Page 16 of Flawed Revenge

“It is.” And now this little girl he carried on his back reminded him so much of that pig-tailed child he’d met on his sister’s first day of school. Back then, she’d just been Katie-Bear, the sweet little girl who was always playing dolls with his sister and tagging along after him everywhere he went, wanting him to play with her. But once they were both grown up, she’d quickly become so much more.

“You love her, don’t you, Dad? You love my mom.”

Lion saw no point in lying to his daughter about it. Nor would he lie to Kate if she asked. “Yeah, Ari-Bear, I do. I love your mommy a lot. I always have.”

“But you weren't around. Mom said it was because of your job.”

“It was, just not in the way your mom thought. I want to explain it to your mom and tell her I'm sorry that I couldn’t be there for both of you the way I wanted to be. I never want that to happen again. I want to always be here for you and your mom when you need me.”

“Even if I die?”

“Yes.”

“And even if I live?”

“Absolutely.”

Those small arms that were wrapped around his neck, squeezed tightly for a moment, and then Ariella dropped a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“Never need to thank me for being there for you, Ari-Bear. Loving your mom and you is as easy as breathing.”

What wasn't as easy as breathing was figuring out how he was going to convince Kate of that fact.

March 15th

3:33 A.M.

“Mommy, I'm bleeding.”

The words tugged Kate from a restless sleep, and she blinked open heavy eyes to find her daughter standing beside her bed. Their rooms were next to one another, and she was thankful the stunning Gothic mansion seemed to have an endless supply of bedrooms because the two they were using didn't appear to be anywhere close to where the others slept.

It was hard enough being in this house with Leo, but to have to sleep with him close by would have been too much.

Not that she’d been doing much sleeping.

Both last night and tonight, she’d struggled to fall asleep, tossing and turning for hours, only to have vivid dreams filled with images of Leo’s past rejection of her and her fear that he would reject their daughter the same way.

Now she pushed herself up so she was sitting, and took in her little girl standing there, her hand wrapped around her forearm.

“What happened, sweetie-pie?” Kate asked as she shoved back her covers and reached for her daughter.

“I needed to go to the bathroom, but it was dark, and I was sleepy, and I didn't want to turn on the lights, so I bumped into the side of the bathroom door,” Ariella explained.

While for most people that likely wouldn't even leave behind a bruise, because her daughter’s skin was so fragile, even a slight bump could split it open. Given this was only her second night in the mansion, Kate wasn't surprised she bumped into something since she didn't know the layout of the room yet. That was why she’d wanted them to share a room—that, and she loved having her daughter close since she might not have her around much longer—but Ariella wanted to be a big girl and have her own room.

“Okay, sweetie, hop up here on the bed. I’ll go grab the first aid kit.” Standing, she helped Ariella climb up onto the bed so her daughter could keep pressure on her wound. With her condition, Ariella could bleed for hours from just a simple bump like this.

Since it was her daughter’s normal, Ariella didn't complain or whine or even cry. She’d only been six when she was first diagnosed, so a third of her life had been battling aplastic anemia. Ariella just sat there while Kate tucked her in, then walked over to the bedroom door to switch on the light before heading to her own bathroom to collect the first aid kit she’d left there.

After Ariella’s diagnosis, she never went anywhere without a first aid kit, but yesterday an even more impressively stocked one had appeared in her bathroom, and she assumed that was Leo’s doing. He’d told her that he’d read up on their child’s condition, and he seemed knowledgeable about it. More than that, he seemed to be taking her sudden appearance in his life in stride, handling everything better than she ever could have hoped.

Better than she had in the early days of Ariella’s illness.

“All right, sweetie, let’s—” Kate broke off as she stepped back into the bedroom to find Leo striding into the room.

“Everything okay?” he asked, his gaze moving from the first aid kit in her hands to Ariella sitting in the bed.

Seeing her daughter’s eyes light up at the sight of her father stoked the fires of Kate’s anger, but she kept her expression neutral. She wasn't jealous that her daughter was bonding with Leo, Ariella had been practically buzzing with excitement when she returned from her time in the forest with her dad the day before, but it devastated her that Ariella had missed out on this for nine years.