Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty Three - Father and Son

"And she was okay?" Ryan asks in surprise, standing up, pacing in front us. "I mean she is, okay," he stressed, speaking to himself, "look at you," he laughs happily, the corner of his eyes crinkling as he laughs.

"You didn't fall apart," Ryan mused a contented smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Adian lifts his head to look at his father, "is that why you kept all of this hidden from her?" Adian asked surprise, but with a tinge of impatience.

Sitting back down, Ryan starts to explain, "your mother kept saying all reports from Hailey's therapist confirm that any, additional trauma would result in her having to be isolated in a mental institute." He explains but instead of being please to finally be getting some answers, Adian was getting angrier.

Putting me gently away from him, "so you didn't even try to intervene concerning her upbringing?" Adian barks at his father, causing both Mrs. Harris and I to jump at his sudden outburst.

Ryan looked at me with a regretful smile, "I had no control over Hailey," Ryan admitted looking away, his eyes suddenly cold, tightening his jaw. "Back then, I didn't care, or I was to angry, not caring about anyone, except you," he tells Adian.

Standing up angrily, "what the f**k did a five year old do, that you couldn't reach out?" Adian hollowed, his voice echoing in the bedroom, freezing me.

He's arguing with his father and it's all because of me.

I'm once again causing distress in his life!

Slapping his chest with a loud thud, "I was betrayed by my wife and my best friend," Ryan shouted back at Adian, "of course I distance myself from everything concerning them and.." He looks at me, his eyes darken and unreadable, causing me to cringe in fear. "Helping Sullivan's daughter was the last thing on my mind." Ryan admitted lowering his voice, he sat back down and cradled his head in his hands. "By the time I chose to get involved, David had already gone to prison and Ameila, together with Allan had full guardianship of..." again Ryan pauses and shock his head, "of Hailey!" He reaches out a hand towards me.

"I'm sorry Hailey!" He says holding my hand, ignoring his angry son, who stood glaring down at him. "It was a trying time for me and it took losing my son" he looks up at Adian, his eyes full of love and compassion. "To wake me up." Releasing my hand, Ryan gets up and walks out of the room, his head hanging low, in defeated.

"Talk to him!" The quiet Mrs. Harris spoke sternly to Adian. "Understand how he felt back then, because I was there." She added, grabbing his hand.

"Go, talk to him, because he's the only honest parent we both have." I nudged him forward.

Leaning down, he kissed me before making long strides, following his father.

Turning my attention to Mrs. Harris, realizing she's more involved in our past, than I knew.

"You knew all this time," I told her, my body drained from the emotional rollercoaster I've been on the past few hours.

Nodding with a sad smile. "Yes, I was there during everything, but I couldn't abandon Mr. Knights and his young son when Mrs. Knights did." Mrs. Harris said, immediately standing up.

I can see from her countenance, the conversation is over, but I still had to know!

"There's a lot more that will shock me, isn't there?" I ask, a numbness slowly creeping up.

Mrs. Harris turned to me, "yes Hailey, there will be more shocks that will hit both you and Adian, hard, but just keep one thing in mind." Her tone forces me to lift my head, "you're both in this together," she adds and I nod in agreement but the sternness in her eyes scared me for a moment. "Stop pushing him away, before you push him out the door," Mrs. Harris warned, before walking out the door, shutting it softly behind her.

Has everyone being seeing Adian's pain and tolerance except me?

I need to change this, promising myself, once again.

God help me to keep my promise this time," I prayed silently, heading towards the bathroom.

Forty five minutes later, I was showered and dressed in a black fitted jeans and a black shirt, that clung to my upper body, dropping on my hip. I added a black jacket, which hung lower than the shirt to complete my outfit for my first day outside the apartment.

My damp hair hung loose and cascade down my back, with the short strands falling in front of my face, as is my norm. I've learnt it's a defence mechanism I keep in place to hide from the world around me, locking myself into my own bubble.

Marrying Adian Knights, hasn't added to my self-esteem, because I still feel inferior around him, even though he's never treated me in anyway to make me feel like that.

Grabbing my credit card and some cash, I left the phone behind and walked into the kitchen, where Gerard sat sipping from a glass and Mrs. Harris was bustling in the kitchen as usual.

"Hey," I greeted Gerard, who immediately puts down the glass in his hand.

Smiling in surprised, "ma'am," he greeted me and I frowned at his formal greeting.

Chuckling, "it's Hailey, remember?" I mocked him.

"You look nice," Mrs. harris came closer, her eyes travelling over me from head to toe.

Blushing, I look away, "where's Adian?" I asked, but before she could respond, "is Ryan still here?" I added looking behind me.

Mrs. Harris exchange a glance with Gerard, "they're in the office, but.." she trailed off. "Adian is still upset," she tilted her head and turned back to the meat she was preparing.

Turning on my heels, "I'll be right back," I headed straight into the office without knocking, hoping to end this war between a father and a son.