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In a softer tone, I said, “I know you don’t. But you have two choices. You can talk to me, or I call MaKayla and tell her everything I know, and then you talk to her.”
I couldn’t believe that I was using Draven’s tactic. Her hands trembled and apparently, that threat worked.
“I don’t like you very much.”
“You don’t need to. You just need to explain why you have been lying to your daughter all these years. Why stand between her and what she searches for? Who is her father?” I asked.
She began to cry. “I...I can’t tell you that. And...I really hope that what you have done hasn’t already put her in danger.”
“I can protect her. I just need to know from whom. Is it her father?” I questioned.
She shook her head. “He’s...dead.”
“Then who?” I asked.
“His father. I can’t ever let him know about MaKayla. That’s who we’ve been hiding from.”
I was missing something very important. “Did he kill MaKayla’s father? Is that why you’re afraid of him?”
“No.” She picked up a napkin and dabbed her cheeks. “I...don’t know.”
“How did he die?” I asked. If I knew his name, I could find that information easily on my own.
“I really don’t want to talk about this. It’s...painful to think about,” she sniffed.
“The only way I will keep your secret is if you tell me the entire story. Otherwise, I am going to MaKayla and let her decide if what I know is enough.” More threats.I’m really an asshole. But like Venus, I’ll do just about anything to protect MaKayla.
“You can’t protect her from them. Michael warned me that no one could. That’s why I did what I did.”
“What did you do?”
“I left everything I knew, everyone I loved, and never looked back.”
“That must have been very difficult for you, especially being pregnant.” She didn’t reply and I made a mental note. “Why don’t you start at the beginning.”
“Oh, that’s an ugly place to start,” she said. “And it’s a long story.”
“MaKayla is only expecting to see me tomorrow morning. So might as well start talking.”
“When we were eighteen, Michael and I had sex. I got pregnant with MaKayla. When he found out about her, everything changed. He...he told me that I couldn’t stay in Tabiq. He wanted to make sure his daughter had a better life than I did. He’s the one who helped us...I mean me, leave Tabiq. He’s the one who made sure we,...I, had a safe place to go.”
I was beginning to believe MaKayla wasn’t born in Canada as I had first thought. That wasn’t something I needed to know just yet. There were a hell of a lot more important pieces of this still left unsaid.
“Tabiqian men are not financially able to fund such a thing.”
“He...he wasn’t from Tabiq,” she replied.
“Then how did you two meet?” I asked.
“Please...don’t make me say it. I love my daughter and she is a gift to me. I don’t want to remember how she was conceived. It’s only important that she is wanted and loved.”
So Michael wasn’t innocent. My suspicion was right. She’d been forced to have sex probably like all the Henderson mothers.You bastard. I’m glad MaKayla doesn’t know who you are.
But why is Venus defending Michael? “Okay. I get the picture. The guy was less than perfect. Explain why you speak so highly of Michael then?”
“It is not because of me. I could go through life filled with anger and hate. I have the right to. But he loves his daughter and truly wants the best for her.”
Loves? Not loved?Could it be possible that Michael was alive, and she didn’t want me to know that? What purpose would that serve if he loved his daughter?
