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ChapterTwenty-Seven
CHRISTIAN
Watching the stalls where Thalia and Theo talk from my SUV, I contemplate a couple of things. I know two things with certainty. I love my wife, love my children. More than anything. They are my whole world. My reason for breathing.
Fuck the fame.
Fuck the money.
Before anything I am a husband, a father. My family will always come first no matter what.
You may be wondering why I haven’t threatened Theo, haven’t promised to ruin his life in any way I can for even thinking he can come back for my daughter.
The truth is, I see a lot of myself in him. I see how I was in my twenties, years ago when I met the love of my life, Elena. How I would have done anything to be with her.
If Theo loves Thalia a fraction of the amount that I love my wife, then who am I to stand in the way of that?
My daughter deserves the kind of love that her mother and I have—even if that love is twelve years her senior and has put her through so much shit, I want to kill him.
I want nothing more than my princess to be with someone more suitable, would have preferred it to be someone like Parker, even. But it seems she fell in love long before I even realized it. It’s an emotional time for a father, watching his children grow. Knowing my baby girl is no longer that little girl anymore, but a woman, saddens me. You want to keep them little forever but know you can’t. Thalia has grown into a beautiful young woman, and I know I need to let go, let her make her own choices, but it’s hard.
I was hopeful this thing with Theo would be a fleeting phase. A hero worship that would pass. But it’s clear to me now, as I watch them both, that it isn’t.
My daughter is in love. It’s as clear as day by the way she smiles at him with hearts in her eyes. It’s a smile I haven’t seen in months, and I’m more grateful than mad at seeing glimpses of the old Thalia. Her heartbreak, watching her try to move on, has been hard for a father to witness. Seeing the happiness radiating from her in this moment, I can admit it makes me happy.
My gaze shifts to the man in front of her, talking animatedly. The love is not one sided. I know that look when I see it. Theo looks at my daughter like she is his whole universe. He looks at her the way I look at my wife.
He is a man in love.
Instead of condemning them for the way they feel, instead of trying to put I stop to it, I know what I must do.
Support Thalia.
She deserves that much.
I have always supported my children in anything and everything they do, and it would go against my every belief, everything in me, if I tried to put a stop to what I know now is not some silly infatuation, but clearly love.
Who am I to stand in the way of them?
Make no mistake, I don’t agree with how their relationship started. But it’s clear to me now, as I watch them together, that it was inevitable. Their connection is tangible. Their love palpable.
If Theo is what makes my daughter happy, I can only embrace it.
I won’t stand in the way of her happiness.
In the way of any of my children’s happiness.
I want love for all of them and even if I don’t necessarily like it... well, I will just have to go with it.
“Christian?” my wife murmurs from beside me.
I turn to look at the love of my life with a smile. “Our daughter is in love, darling,” I hear the emotion in my voice.
Elena smiles softly and exhales. She reaches up and cups my cheeks. “She is sweetheart. Love is a wonderful thing that should be accepted no matter if we think otherwise. We may think that he is not the right man for our baby, but she thinks he is. It might work out. It might not. We can only support our daughter in whatever she chooses.” Her gaze moves over my shoulder, and I follow her line of sight to where Thalia and Theo stand. My heart pinches at the love on both their faces. “I don’t think we need to worry. It’s clear that Theo loves her. And do you know how I know?”
I look back at my wife who is wearing a knowing smile. “How?”
“He looks at her exactly how you look at me.”
I can’t argue with that.
He does.
