Page 90 of Eleven of a Kind

“I’m sorry, Piper.” He looked down.

“No.” I shook my head. “No, you’re not. You could have reached out at some point when I was older, but you didn’t. You just pretended that I never existed. And you got really good at pretending because you didn’t even tell your daughters about me, their own sister. And now I know why you didn’t. You didn’t want them to know what a horrible person you are. Well, guess what, Daddy? The cat’s out of the bag. How does it feel?”

“I think it’s time for you to leave,” Victoria said.

“Victoria, be quiet,” my father’s stern voice echoed throughout the room.

“Jonathan—”

“I said be quiet. I haven’t seen my daughter in almost twenty years. I’ll decide when it’s time for her to leave.”

“No, Dad. You don’t get to make that decision. I meant nothing to you when I was ten years old, and I mean nothing to you now.”

“That’s not true, Piper. You have no idea the struggles I went through over the years about what I’d done.”

“You obviously didn’t struggle enough because if you were, you would have found a way to reach out to me.”

“I couldn’t because I already knew you hated me, and I didn’t want to disrupt your life. I want nothing more than to get to know my daughter. What are you doing in Los Angeles? You’re still living there, right? Where do you work? Did you go to college?”

I stood there with my head cocked and furrowed brows as I stared at him.

“That is none of your fucking business, Jonathan. You didn’t give two shits about my life growing up, and now I come here to confront you, and all of a sudden, you want to play daddy? I don’t think so. You lost the right to know anything about me. Come on, Gabriel. We’re leaving.”

Gabriel stood from the couch and walked over to where my father stood.

“It’s men like you who ruin it for us good men. You are nothing but a weak man. Thank God, Piper, didn’t inherit that trait from you. Her strength was built on your weakness. When I stand here and look at you, all I see is a coward. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“By the way, Jonathan,” I said. “You still only have two daughters because my coming here doesn’t change anything. You will never see me again.” I walked out of the living room and out the front door.

I heard a voice from behind as Gabriel and I walked down the driveway.

“Wait!”

I stopped and turned around, only to see the twins standing there.

“Are you really our sister?” one of the girls asked.

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m Ashley.” She extended her hand.

“And I’m Annabelle.”

“My name is Piper.” I shook both of their hands.

“Why didn’t Dad ever tell us about you?” Ashley asked.

“Well, that’s something you’ll have to ask him and your mom.”

“Will we ever see you again?” Annabelle asked.

“I’m afraid not, sweetheart. I have to go. Take care of each other, okay?” I smiled.

“Okay,” Ashley said.

I climbed into the car and let out a breath. Gabriel immediately grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed it tight.

“Are you okay?”

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