Page 144 of Delilah In Discretion

“I don’t want you to go. At all. But if you do, which you probably will, Nathan will be watching you, and Benjamin will be ready with a sniper to be used at any cost,” she said worriedly, and my eyes went wide.

“Benny has a sniper?!” I almost screamed.

She ignored me. “I could ask George to be on stand-by in case this becomes a hit-and-run. Okay, okay, this could work,” she muttered as she thought, feeding my sibling in her arms while I could only stare at her, dumbfounded and in shock.

She shrugged as she looked at me. “He won’t actually pull the trigger. He’s just going to be a… precaution.”

I tried to remain calm as my nerves were at an all-time high. I almost couldn’t sleep last night untilhecalmed me down.Just breathe, Princess. Just breathe.

I repeated his words as I looked down at the ground, but my breath hitched when a pair of loafers made their way into my line of sight. I gulped slightly as I looked up and made contact with the man I cursed just the other day—my biological father, Michael.

“Delilah, thank you for meeting with me in person,” he said as he stood in front of me.

I nodded slowly and directed my attention back to my cup of tea as he slowly made his way to the seat across from me.

I don’t know what he was expecting. This man deserved none of my attention or time… much less a hug.

He folded his hands on the table as he sighed. I tried not to notice how his skin was an olive tan, and his hair was curlier than on my mother’s side.Traits I inherited from him, I guess.

“I don’t even know where to start. You’ve grown so much. Into a beautiful young woman—”

“You don’t even know me,” I cut him off, and he frowned. “You left me when I was a child, a literal infant. And you have the audacity to tell mymotherthat I belong to you more than her?” I asked him, enraged.

He bit his lip.

What, did he think I was going to let him off the hook for disrespecting my mother?For disrespecting Bribri?

“Delilah... I came to speak with you, honey. I didn’t come to argue or to make you miserable. I want to make amends with you. You’re my only daughter. I know I screwed up, and I know I can’t ever make up for the time lost... But all I’m asking for is a chance. To make things right between us,” he finished, and I puffed.

Am I being unreasonable? I mean, he is more than twenty years late... Should I give him a chance? Should I trust him to keep his word about genuinely wanting to build a relationship with me?

“I-I don’t know. As selfish as this may sound, I already have a father. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression that we are going to magically build some sort of relationship that will change the past.”

He nodded. “I completely understand. I know I’m far too late for anything of the sort, but I would like to get to know you at least... Would you let me start with that?” he asked.

I hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding. “Okay,” I whispered, and he smiled. His teeth were straight, white, and pearly, but I knew a genuine smile from a fake one, and he wasn’t smiling genuinely. I tried not to overanalyze it, but something was off.

What’s going on?I wondered, but I shook the thoughts from my head. I didn’t want to overthink anything, but how could I not? I knew going into this would be a little dangerous, and I didn’t want to let my guard down, even for a second.

“How’s life with Brielle and Killian?” Michael asked, and I shrugged lightly.

“It’s fine. I do sometimes miss when I was younger and had fewer responsibilities regarding school, work, and my siblings,” I said, reminiscing about the time before all of my siblings were around—when it was just me, Killy, and Bribri.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my siblings. However, I onlylikethem on certain occasions.

He continued asking me questions, and I answered them as best as possible. Soon there was a silence that was almost deafening as I mustered up the courage to ask him something I longed to know.

“Why did you leave?” I asked softly.

He paused for a moment.

“...I was young and dumb. And I’ve been somewhat dumb for the last twenty years as I never saw the need to reach out or find you.”

“Why now?” I asked him.

I noticed a slight change in his posture. “I guess I finally grew up enough to take responsibility and apologize to you,” he muttered.

I didn’t say anything for a moment.

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