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My father, on the other hand, looked cold. He stared at Alexander with impassive eyes, and his mouth was etched straight. I grimaced and wasn’t sure if I should go downstairs or stay upstairs. Was he angry with me? Was he disappointed?
I couldn’t bring myself to move as his eyes wandered around the area before settling in my direction. Immediately he spotted me, his stony gaze immediately melted into an expression of joy. I still saw his eyes light up, even with how far he was. My body sagged in a mixture of relief and exhilaration.
“Aryana!” My father walked quickly to the staircase and opened his arms. I didn’t hesitate to run down the stairs and embrace him back.
“Dad.” I greeted. I was sure my face threatened to split apart with my wide smile.
“Aryana! Look at you! You’re glowing!” We held each other’s hands and scanned each other up close.
“You’re not looking so bad yourself.” I joked.
“Oh, stop lying. You know your old man won’t fall for your sugary words.”
We both laughed.
This was wonderful. I was seeing my dad after so long. He was also happy to see me! I had feared that I would be met with rebuke and reproach, but this put my fears aside for the moment. I didn’t fully relax, however. I still had to tell him about my pregnancy, and I wasn’t sure what his reaction would be. As far as I could see, his response toward Alexander was unfavorable, and I wondered what could have happened.
I peeked over my father’s shoulder to see Alexander and Tony whispering something to each other. He looked up, caught my eye, and gave me a reassuring smile, though small.
My father noticed the exchange because he leaned closer and asked me, “Who is he?”
I smiled nervously. “You mean he didn’t introduce himself?”
“Well, I didn’t give him a chance to. I was more focused on seeing you than listening to someone I didn’t know.
Well, that explained it.
Fuck. I didn’t know what to say. How could I when I also didn’t know what our relationship was? It wasn’t as if I could tell him he was my baby daddy. It was clear we liked each other, slept with each other, and enjoyed each other’s company, but we weren’t dating. We had kept the status quo as it was, too afraid to shatter it by asking what we were.
“He’s my….” I trailed off, wishing Alexander could come over and help me out.
Damn, it. We should have discussed this.
“Your…?” My father looked at me expectantly. His eyes were full of mirth. It was clear he knew what I was trying to say.
I jokingly shoved his shoulder. “You know what I want to say.” I huffed.
“I want to hear you say it.” My father grinned in response.
My father was always like this, cracking jokes and trying to make me say certain things despite how embarrassing or cringe they sounded.
“He’s my….” I trailed off once again. My boyfriend sounded too unserious about the fact that I was carrying his child. There was no way I was going to introduce Alexander as my fiancé. My father would feel hurt that I hadn’t told him about it before entering an engagement, and I didn’t know our future together. If I said we were engaged, and something happened later, and we ended our meeting, my father would be pissed off as I was pregnant.
My brain ran through several words, but none sounded right. Mate? I mentally scoffed. We weren’t animals. Partner? Sounded more like a business transaction setting. Suitor? And he had already gotten me pregnant? That was past the ‘suitor’ stage. Date? I didn’t even bother thinking of a reason why that sounded terrible. Significant other? Sounded too significant.
My father’s teasing smile disappeared and was replaced with a worried lips downturn.
“Aryana, is everything all right?”
I smiled, but I knew it didn’t look convincing. My father’s frown deepened, and I knew I had to say something to remove the wary expression on his face. I opened my mouth to say whatever name came to my mind first when I felt a warm hand land on my shoulder, a familiar presence coming up beside me.
“I am her lover.” Alexander’s smooth timbre calmed me down, and I relaxed under his touch.
I tensed up again when my father said nothing and stared at where Alexander’s hand was resting. I tried to control my nervousness when he looked up and repeated Alexander’s words.
“Lover?” He raised an eyebrow and looked at me. “He’s your…lover?”
The way he said the word was a bit funny as if he was unaccustomed to hearing such a term in this era, and I would have laughed if not for the suspicious look he had in his eyes.
