Unconditional Love

Chapter Thirteen - Layla

"You are so stupid. You should have learned your lesson after the wedding. You will never be a priority in his life. Even though you're supposed to be number one. That damn ring on your finger doesn't mean shit. He's always going to choose that family first. He'll always choose her."

I hear someone coming up the stairs so I try to get myself together. At this point it doesn't matter what happens. I didn't want this damn shower anyway. It wasn't anything special about my pregnancy. The thrill of welcoming his first child was gone already. I wasn't even giving birth to his second child. I wanted to have all of those firsts. I should have had them. He didn't care to show up to most of the appointments. He didn't make it to either one of the ultrasounds. And that's another reason I am so pissed off that he is missing the gender reveal. He has only seen the pictures and heard the heartbeat from my phone recordings. I feel like my child will be put to the back all the time.

I turn on the faucet to clean my face, I use some eye drops to get rid of the redness in my eyes. The puffiness is just here to stay. No, just because I feel like shit doesn't mean I need to look the part. No one needs to see how affected I am by all of this. I refuse to be anyone's entertainment tonight. They don't need to tear me down. My husband did that all on his own.

I stare at myself in the mirror, what does a broken woman look like? She's staring back at me, she looks lost. Suck it up Layla, you're not broken - not completely. I take a few deep breaths and try to get a hold on my emotions. I stare back into the mirror and I start my affirmations.

"You are beautiful. You are smart. You are strong. You are worthy. You are loved."

I do a few other things in my skin care routine and now I look somewhat like myself. I am fucking gorgeous. I take a final look and walk out of the bathroom. I look up and start to smile. I'm standing here looking at my first love.

"You look beautiful Princess."

"Thank you Daddy. I'm sorry I'm taking so long to get ready, all I have to do is put on my shoes. It takes a lot of energy these days to get around."

"That's understandable Princess you're carrying around a mini human being. And I already knew you wouldn't have your shoes on, that's why I brought you a present."

My smile gets bigger. My dad loves to spoil me. I look towards his hands and he's holding a pair of blinged out ballet slippers. This man knows my heart. I hurry over to my dad and wrap my arms around his midsection. My dad's 6'6" and I am barely 5'2".

"Thanks Daddy, I love you so much you always know what I need before I even know I need it."

I held on to him more than necessary. I need my dad to embrace me and let me know he's right here by my side. I need to know that I'll always have him no matter what. It feels like home in my dad's arms. The smell of his cologne, the sound of his heart beat, and the warmth from his body lets me know that I am safe and loved.

"I love you even more Princess. What's wrong, have you been crying? I don't want to step out of character tonight but I damn sure will. Did somebody say something to you?"

"No daddy, you know that no one even had access to be up here. If they did, the only thing you would be doing is bailing Tiff out of jail tonight."

He laughs because he knows that it's true. He had to bail her out once before.

"Well then tell me what's going on. I haven't been able to hold on to my little girl like this for a long time. You thought you were too grown, remember? 'Daddy I'm a married woman now I can't be still getting hugs and kisses from my dad. It's so embarrassing.' Those were your exact words."