Page 117 of Fierce- Royce

He knew what was decided and he supported it, but he had to let her come to this on her own.

He looked around at Chloe’s parents. They’d gotten a tour of the house and were impressed. Normally he didn’t care so much if people were impressed, but he was trying to win them over.

There was some guilt on his shoulders that he’d been so busy and getting home late. He knew her family was aware too. It’d been brought up a few times too. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to say he wasn’t there to help.

He heard that enough from his mother and was sick of it. He stopped taking her calls. She wanted to meet Chloe and for now he needed a break from the drama and told her so. If she wanted to meet his girlfriend she could drive her ass here and his mother refused.

“I’m set,” Elise said. “We all have drinks and there is plenty of food. The kids are playing in the backyard. You’ll have to build a swing set next summer.”

He looked out at Tiffani and Tyler playing with some of the lawn games he purchased. He’d been thinking about a swing set too, but it’d wait for now.

“I’ll have fun designing one,” Chloe said. “It can be an entire jungle gym.”

“That sounds like fun,” Dane said. “I might have to have you do one at my house too.”

“Chloe and I both have things we want to say today. It’s best that we do it all at once with both families here,” he said.

His father lifted an eyebrow at him but didn’t say a word. There would be no surprises on his side of the family, as they knew what was going on. His part couldn’t have happened without their approval and support, which Elise and his father readily gave.

“I’ll go first,” Chloe said. “I appreciate everyone giving me time to figure out what to do with this situation with Jason. Dane, more so you for answering all my questions. I’ve decided to just ignore the fact of Jason being my father. His name isn’t on the birth certificate and to me that was a sign it should stay blank in my life.”

Royce saw her parents let out a sigh. Elise was smiling, his father nodding his head. “But I told Chloe that I will support her if she changes her mind at any point.”

“We all will,” her father said.

“Emily and Jason are just names to me,” Chloe said. “My family is right here. I always knew that and never felt I was missing anything in life. I shouldn’t have let it get into my head, but I think when you find out you’re going to be a parent you start to second-guess everything.”

He knew that feeling well. “We all make mistakes,” his father said. “And we have to learn from them. Sometimes you can’t tell someone something either. They have to experience it themselves to fully understand.”

“Tell me about it,” Dane said.

“For now, his name is just going to be locked away. I don’t want that in my life. I don’t like the person he is. I don’t have him in me. I’m not one of those people that thinks that. I had to remind myself of it too. We all have some bad genes in us, but that doesn’t mean something bad is going to happen. And if it does, then I’ve got the support of everyone here.”

Doreen started to cry and Chloe got up to go hug her. “We never wanted you to feel as if you weren’t enough, Chloe. But we didn’t want you to feel as if you couldn’t find out more either.”

“I know that,” she said. “I appreciate it. I think there were times in my life when I wondered if you thought I wasn’t good enough because I didn’t make the same decisions as you. Or didn’t think the same way? Were you wondering if it’s because of who I came from?”

“Never,” Mark said. “Not for either of my kids.”

Dane was looking at Chloe. Royce could see the siblings did think this, so he said, “I know who my mother is. I talk to her when I have to. She doesn’t agree with anything I’ve done in my life. Knowing who birthed you doesn’t mean you will be close. It doesn’t mean they will treat you differently or that you will be like them. Elise and I are proof of that.”

“Damn straight,” Elise said.

He laughed at his sister.

“I know that,” Chloe said. “What the future holds with Emily, I don’t know. We are leaving it up in the air. She isn’t going to pressure me, but her daughter, Crystal, would like to meet at some point. I said that I would let them know when it works. There are just a lot of things going on in my life right now and I need to focus on me. I’m not going to let the guilt of a three-year-old needing a donor get to me either. I’m sure there are thousands of people out there waiting for donors. Jason and his grandson are strangers to me just as the others are. We all know I’m selfish and I’m going to continue to be. This is about me and Royce and our baby.”

“As it should be,” her mother said. “And we are sorry if we ever made you feel as if you weren’t enough or to doubt yourself. You’ve always been ours regardless of who carried and birthed you. I know you know that.”

“I did then and I do even more now,” she said.

Once Chloe was seated again, Royce sat next to her. “It’s my turn. I guess we are going to air things out today for both our families.” He turned to Chloe. “I know I’ve been gone a lot with work.”

“It’s the nature of your job. I know that. I don’t have a problem with it.”

“You say that now, but the closer you get to the baby being born you might not mean it. Besides, I mind. I have a problem with it. I’m not going to miss things in my child’s life. This week Dad and Elise and I sat down to restructure things. We are just growing so much. I want my father here for a long time and there is no reason he needs to take on more. He wants to enjoy his granddaughter too.”

“I’d like to enjoy my niece,” Elise said. “And who knows? Maybe someday I’ll have my own kid.”

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