practice.
“Yeah. And she was so happy. I wish you could have seen her face. She’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” I can’t get over how much love I have in my heart for someone I barely met. But it’s there.
Ares looks down, trying to hide his emotions. “I don’t think Lucy will let me see her. She was very clear when she cut her ties with me.”
