White Lies and Sweet Compromise( 𝐁𝐖𝐖𝐌💕)

Chapter 43

Wither's Mansion.

Lionel stared at his daughter as she whispered something to Leela who laughed and whispered something back in return. The sight of the two of them together still left him awestruck after hours of watching and listening to them talk and share aspects of their lives and discovering how much they have in common.

He had often remembered Emma asking why she did not have a mother like her other friends when she was much smaller. He had left it up to his parents to provide whatever answers they saw fit as he remained elusive.

However, as she got older she had begun to make her own assumptions as to why her mother was not in her life as she gathered no one would tell her why Leela was not here in her life like every other child and their mother.

He had left her to put together whatever thoughts she wanted finding it easier than telling her that it was because of his insensitive and selfish desires that they were both deprived of the one woman they both longed for.

The years of being the only parent Emma knew had begun to be the norm as she discovered that not every child had both parents and she was one of them but keeping her in the dark and letting her believe her mother was not around due to circumstances only made him more miserable so the day after his parents funeral he had told her he would bring her mother home to her.

She had laughed delightfully hugging him to her small frame and telling him how much she loved him for being the best dad.

"You're way better than Santa," she had said pulling slightly away from him. "I asked him to give me my mummy for Christmas but he didn't even though I was a good girl."

His heart had broken further thinking how much he contributed to her heartache. He had kissed her forehead and gently stroked her freckled cheeks vowing to do whatever it took to mend the hearts he had broken.

He was never able to fulfil the promise as every attempt to find Leela was a dead end. Her parents had outrightly refused to tell him where to find her and even when he told them it was for their granddaughter's wellbeing Ernest had quietly said before hanging up the phone.

"You took that from us too when you took her away and shut us out of her life, Leela is better off without you and your family."

He had not expected a warm welcome and open arms but he had expected Emma to at least mend the broken bridge but there he was wrong too. He was never going to have it easy finding his way to fulfilling his promise to Emma so a few months ago when she told him that along with getting an Elsa doll for her Birthday her mother would be the next best thing he knew he had failed her.

He remembered the look of expectancy as her heart yearned for the one thing he could not give to her no matter how he tried. He had pulled her to sit on his lap and told her as best as he could why her mother was not with her and how he tried to get her back but nothing he did was making it possible.

She had begged him not to give up after asking if her mother was dead and finding out she was not. The Private Investigator had at least turned up that bit of information but that was about as much as they would get from their search.

"I'll wait, Daddy. I have Elsa first and then mummy after," she had told him.

He had just about given up when he saw Leela at the clinic working as a nurse. She was very much here in Michigan and living in Pine Meadows. She had been right under his nose watching Emma from a distance and wanting very much to be a part of her daughter's life as her daughter wanted her to be a part of hers.

Who would have known that all this time Leela had been at the place where Kylie had found her desire to live again? It amazed him that life was fitting the pieces together without them knowing it.

He wondered if she had known they were the private proprietors who had been responsible for the renovations and additional health structures of the clinic. Mr Caswell might have said something to her but if it was so he was happy she did not leave. He was glad she stood her ground knowing how much she was going to suffer as her past was now tangled with her present and the future relationship of the persons he was sure she wanted nothing to do with.

The sound of Kylie's phone ringing brought him back to the present and he saw that the day was turning into the late evening. The table was already cleared and Emma was excitedly pulling Leela into the house.

He listened to the sounds of his daughter's excited chuckle, Kylie's mellow tone as she talked to Sammy no doubt sharing how much she longed to be with her in Africa.

It was good to know that at least Ky and Bear were having their lives fall into place. The desires of their hearts prevailed over the many tragedies and odds that they faced. He found himself longing for a piece of the joy they had but when he left Leela all those years ago to suffer for his gutless cowardice and bear the brunt of his parents' self-righteous prudery he deprived himself of that.

He sighed and left Kylie to the privacy of her phone call with her fiancé. He went to the study that once belonged to his father and sat behind the desk of the man that growing up he wanted to be like in every way. He was his superhero until he realized that the man he adored cared nothing for the well-being of others if it went against the structure of his pristine high-minded life.

'The wealthy and the lower class prevail by living by the structure of their stature in life. They served our whimsical arbitrations and did the dirty work, you did not go about falling in love with them!'

His mother had stood by and watched as his father had dashed his heart against a stone that fated night that went all wrong from something that had felt so right. He realized also that he never allowed himself to be the man he was meant to be because he kept wanting to be his father.

It was due time he found that man and rescued the broken-hearted boy and the mistreated girl who had been no match for his parents' authority and power.

He stared at the picture of his parents resting in an oak picture frame on top of the desk. They seemed happy and content as they looked on smiling broadly. They were far from perfect and they made choices that cost both him and Kylie a lot and in the end their own lives.

It was time to set things right, mend the damage and give Emma and Leela the privilege to have their one desire. He on the other would just have to content himself with seeing his daughter and the woman he never stopped loving happy.

This was the price he would pay for what he did that wretched night and for being afraid to stand up for what he truly wanted when life allowed him to fight for it.

𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷

Guys will Lionel have the chance to mend the broken heart he has created and get a second chance to love Leela, or will he be destined to watch the love of his life building a life with their daughter that he will never truly be a part of?

Vote 😊
Comment☺
And lots of appreciation for the reads 🥰