The Heiress' Revenge-Chapter 92

A R I A N A

Dante was still kneeling in front of me his eyes pleading with me.

"Please Ariana," he said his voice low and serious. "Please let me in. Let me be here for them for you, I know I do not deserve it I know I was wrong for not being there but I am here now and I want to be their father, I want to help you, you do not have to do everything alone anymore."

I wrapped my arms around myself.

I felt so confused.

A part of me wanted to say yes to let someone help me to let him hold me and tell me it would be okay.

But another part of me was so scared.

"I... I don’t know Dante," I whispered. "I’m not sure."

"What are you not sure about?" he asked as his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I’m scared," I said, the truth spilling out. "I’m scared to get hurt again and I’m scared for the kids. What if you change your mind? What if it gets too hard? What if you one day decide leave? It would break their hearts It would break my heart, I can’t go through that pain again."

"I am not going to leave," he said firmly "They are my children and you are still my wife, with you guys is where I belong."

"You don’t know that!" I cried. "You don’t know how hard it is! It’s not just fun and homework! It’s sick nights and scary bills and worrying all the time! It’s real life!"

"Then let me share it with you!" he pleaded. "Let me help with the sick nights and the bills! Let me do the worrying with you! That is what a family does!"

"It’s not fair," I said, shaking my head. "You can’t just show up after years and demand to be a family."

"And it is fair for you to keep me away?" he asked, his voice rising with emotion. "Is it fair that I have to leave my own children now? Is it fair that they have to wonder who I am? Is it fair that you have to struggle when I have so much money that could make your life easy? Tell me Ariana what is fair about any of this?"

I had no answer for him.

He was right.

It wasn’t fair.

Nothing about our situation was fair.

"I need time," I finally said, looking down at my hands. "I need time to think. This is... a lot you dropping this on me I need to figure out what to do I need to figure out how to tell the kids, I just... I need time."

Dante was quiet for a long moment.

He stared at my face.

He slowly stood up looking defeated.

"Okay," he said softly. "I will give you time but I want you to know that I am not leaving you or our children, we are going to make this work" he declares before walking to the door

He stopped with his hand on the knob.

"I may have not been here for you guys," he said without turning around. "So please don’t deprive me of being there for you now."

Then he opened the door and left.

The apartment suddenly feeling silent too silent.

I sat there for a long time and just stared at the wall.

Then the sobs came.

They started deep in my chest and ripped out of me as I cried like I hadn’t cried in years.

I put my head on the kitchen table and let the tears fall.

I hated myself.

I hated everything.

What had I done?

I thought about Dante taking my kids. What if he got a lawyer? He was rich and powerful he could take them away from me.

Then I thought about the kids and how would I even begin to explain this to them?

’Kids see that man? He’s your father. He wasn’t here for your whole lives because I never told him about you, I kept him a secret... It’s all my fault.’

I imagined their little faces.

They would look at me like I was a terrible mother or even hate me for keeping their father from them.

They would have every right to hate me.

I had tried so hard to be a good mom.

I worked all the time.

I gave them all my love but I had taken something huge from them I had taken their father and I had taken something from Dante, too I saw the pain in his eyes when he looked at them.

He had missed everything.

My sobs got harder as I felt like I was breaking into a million pieces.

No matter what I decided now someone would get hurt.

If I let Dante in I risked my own heart and my children’s hearts.

If I kept him away I was hurting him and depriving my children of their father.

I was trapped.

There was no right answer, I didn’t know to do.

I was so tired of making all the hard choices alone but the one person who wanted to help me was the same person I was most scared to let in.

What do I do then?

Sooner or later I had to tell the kids about Dante, I just don’t know how they’d take it and that’s what scares me the most.