Page 31 of Falling for You

I chuckle darkly and ask sarcastically, “Let me guess, from Vine’s criminal law demanding a DNA test?”

Billy is quiet momentarily before he confirms, “The information wasn’t false, was it? You got someone pregnant?” When I don’t reply, he curses a storm and demands, “Did you order that restraining order through Elena?”

I lock eyes with Carl Vine, his blue ones showing anger, and I admit, “No, I fucking didn’t, just like I didn’t ban Penelope Vine from the arena or my apartment building that I’m guessing she’s no longer allowed to enter.”

“Ah fuck….” He snaps, and I growl back, “Since when do you fucking listen to Elena, Billy?!”

“I-I, fuck Taylor, she said you were looking for a girl, something you confirmed, and she said this girl was trying to pretend to be her, and I listened, fuck, I’m so sorry….” He admits, and I shake my head.

“Get the restraining order dis-fucking-missed immediately and organize the DNA test before I fire your fucking ass,” Carl narrows his eyes at my words. Still, I ignore him and continue, “I won’t have anyone try saying she’s trapping me with a baby that isn’t mine because he is my son; he has my eyes, and then when you’ve done that, contact Coach, and let him know Elena is fucking fired from being my agent effective immediately and send her a formal letter, do I make myself clear?!”

“I’m on it,” he states firmly, then hangs up, and I drop my arm, my head a fucking mess.

I’ve finally found her…

She’s had my kid, and Elena made sure I missed everything.

I missed everything.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I run my hand through my hair frustratingly and turn, eyeing where the front door is.

“She’s been trying to get a hold of you since the moment the stick confirmed her pregnancy,” Avery says behind me, but I don’t turn around. She continues, “She walked into her living room in shock before admitting everything to me. Then she saw you on TV with your girlfriend and broke down.”

“She wasn’t his girlfriend, Butterfly. She was a girl who he had slept with a few years ago, and she flung herself at him and kissed him as cameras flashed around. Elena, his agent,” she cuts him off, “The she-witch,” and he chuckles but confirms, “Yes, the she-witch went on a rampage and demanded he made her his girlfriend. The team had bad press last year after losing the cup, and she used it as an excuse.”

“Your agent sounds like a bitch,” Carl chimes in, and I turn to look at him.

“And by what I’ve heard, you are right up there with her,” he raises a brow, but I won’t back down. My dad’s fucking scarier than this guy. “You disowned your pregnant daughter becauseshe couldn’t fulfill a contract marriage and your wife and youngest daughter followed suit leaving her a-fuckin- lone when she needed you all the most! When my bitch of an agent kept her from contacting me...”

Avery flinches but doesn’t deny my words while Carl nods and admits, “I did and I regret it daily. I haven’t put my daughter’s happiness before my own, and my wife’s or even Avery’s ever, and even now, Avery is stuck in a loveless and abusive marriage while being in love with her brother-in-law.”

Avery looks down while Tony walks over to her and gently wraps his arm around her waist.

Carl continues, “I’m currently trying to rectify that. David and I are in talks but son, Penelope, she’s hardheaded,” I butt in, “she’s a Firecracker,” and he smiles and agrees, “She is, and she’s gone through an entire pregnancy on her own all while trying her hardest to fight to see you and if I know my daughter, she’s going to push you back.”

I look at Dylan, who smiles a little before looking back at Carl, and I admit, “I’m not letting her go. I have spent months trying to find her. Heck, not long ago, I ran after Avery in the streets on fifth, only just missing her when Dyl noticed her in a restaurant.”

Avery gasps, “I knew I was being followed!”

Dylan chuckles darkly before saying, “Yeah, my wife got possessive and jealous despite knowing why I wanted to speak to you. One minute, you were there, and I was on the phone with my brother and the next, you were gone while my wife screamed down the restaurant.”

The same wife who sleeps in a separate room from him, has since the whole restaurant shit, not that anyone knows that.

Avery winces, and I look back at Carl, who hasn’t taken his eyes off me. I state, “I will win your daughter, and by the time the finals come around, she’ll be with me where she belongs, her and our son.”

“Just like that, you accept what she says, that he’s yours, you don’t even question her?” he questions, and I half shrug.

“Your daughter holds an aura of truth, something I think you know. Otherwise, you would have fought harder for her to be a lawyer like you. She doesn’t lie, and that is something I realized after we met,” I state boldly, knowing it’s the fucking truth.

He nods, not denying my words, then tilts his head and asks, “What if you don’t like her personality?” I narrow my eyes at him, and he shrugs and reminds me, “You spent one night with her; that was it. She may not live up to your expectations; I mean, what can you learn about someone in one night?”

I nod, ignoring everyone looking my way, waiting for my reaction. I could go one of two ways. I could fly off the handle and act like a caveman, you know, ‘me man she mine’ shit, or I can shock the shit outta him and prove what I learned about his daughter in one night.

I take a deep breath and begin, “Her sister is her world despite her choosing money over her,” and he raises a brow. I pull the bracelet out of my pocket, and Avery gasps, but I ignore her and hold it up, explaining, “This bracelet had two charms on it. One with her name and the other saying sister, showing her sister was her world. Over the months, I’ve added things to it that expresses who she is as a person, a person I came to know a lot during our one night together,” I lift up a charm, “this one is a beer because, well we met in a bar,” Avery snorts and I hold up each charm explaining the meaning.

“Skates because I wanted her to have something close to my heart, a snowflake because her favorite time of year is when the first snow falls. A bridge indicating Brooklyn Bridge. She and her sister used to go for walks and end up on the bridge just people-watching. Cracker because she has a fiery side to her. The Eiffel Tower because her dream is to visit Paris at Christmas. A bike, because mine is the first one she’s ever been on. A book becauseshe loves to read in her downtime and the newest one, a dog because she has always wanted one,” I put the bracelet back in my pocket and I state, “Yes, we only spent one night together, but that one night I found out her love for animals, the fact her favorite color is Violet, and how she prefers sunsets to sunrises because it means spending the evening and night cuddled up with a good book next to a fire while eating chocolate peanuts.”

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