Page 135 of Delilah In Discretion

A painful smile came to my face as I almost laughed.

“That’s humorous. I could’ve sworn I heard you say you are one of the most important people in my life,” I asked, and he shook his head with a heavy sigh.

“I am your father, Delilah,” he said, and I crossed my arms as my defense mechanism of being lighthearted about this situation was dwindling.

“Right,Michael,let’s get one thing straight. You provided thecellthat entered another, which created me. Let’s not confuse that with the word ‘father,’ because guess what? That man standing there—” I pointed back to Killian as my blood began to boil—“the one that has been there for me ever since I was a literal child, the one who loves me unconditionally, the man that would give everything up every day for me, the man that bent his entire world up to accommodate me, to provide for me, to love and cherish me—that man, my dad, my daddy,my father, is standing right there! Show some respect for both him and my mother, because coming here and demanding to ‘see your daughter’ makes you seem like less of a man the longer you stand here. Now I will ask you again. Can I help you with something?” I fumed without stuttering a word.

It was now silent.

Michael looked at me with a certain look in his eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was love, hatred, or embarrassment, but I was sure I didn’t want anything to do with it.

“Delilah, I know I was never here. I know that, but I want to ask for a chance to explain everything. I at least wanted you to know who I was and where I’ve been.”

“A bit too late for that, don’t you think? What are we going to do now? Go out for coffee? Spend the day together? Whatever happened to you teaching me how to ride a bike, changing my diaper, or knowing who the hell I am! Whatever you’re doing right now is unneeded and unnecessary, because I think after twenty years, you can see that I’m doing a hell of a lot better than you, without you. So do us all a favor, do me a favor…and stay the hell away from me.”

He stared at me for a moment longer before making eye contact with someone behind me and walking away. I closed the door, and my hand stayed on the knob.

There was an uncomfortable silence, one that made me want to crawl into a hole and just die, because after closing that door, those walls came tumbling down, and I again felt like that little girl: afraid of the truth, scared of reality, and just wanting to be held by my mommy and daddy.

As if hearing my thoughts, I felt a hand turn me, and I looked up to see my father—my dad—Killy. I threw myself into his embrace as I gripped his shirt in my fist. He shushed me softly as small sobs racked my chest, placing small delicate kisses in my hair and rubbing my back soothingly.

“It hurts, Daddy,” I cried into his chest as my heart clenched.

He nodded as he pulled me closer to him. “I know. I know it does, sweetheart. I know.”

We stayed liked this for a short while, and soon my eyes were closing from exhaustion. He picked me up slowly, and I continued crying into his shoulder. We entered my room, and hesat me on the bed. My mother sat beside me, and I laid my head on her lap as she pushed the hair behind my ear, calming me with her soothing voice.

I knocked on the penthouse’s door, and only a few seconds later, Archer opened it. It was two in the morning, and I wasn’t going to get any sleep anytime soon, but if I knew anything, it was that he would make me feel better.

He would let me feel anything but the numbness that I was slowly starting to embrace. I know I looked tired and exhausted, but I didn’t care, and by the looks of it, he didn’t either.

“Come here, Princess. Let’s get you into something comfortable and try to get some rest, hmm?” he said, thankfully not diving in to ask me what was wrong.

I grabbed his hand as he pulled me inside.

He placed a kiss on my cheek and directed me to his room. And it started to hurt less. The subtle guilt and regret of my actions and words weighing me down were starting to go away, and it was all thanks to him.

Chapter forty-eight

Delilah

Waking up next to Archer made me forget why I was here in the first place. It made me forget that my biological parents wanted nothing to do with me when I was younger. It made me forget that Michael was never in my life, and that for some reason, he felt it was right for him to come back now. It made me forget that I had felt unwanted at some point in my life. But it didn’t make me forget the people who did love me.

Bribri and Killy—no, they could never be forgettable. They were my parents, and they had made me feel loved and appreciated since day one, and not even Michael could take that feeling away from me.

I felt Archer turn me over, and I traced his face as I grinned. I placed a kiss on his chin, and he was silent as he rubbed my waist.

“Thank you for taking me in last night,” I said softly, and he nodded.

“I have to be there for you, Princess… always. Just like you are for me.”

I nodded my head, and he was silent for a moment.

“You want to talk about it, baby?” he asked.

I gulped softly as I slowly remembered every detail from yesterday. Every tear I shed, every word I said… everything.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself from crying,” I muttered softly to him, and he shook his head.

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