Dad's best friend secret baby

Chapter 42

Evie

I opened my eyes to the sound of birds chirping.

How I missed this— the sound of serenity. The comfort of the peeling walls of our apartment. Minnesota.

A small smile tilted my lips when I heard the sound of Dad's voice. How I missed his singing.

"Good morning," he chirped, rearing his head through my slightly ajar door.

"Good morning, Dad," I smiled.

He smiled back. "How are you, darling?"

"I'm fine, Dad."

"I see," he grinned.

"I'm making breakfast. See you outside in a few minutes."

"Okay, Dad."

He shut the door gently and my smile dropped. This was how it usually was. It wasn't like I was faking the smile, I loved Dad, and the bond— the one we had before all this— was still there.

But every single time the door closed, and I was left to my thoughts, my smile dropped.

The few seconds after I woke up was the only time I had to be grateful. Other seconds that came after reminded me of the gaping hole in my chest.

Hell, everything reminded me of the pain in my chest.

The birds reminded me of Sophie, and his words.... my belly, reminded me of him.

It had been a week since I returned to Dad. After staying in Emma's place for two weeks— with Ethan's relentless pursuit, I decided to leave.

His words were a lot for me... they were too much for my heart to handle.

He never missed a day. Even when Emma failed to open the door, he stayed, pleading from the other side. And I listened from behind the door. I listened to each of his words— the emotion it carried, the hurt. But I never opened... I never saw him.

I didn't want to. It wasn't just the text, it was more than that. It was everything.

I fought the tears as I brought my hand to my belly. Perhaps it was one of the reasons, that despite the renewed bond between Dad and I, I still felt sad.

Dad didn't know about my pregnancy. It was one month after finding out and I just couldn't bring myself to tell him.

All the days I'd spent here, I tried to summon the courage, I just couldn't. Not when he was this happy that I came home— that I chose him... that I finally did the right thing.

He was proud of me, he was happy. I just couldn't ruin things for us.

Things were finally going right for him. He now had employees— a little more than a few. The contract was working out perfectly for him.

His life was the definition of picture perfect, and it could remain that way until my belly started to show.

I didn't want to imagine the look of disappointment on his face if I told him. I didn't want to be the reason his smile was wiped away. I didn't want to hurt Dad the second time.

But, I knew I'd do whatever it took to care for my baby. If it came down to it, and it was just us, I'd love him with every fiber of my being.

Amidst all this, I found myself thinking about Ethan, and not just because of the pain he caused me.

I found myself thinking about everything. The moments, the memories, any small gestures I could cling to.

I didn't know why my heart refused to understand that he was now part of the past. I didn't know why it couldn't understand that we had to live without him. I had to.