Her Last Plea✨

Chapter 42

As soon as she heard her father's car drive out of the property, Delphina released a breath that she didn't know she had been holding. She didn't know how long she had been seating in the armchair when she heard the front door open and saw that Ara was running at her at full speed.

"Hi Mommy!" Ara exclaimed, running to her mother.

"Slow down princess," Mike reminded, entering the room with Marvin in his arms as his daughter slowed down just in time, hugging her mother's lap hesitantly. "Ara, love, why don't you run along and wash up for dinner?"

Ara let go of Delphina and nodded. Before she could walk away completely from her mother's grasp, Delphina grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "Come here," Delphina whispered, leaning towards her daughter. "I missed you today."

Grinning, Ara's bright blue eyes lit up as if it was Christmas morning. "You did?"

"I did," Delphina replied. "What did you do today?"

"Played with Layla and Karl. Oh and, Hailey watched Frozen with us," Ara replied. "What did you do today?"

"Had lunch with a friend, wrote some letters.….tied up some loose ends. Nothing fun like playing," Delphina replied, smiling. "Mommy is very tired today, though, and will go to bed after dinner. Can Daddy read to you tonight?"

"Lexi could read to you," Mike offered. "She'll be over later."

Ara beamed, leaning in to kiss her mom on the cheek. "Sure! I'm going to go wash my hands now."

Mike gave his daughter a pat on the head as she skipped by. Shifting Marvin to his other side, he could see his wife staring at him with disapproval. "What?"

"You look like hell, Mike. Did you fall asleep at work or something?"

"No. I'm just tired, I guess. I left work and took a walk around the park, spoke to my lawyer," he said. "I was going to come home, but I didn't want to be here in case your parents and sister were here."

"They were here," Delphina replied. "My father threatened to file for custody of the kids when I told them about my plan."

"Of course," Mike replied, rolling his eyes as he set Marvin down who toddled towards his play area on the side of the room. "What did they say when you told them about the adoption angle?"

Delphina laughed at the smirk on Mike's face and replied, "Snapped at me and stormed out. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much. I doubt my parents want the girls and I'm sure his lawyer would tell them that courts don't like separating siblings. Even so, I'm pretty certain it was just a threat and my father wouldn't actually go through with it."

"I'm not too worried about what Steven does," Mike snorted. "I'll go start on dinner."

Delphina stood up and nodded. "You said Alexis is coming over for dinner?"

"Uh….yes. And I may have.…I may have asked her to stay the night. To help with the children in the morning," Mike clarified quickly. "I wasn't sure how you'd be feeling tomorrow and since Mira's at school, I'd probably need help with the kids."

She wasn't sure how she felt, her husband asking Alexis to spend the night. Sure, Delphina had asked Alexis to eventually move in, but on her terms, when she said. But with the news from the doctor today, it was no time for pride to get in the way. Smiling, she nodded as she carefully rose to her feet. "Sounds like a perfectly practical plan to me. Help me to the wash room, please?"

After leading Delphina to the washroom, Mike went in search of his son. Marvin stood in his gated play area in the living room, merrily playing with his little music table. With exhaustion leading to a migraine, Mike somehow knew his son would go for the loudest toy of the lot.

On the seventh round of 'row-row-row-your boat,' Alexis arrived, overnight bag in hand. Marvin squealed at the sight of her, chanting "Le-si!" repeatedly until Alexis scooped him up from the ground, showering his face with kisses.

"I missed you, my love!" she cooed, hugging him tight. "Yes, I did. I missed you all day!"

Marvin returned the hug enthusiastically, puckering his tiny lips to give Alexis a kiss. He garbled a bunch of sounds, as if he was speaking with a rousing bit of conviction about his day as she carried him through the house. Ara came bouncing down the stairs, colliding into Alexis with a quick side hug before running into the dining room, where Mike was helping Delphina into her seat at the table. Plopping Marvin into his high chair, Alexis gave his blond curls a ruffle as she caught Delphina's gaze.

"How are you feeling?" Alexis asked casually, as not to alarm Ara.

"Tired," Delphina replied, voice clipped. "Which seems to be the theme of today, wouldn't you agree?"

Alexis absently scratched her neck and nodded, unsure of how to read the look on Delphina's face. "Yes.…just a bit."