3. Daddy-son time
2101 Words
Damien POV
It's hard, hard not to be able to be with my queen. Wendy doesn't talk to me or even text me anymore, she only sends some emails sometimes, but that's about it. I miss her every day, and every night I lay in my bed in pure agony, wishing she was there with me.
I don't blame her for what she's doing or feeling, because she's right. My job as a dad is to protect my children from harm, and when I lied about my responsibility, I betrayed them. Thankfully, almost all of the kids forgave me, and wants to be with me—everyone, except my oldest boy, Caleb.
Neither he nor his mother can be held responsible for the betrayal and pain I put on them. If I could turn back time and fix it, I would. But at the same time, I can't make amends with someone that doesn't want to listen. It's like forcing an addict to quit when they don't have the will to do so.
I just put Fiona and sneaked out of her room when my phone rings. Noah and Darby are on the couch, SpongeBob SquarePants, on tv. I answer, and my breath gets stuck in my throat when I hear my beloved boy answer. My throat is thick with tears, joy, and hope.
"Caleb, is that you?" I ask in wonder, not sure if I'm hallucinating or not.
"Yes, it's me," his wonderful voice says.
"I'm not busy at all! Was there some special reason to why you're calling?" I ask and hope that he wants to talk to me.
"No, I just wanted to talk..." YES!
"Of course, we can talk! How was your day?" I ask while wiping the tears from my cheeks.
"I had fun! Me and Thomas was playing and then we built a giant sandcastle!" he exclaims proudly.
"Wow! How high was it?"
"It was almost as tall as me!"
I continue to listen to his words, emotions, and thoughts. My little boy is happy to tell me all about his day and friend, who's name apparently is Thomas. We laugh together and have fun, but after a while, he quiets down. Immediate anxiety rises within me.
"Caleb?"
"Why did you lie, daddy?" he asks in a broken voice and my heart breaks.
How do I explain the complexity of the situation to an almost seven-year-old boy without confusing him? I know that I have to tell my actions, but that's not something I want to do on the phone. An idea starts to form inside my mind.
"Caleb, can we talk about this when we see each other, please? We can go grab an ice cream, maybe?"
"Hm..."
I wait for his answer with anticipation, anxiety, and possible heartbreak if he says no. He shuffles the phone, and I can't hear him for a moment. I can hear his voice and someone answering him, which I guess is Wendy. He asks something, and she answers.
"I'm back, daddy. I asked mommy, and she said yes. But she wants to know when?"
"How about tomorrow?" I ask and he shuffles with the phone once again before he reappears.
"Mommy said it was okay, but I need to be back home by seven. That's when we eat dinner with grandpa on Fridays."
"That's wonderful, my boy! I'll see you tomorrow then. Do you want me to pick you up?" I ask and hope for him to say yes, because then I may be able to see Wendy for a couple of seconds.
"No. Mommy says that I'm going to go there with Gregorio when he's picking the others up."
"Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep tight!" I answer in fake happiness, bummed that Wendy still doesn't want to see me.
"Bye, daddy!"
We hang up, and I slump in my chair. Noah walks into my office and looks me over with sadness. I don't need to say anything; he walks up to me without making a sound and hugs me tightly. I'm breathing heavily and tries to restrain myself from crying.
"It's going to be alright, daddy," he says calmly.
"I hope so, my boy, I hope so."
***
I'm nervous when I see Gregorio's car come closer. Noah, Darby, and Fiona stand beside me with their backpacks, ready to go back to their mother. I told them this morning about my 'date' with Caleb, and explained why there's only going to be the two of us. Surprisingly, they understood.
The car stops in front of us, and Gregorio climbs out of the driver's seat to open Caleb's door. He climbs out and stands before me. The first thing that strikes me is his height; he's much taller than he was the last time I saw him. He almost looks like a man.
He looks at me with an almost defiant look, proud and strong, like me. Like father like son. He seems more and more like me every day. Slowly, I stroll up to him, and a tear slip from my eye. Caleb sees it and runs up to me. I catch him effortlessly and hug him. My boy is finally in my arms!
"My boy," I sob into his shoulder, hugging him with everything I have.
My other children hug us together in a big group hug. I love this feeling of happiness that the kids give me when their little arms engulf me. It isn't until Gregorio clears his throat we break apart. I look at him with confusion; why did he interrupt our moment?
"I'm very sorry to interrupt Mr. Winston. But Ms. Colton has asked me to get the others back as soon as possible," Gregorio says embarrassed.
"That's alright, Gregorio," I say to him before I turn to the children again. "I'll see you next week. Be nice to mommy!"
Noah, Darby, and Fiona hug me before they climb into the car. Me and Caleb stand side by side, watching the car disappear. We look at each other and smile. I take his hand and leads him to the park opposite my apartment building. I asked my brothers and Adrien to be there, too; they missed him.
"Hello, buddy! How are you?" Adrien asks and ruffles his hair.
"Come and give your uncle a hug!" Jaxon exclaims and Caleb hurries to do so.
"Wow, you're looking like your daddy more each time I see you," Brody says and smiles at him.
"How about that ice cream?" I ask and watch Calebs face lit up like a christmas tree.
I take his hand, and we walk towards the kiosk. When we all have an ice cream in our hands, happily licking the sweet coldness, Caleb suddenly frowns, deep in thought. I look at him, but he doesn't react at first, not until I push him softly to gain his attention.
"What is it, Caleb?"
"Why did all of you hurt mommy?" he asks and looks at me with identical eyes, mine.
I look at my brothers and Adrien; all of us probably wear the same expression, shame, and surprise by his question. No one answers Caleb, neither one of us was ready simply because we didn't know what to say, how to explain the never-ending heartbreak.
"Caleb, it's hard for me to explain..." I begin and sigh. "When I first met your mother, we didn't give each other our real names."
"But why?" he asks and looks confused.
"We had different reasons for not telling, but that's a story for when you're older," I chuckle. "But when I first saw her, my heart stopped. She was the most beautiful creature I've ever seen before, a goddess. We spoke to each other, and it felt like we had known each other our whole lives. That was the same night we created you and your brothers. After that, she disappeared, and since I didn't have a name, I couldn't find her. Then a few months later, I did find her when she was having dinner with uncle Jaxon. She was going to work for me, and I was happy. When I found out about when she got pregnant, I was scared. Scared of telling the truth because I didn't know if she was going to leave with the three of you..."
"What about Fiona?" he asks and looks puzzled.
"I've lied to your mother before, and that was when she left us behind. You and your brothers were only a few months old at the time. She was carrying Fi in her womb without knowing about it. I searched for her; we all did. But it wasn't until one day years later that we found all of you. You remember that, don't you?" I ask, and he nods his head. "I knew that Fiona was my daughter before your mom told me, since I knew how much time had gone by. But she gave me a choice not to lie to her again, and I already had done it without meaning to. I knew you were my sons, but she gave me a warning not to withhold information one more time. So I became scared... And here we are."
"She is sad, daddy," he says after a couple of moments. "She thinks that I don't know, but I do. I can hear her at night when she's crying in her bedroom. I don't know who she's talking to, but she always says 'why did you hurt me and not love me the same way I loved you?'"
The others looked at me; we all knew who she was talking about; me. I broke down the only woman who ever loved me for me, instead of my money or status. My mistakes are her eternal pain. Caleb must have heard her a lot of times, since he can quote her words effortlessly.
"Have she told you anything else?" I ask hesitantly, I can see there's more he isn't telling.
"She told me not to tell you," he answers quietly.
"Well, if you tell me, I promise that I won't tell anything to her," I try and smile at him.
"Mommy is getting married."
My heart seriously stops. No, no, no! This can't be happening! Wendy! No, I can't lose her again. Two times is more than enough. The thought of her, happy in some other man's arms is enough to make me shudder. My love, what have you done?
"Does she love him?" I ask without thinking.
"No, we've never met him. She hasn't either."
What. The. Hell?! An arranged marriage?! Her dad must be from the seventeenth century if he thinks that this is something healthy. You only marry if you're involved with the mob to maintain the peace between families, and she's not.
The man Wendy is marrying could end up to be an abusive fucker or something worse! How is her father thinking? Since I know that Wendy never would think of something like this on her own, I know that he's using her as a pawn in a game. And I need to stop it!
"She's hurting and unhappy, daddy. Please help her..." Caleb says and small tears fall from his eyes.
I need to help her now more than ever. But how can I? I have no right whatsoever to do something like this. We're not involved with each other in any way except that we're the parents to our kids; besides that, there isn't anything to talk about.
"I will do what I can, Caleb. That's my promise to you!"
A/N:
Hello everyone!
Tell me what you thought about the chapter. I felt that I needed to give you a chapter dedicated to Damien and his love for his long lost son. Caleb is a sweet boy, and it's a shame that he's more grown-up than child. Wendy is lucky to have her boy.
Lots of love <3
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