Page 33 of Damned By His Angel

“He didn’t need to be the one to create the life inside you to be the baby’s father. His choice to stand by your side and raise that child as his own has already shown not only yourself, but the rest of the family, that he is worthy of the title Dad.” My mom’s words have me swallowing a few times to keep from crying.

“Mom–”

She cuts me off before I can finish. “Amelia Queen Murdoch, you are mine!” The conviction in which she says that word has tears springing to my eyes. “You may not have grown in my womb or thrived inside me but I have loved you from the moment those beautiful green eyes opened and looked at me with love. Creating life doesn't make you a parent, the love and devotion to that child is what grants you the right to call yourself a parent. I am your mother.” Tears fall on their own accord down my cheeks. We have never had this conversation before. There has never been a reason to have it. Allison Murdoch is my mother and nothing and no one will ever change that. I spy my dad, uncles and Cronos out of the corner of my eye and the look on my dad’s face mirrors my own. He hates hearing that Mom didn’t actually give me life as much as I do.

“Ally, no one has doubted your love for Meelz,” Aunt Kiara says.

“She is yours in every way that matters,” Dad says as he makes his way toward us. Mom keeps her gaze on me as she continues on.

“Loving you has been the greatest joy of my life. Without you, Amelia, I had nothing. You pushed me to want more, to be more, not only for myself but for you as well.” Dad comes to stand behind her chair and rests his hands on her shoulders. My uncles fan out and mimic his position behind their wives but Nos chooses to stay back and allow me the time to brave this situation by myself and I love him for knowing that I need to do this on my own. “This child you carry may be his?—”

“He doesn’t want her, Mom. He planned for this to happen so he could use me and her against…” I flick my gaze to my dad who looks hurt. “Dad.”

“He’s smarter than I gave him credit for,” Dad growls.

“What?” I asked confused.

“Meelz, that fucker knows what you mean to me and your mother. Hurting you would make me… upset.” I snort at him downplaying his anger, and my uncles and aunts even snicker but he pushes on. “But to get you pregnant, and create a life with my one and only child, he knows that shit will plague me.”

“Why?” I breathe out.

Dad doesn’t get a chance to answer, Cronos beats him to it. “Because he knows your father would be conflicted and hesitate to kill the father of his grandchild. Your father loves you, angel, but he also knows that your love for that little girl means more than what he wants, and him killing the father of your baby will always be in the back of your mind every time you look at him. Or, when that little girl grows up and asks what happened to her real father ,you would have to tell her that her grandfather killed him.”

I tear my gaze from Nos to stare up at my dad and shake my head. He averts his gaze, refusing to look at me. “Dad, I-I…” The words refuse to come out of my mouth, why can’t I give him permission to kill Colson?

“That is why, your father won’t be the one to do it.” Dread pools inside me as I slowly turn back to face the man who now owns my heart and holds it in the palm of his hand. The shadow that clouds his brown eyes has my breath hitching.

“Nos, what did you do?” I whisper brokenly.

He smiles sadly and tries to wall off his emotions, but I can see the pain in his eyes. “Colson turned you against him once, baby. I won’t allow him to rob you of more time from your father.” I push back from the table and stand ready to go to him but Nos holds his hand up, halting my movements. My heart is pounding inside my chest. My chest begins to burn as the anticipation starts to build inside me. “You asked me once, to choose you or my family.” I swallow audibly and hate myself for ever asking him that stupid question. “This is me choosing both.”

“Huh?” I breathe out.

“Amelia, you are my redemption from the pits of hell, I will always choose you.” My chest expands as I suck in some much needed air. “But that baby you carry inside you is now my family as well, so I am choosing both.”

“What are you trying to say?” The anguish in my own voice is easy to hear, I can feel it in my bones that what he says next is going to hurt like hell and break me.

“I’m saying that your father and uncles are too easily recognized. He will know they are coming for him and disappear again when they get close. He doesn’t know me or my face.” I shake my head, trying to deny what he is going to do but it's too late, he's made his mind up. “I’m going to end this so you and our little girl can be free and never look over your shoulder again.”

Fuck this!

I close the space between him and I, then clutch the front of his shirt in my hands. “Don’t go,” I whisper brokenly.

He cups my face in his large hands and bends at his knees so we are eye level. “Please don’t hate me at the end of all of this, angel,” he says quietly, then places a long kiss on my lips, unlike all the others we have shared. This one is filled with heartache and pleading, like he is begging me to not hate him and love him through all of this until he returns to us. He pulls back and rests his head against mine. We stand here for a moment just breathing each other in. “I love you, angel.”

“I love you too, Grizz,” I whisper through my tears.

“This is the last time I will leave either of you, I swear.” Before I can say another word he pulls back and nods over my shoulder. Two arms wrap around me and I know it’s my dad. Panic surges inside me when I realize what’s happening.

“Cronos, no! Don’t leave me, please?—”

“I’ll always come back for you both, angel, always. Be strong and keep that little girl safe until I get back.” When he turns his back, prepared to walk away I break. Every ounce of pain I have kept hidden bursts free as I scream for him to come back. Not once does he look back as I call for him. I collapse in my dad’s hold when he vanishes from view, as he heads around the side of the house.

“Cronos!” I scream his name so loud my throat turns horse. Dad’s hold on me remains firm and unyielding as I try to break free and chase after him, but then a voice penetrates the fog.

“You need to calm down, none of this is good for the baby.” At his words I stop struggling. His hold eases but not enough for me to escape. I slam my eyes closed when I hear the purr of the engine of the rental we arrived in.

He’s leaving.

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