He storms away from the house, and the first tear slips down my cheek. It’s slow in its descent, making a mockery of me and my affliction. I cast a quick glance around the yard and pause on one of his friends, Bishop. He’s staring at me, frozen in his spot, shock written all over his face. He must think I’m a monster. I’m sure in no time at all, everyone will. For a split second, I almost think I see empathy in his eyes, but he turns before I can get a better look.
Trying to pull myself together as best as I can, I turn and walk back into the house. My dad is there, pacing the oak floors. He comes right to me when he sees me, worry lingering in his gaze.
“You okay?”
I inhale a deep, rattling breath that makes the ice filling my chest ache even more. “No. He’s getting a lawyer. I-I don’t know what to do. Lord knows I deserve this after not telling him, but…I don’t know. I’m going to talk to Luna. I don’t know how quickly all this is going to happen, and I don’t want her to be blindsided.”
My dad nods slowly as he processes with a concerned expression painted on his face. “What do you need from me?”
“Maybe keep Mom busy? I need to be alone with Luna for a while.”
Dad pulls me in for a hug that threatens to crumble the hold I have on my emotions. I’m hanging on by a thread, and I know the minute I see my little girl, I’m going to fall apart because my biggest regret in all this is failing her.
I’m not surprised that when I push through the bedroom door, I can already hear her playing with her toys, her imagination running wild.
“Hey, Mommy,” she says, glancing up quickly before focusing back on the task at hand.
“Hi, baby. What are you doing?”
“Playing with the dolls Papa bought me. Nana said they’re going to buy me McDonald’s breakfast this morning, so we don’t have to cook.”
I grin down at her, taking the open place next to her on the bed. I pat the spot right next to me.
“Can I talk to you about something for a second? It’s really important.”
She huffs out a breath, drops her Barbies, and tosses herself into the spot right next to me. Mirroring my position, she turns to face me, setting her hands in her lap just like I’m doing. She looks so much like Endymion at this moment that it’s hard to ignore the burn in my chest. Anxiety slams into me, eating away at my confidence as I wring my hands together, trying to figure out a way to tell her.
“I thought maybe we could talk about your dad.”
Her eyes widen, and for what feels like the first time ever, I think my daughter is actually listening to me. Her usual sass is nowhere to be found, and instead, she’s staring up at me like she can’t wait to hear more.
“Your dad and I…well, we don’t live close. But now that we’re here with Papa, we live closer and—”
If it’s possible for her eyes to grow bigger, they do. “You mean, my daddy is here?”
My heart squeezes. “Yes. Do you remember Endymion?”
“Of course, I remember End!” I can see her brimming with excitement already.
“Well, End is…your father. Since we lived far away, and he lived here, it was hard to see him.”
Her little face scrunches in an adorable frown. “Why didn’t he come to see us? Like Papa does?”
I trap my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to keep my tears at bay. “He didn’t come to see you because he didn’t know about you.”
“Why didn’t he know about me?” Her smile slowly slips off her precious little face, and I’m panicking internally. She’s too young to understand any of this. I can’t tell my child that one drunken night her father got me pregnant and didn’t remember it.
“Because I…” My voice trails off as I try to gather myself. Pain has taken residence in my chest. It’s a living, breathing entity that is all-consuming. The very last thing I want is my daughter hating me for the decisions I’ve made, but being honest about her father is what she deserves. It’s what they both deserved from the start. Swallowing my pride and my fear, I force the words past my lips. “I never told him. I didn’t think I’d ever