Reunited

Chapter 15:

This is what happens when I get bored 😄 I had this idea about what might happen if Adaline's father ever found her. Set just after Colin and Jennifer marry.

Adaline POV:

Things just couldn't stay peaceful. My parents just got back from their honeymoon a few days ago, and this happens. I didn't want to kill her blissful vibe, but I had to before he did, before my biological father did. I refused to call him my dad, because that's what Colin was to me, because Colin didn't leave my mom when he felt like it after making her think they were in love. No, that's what my biological father did, and now he wanted to see me? Coincidental how my identity was outed and he wants to meet me.

I picked up my phone and dialed, my mother picked up right away.

"Addy? Hi!" She said in a cheerful tone. I gritted my teeth, not ready for this. But it had to be done.

"Mom, I need to come over and talk to you about something." I forced out.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" She asked nervously.

"I'm fine, I just need to talk to you." I lied. I was not okay, not by a long shot.

"Okay, come on over then." She said.

I strapped Cadence into her car seat and made the short drive. My mom answered the door and Cadence practically flew into her arms. That's what happens when your mom spoils your kid rotten.

"What happened? You look flustered." She said worriedly. "Come in and sit down."

She set Cadence down, and the toddler went off in search of her grandfather.

"It's about my biological father." I said. Might as well just spit it out.

"Do you want to find him?" My mom asked cautiously.

"He found me, I think." I admitted.

"What?!" She exclaimed. "How?"

"I'm not entirely sure. But he contacted me though Facebook. He said he was with you around the time that I would have been conceived. He looks a bit like me, but it's hard to say." I explained.

"What's his name?" She asked in a quiet tone.

"Toby Harrandas." I answered.

"It's him." She said. "We can do a DNA test if you want, but it's him."

Her head was now in her hands. I didn't like seeing my mother stress, especially over something like this. I didn't want my biological father in my life, I just felt that she should know before he went public with anything. I didn't know if he was some loon who might start yelling about being my dad. It was a very hot subject when I was discovered.

I moved over next to my mom and hugged her.

"Mom, I just thought you should know in case he does anything stupid. I don't want him in my life. He left you once, who's to say he won't do it again, to me?"

She picked her head up, the tears brimming in her eyes. "Addy, if you want your dad in your life, don't keep it to yourself because of me. This is about you."

"Mom, Colin is my dad. He loves you and I, and Cadence. He's committed to all of us, and he's the only father figure I've ever known. I don't want my biological father."

She stared at me in shock.

"Are you sure? I mean it, if you want him around, don't let me stop you."

I smiled assuringly, "I'm sure. He has no legal right to anything."

That night, I contacted him in return. I politely declined his approach, telling myself that I would be more aggressive if he were to get too pushy. He'd fed me a sob story about wanting to get to know his child and grandchild. I didn't believe a second of it.

I decided to google him to see just what I was dealing with, I was not impressed. Charges of breaking and entering, theft, assault. No murders or rapes, a little helpful. But overall, it looked like he'd gone down a dark path after leaving my mom, who happened to text me just then to see how I was holding up. I proudly texted her everything I found, telling her how we both dodged a bullet.

Jennifer POV:

I ranted to Colin for most of the evening. Why Toby thought he could do this, I had no idea. Colin was patient and supported me, and also agreed that any decision in this was up to Addy and we would have to deal with it. Thankfully, she responded to my text with a heap of bad information on him. I knew he had bad tendencies, but this was worse than I imagined. No way did anyone like this need to be in our lives. I breathed for the first time in hours, a weight was off me. I had no reason to worry.

Maybe I spoke too soon.

He raised hell, catching public attention by saying that Addy was his, and demanding a DNA test to prove it. But there was no legal standing for him. Neither of our names were on Addy's birth certificate, not to mention that she was an adult. He then tried to play with grandparents' laws, which didn't exist here. He had no legal right to Cadence either. In the end, Addy and I had protective order's put in place, just in case. The man seemed a bit unhinged. Why he wanted to be so close to a daughter and granddaughter he never knew about until now, we weren't sure. Maybe for money or fame, or he was just psychotic.

Addy and I both had to make public statements about how this all came about, and why we weren't allowing Toby to come into our lives. Even Colin had to speak out for himself, given that he was married to me, her mother. Addy referred to Colin as her father several times, much to Toby's dismay. In return, Colin announced that he sees Addy as a wonderful daughter and Cadence as a granddaughter, no matter the circumstances.

In the end, everything died down a month or two later. Toby's short time in the spotlight ended and we never heard from him again. Every so often I check online to see if he's had any recent arrests. I'm hoping one day he gets locked away for good, so that he can never have a chance to bother any of us again.