Chapter 16

"You said you wanted more, what are you waiting for? I'm not running from you. "

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He is the first to speak.

"Nicholas, how have you been?"

I want to scream, to tell him that my name is, and always will be just Nick. I want him to realise that he took everything on the day he left, everything including the son he had raised.

"Daddy, where are you going?"

"I am not your Daddy, Nicholas."

I am not his son anymore, as Leo has not been my father for over a decade.

Aiden steps up, his body shaking in righteous fury as he raises his hand and his fist collides with Leo's cheek.

The action brings everyone out of their trance, and Sylvia screams while Greg walks over to stop Aiden from delivering another punch.

"You son of a bitch!"

Aiden is angry, Sylvia is afraid, and Leo stays where he had fallen on the ground, mud and dirt ruining his fancy business attire.

I take a step forward and stop. What is happening to me?

Leo walked out on us, left us broken with nobody else to turn to. Leo walked out with Chris' innocence and mom's happiness.

So why did I, even for a second, think about helping him up?

I want to see him suffer, to see him break, to see for once that he is just as broken as we are. I detest how he looks to be doing well when mom is suffering every day to make ends meet.

I look at Sylvia, who is still watching on with wide eyes, frozen in shock.

She is pretty, confident, and innocent. She is of the same age as I am, yet she is untouched by the horrors of the world, carefree in a way I can no longer afford to be.

Is she the ideal child for Leo, the child Chris and I couldn't be, the child he truly wanted?

Or did he actually just want a daughter, were we never going to be good enough for him?

I hate him.

I hate him for what he did to us, for making Chris wait up every night despite knowing he would never be coming back.

I hate him for giving his love to another family, for raising another child, for throwing away all the love he had promised us.

Sylvia finally walks up to a struggling Aiden and slaps him.

"Why'd you hit my father?" She demands, and both Greg and Henry stare at her warily while pushing Aiden behind them.

Greg and Henry, are they bodyguards? Why would Kyle and Aiden need bodyguards?

Arms envelop me from behind, and I feel the tingles spreading throughout my body. Only now do I realise I am shaking.

Am I fearful, anxious, or angry?

"Your father?" Aiden glares at Leo, whose gaze doesn't leave me. "You left your family to raise another kid?!"

"Sylvia is my child, too. What else was I supposed to do?"

Leo speaks, and I find myself wishing he would just shut up. The sound of his voice only brings back unwanted memories.

"Straight As! I'm proud of you, Nicholas. You are indeed my son."

"Maybe one day, when you're old enough, I'll let the two of you have a go at hunting, okay?"

"Nicholas is the name I gave you, and it is the name I will use. Others may want to shorten it, but you will always be Nicholas to me."

"You had a choice." Everyone's eyes are on me now as I meet his gaze head on, leaning into Kyle for support. "I know you chose to leave. You stopped caring for us weeks before you started cheating on mom. Knowing you had another child was just the excuse you needed to drop us and go."

He is still making excuses, making it seem as if he wasn't given a choice, as if he never wanted to leave us.

Chris was a fool to ever think of Leo as a saint. Chris looked up to Leo, even years after we were abandoned, and this is the person Leo truly is.

Sylvia is shocked now as she looks at her father.

"Dad, what are they talking about? You and mom were together, weren't you?"

It is almost funny how Sylvia doesn't remember the day our dad walked into her life, when I vividly remember the day he walked out of ours.

Leo looks hesitant, and only tells her that he will explain it later before turning back to me.

"Yes. I had a choice. I no longer felt the same love for your mother, but I will always regret the pain I've caused you. I am still your father, Nicholas. Not a single day has passed where I do not think about Chris' and your safety."

"Bullshit!" Aiden yells, and grabs Leo by the collar. Maybe it is due to my loss of composure, or the fact that I am seeing red, that I see Aiden's blue eyes flash red. "You didn't even call them to see how they're doing, and you claim to care?"

"Aiden, let him go!"

Kyle's voice is powerful again, infused with the same authority he had used earlier. Aiden seems to relax against his will, letting Leo drop to the ground.

Kyle's voice, no matter how intimidating, sends a wave of comfort through me, and I feel my shoulders relax.

Sylvia helps her father up so he is standing against a tree. Leo looks at me with an expression so pleading it is repulsive.

"Please, Nicholas. Let me make it up to you."

Make it up to me?

I laugh.

Can he make mom smile again, make Chris return from the dead, renew my faith in the love he always preached about?

"My name is Nick, Leo."

I am no longer his son, no matter how much I wish I can experience his love once again.

He sighs.

"Nick, I promise I'll make it up to you. We can go back home, back to the way we were, you've already met your sister, haven't you?"

I look at Sylvia, who is frustrated with her own confusion. Leo wants me to replace Chris with the one girl who stole his affection?

"I don't have a home, Leo. Just stay away from me."

Kyle's arms tighten around me, and I realise I am shaking again.

"You heard him. It's time for you to leave."

Kyle's chest vibrates as he speaks, and I find myself leaning closer into his embrace.

I am grateful to Kyle for not leaving my side despite being oblivious to the situation at hand. Perhaps it comes with the 'blind love' of a mating bond.

I feel pathetic.

Leo nods.

"Can I at least talk to Chris before I go?"

Aiden's fist collides with Leo's jaw before anyone can react.