Chapter 104 104
FINN (RYAN’S FATHER)
I stood there long after the door closed behind Ryan.
The silence he left behind felt heavier than the shouting that had filled the house moments ago. I ran a hand over my face slowly, then turned to look at my wife.
“Why are you treating Emily like this?” I asked.
Cecelia didn’t answer immediately.
She let out a soft chuckle instead, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’re still asking that?” she said.
I frowned slightly, watching her carefully. “Yes,” I said. “Because I don’t understand it.”
She tilted her head, studying me like I had just said something amusing. “Of course you don’t,” she murmured.
Something about the way she said it didn’t sit right with me.
“I don’t know anything anymore, Cecelia,” I admitted, my voice quieter now. “I don’t even know the woman I married.”
Her expression didn’t change, but her eyes sharpened slightly.
“You don’t tell me anything,” I continued. “Your thoughts, your plans… I’m always the last to know.”
I let out a slow breath, the weight of it settling in my chest. “I’m tired,” I said.
The words hung there.
For a second, I thought she might respond differently.
Instead, she smiled.
“Is that why you’re cheating on me?” she asked calmly.
The question hit harder than I expected.
“Ce—” I started, my voice catching slightly.
She lifted a hand, cutting me off before I could continue. “No,” she said. “Don’t.”
Her gaze held mine, steady and unblinking. “I don’t want to hear whatever excuse you’ve prepared.”
“I don’t have—” I tried again.
“I said don’t,” she repeated, her voice still calm but firmer now.
Silence fell between us.
I swallowed, my jaw tightening as I looked away briefly, then back at her. “That still doesn’t answer my question,” I said.
Her brow lifted slightly. “Which one?”
“Why you’re being cruel to our son,” I replied. “And to Emily.”
Something flickered across her face then.
Not guilt.
Something else.
She let out another soft laugh, shaking her head slightly. “Cruel?” she echoed.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “Cruel.”
She studied me for a long second, like she was deciding whether or not I was worth the truth.
Then she spoke.
“Emily,” she said slowly, “is Gianna’s daughter.”
The name hit me before the meaning did.
Gianna.
For a second, I didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
“Gianna?” I repeated, my voice lower now.
Cecelia nodded slightly, watching me closely. “Yes,” she said. “That Gianna.”
My chest tightened.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
“That’s not possible,” I said, shaking my head faintly. “Gianna left town a while ago. I thought she was—”
“Gone?” she finished for me.
There was something almost amused in her tone.
“She was,” Cecelia continued. “And now she’s not.”
I stared at her, trying to process what she was saying.
“Emily is her daughter,” she repeated, slower this time. “Everything makes sense now, doesn’t it?”
No.
It didn’t.
If anything, it made less sense.
“You’re lying,” I said quietly.
Cecelia smiled again, but this time it was colder. “Am I?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
“Are you shocked?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. “Or are you wondering if you should go after her now that you know she’s back?”
My eyes snapped to hers.
“What?” I said.
She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. “Don’t pretend,” she said. “You think I didn’t notice?”
“Notice what?” I asked, my voice tightening.
“The way you looked when her name came up,” she replied. “The way you went quiet.”
I took a step back slightly, disbelief settling in. “You’re imagining things.”
“Am I?” she asked again.
Her voice stayed calm, but there was something sharper underneath it now.
“I went to you,” she continued, her tone shifting slightly. “I came to you first.”
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“But of course,” she said, ignoring the question. “You wanted her, didn’t you?”
Her lips curved into a faint smile.
“She always runs.”
Something twisted uncomfortably in my chest.
“Why are you talking like this?” I asked quietly.
Cecelia’s expression changed then, just slightly.
The calm cracked.
“I don’t know why she won’t stay away,” she said, her voice rising just a little. “Why she—or her offspring—keeps coming back into my life.”
The words hung in the air, heavier than anything else she had said.
I stared at her.
Realization began to creep in, slow and unsettling.
This wasn’t about Emily.
Not really.
This was about Gianna.
“Cecelia—” I started.
She shook her head sharply, cutting me off. “Don’t,” she said.
Her eyes glistened slightly now, but her voice stayed firm.
“I’ve dealt with you loving her once,” she continued. “I’m not doing it again.”
The room fell into silence.
I didn’t know what to say.
Didn’t know what to think.
Gianna.
The name echoed in my head, over and over again.
After Cecilia and William broke up back then, I thought I finally had the chance to be with G, but Cecilia clawed her way up to my heart.
“She’s back,” I said slowly, more to myself than to her.
Cecelia didn’t respond.
I felt my legs weaken slightly, the weight of everything pressing down all at once. Slowly, I lowered myself onto the chair behind me, my hands resting on my knees.
Gianna… was back.
After all these years.
I’m not sure I ever stopped loving her, but I respected her too much to stay far away.
I let out a quiet breath, my mind racing through memories I hadn’t touched in a long time.
None of this made sense.
None of it.
Cecelia watched me for a moment, then shook her head faintly. “Pathetic,” she muttered.
I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t.
After a second, she turned and walked away, her heels clicking softly against the floor as she left the room.
The sound faded quickly.
And then it was just me.
Alone.
With a past I thought was buried.
I didn’t hear the footsteps at first.
They were softer.
Careful.
“Sir?” a voice said from behind me.
I closed my eyes briefly before turning my head.
Miranda stood there, just inside the doorway, her posture hesitant. A small, uncertain smile sat on her lips.
“Do you still want me around, Mr. Thompson,” she asked quietly, “or should I leave?”
I stared at her for a second.
Really looked at her.
Then I let out a short, dry scoff.
“Get out,” I said.
Her smile faltered slightly. “Sir…?”
“I said get out,” I repeated, my voice sharper this time.
She hesitated for a moment longer, then nodded quickly and turned, hurrying out of the room.
The door closed behind her with a soft click.
Silence settled again.
I leaned back slowly, my head resting against the chair as I stared at nothing.
Everything felt different now.
Shifted.
Unstable.
Gianna.
Emily.
Ryan.
It was all connected.
And for the first time in a long time…
I wasn’t sure which part of my past had just come back to destroy my present.
HI GUYS!
Thank you so much for reading my story. I promise the twists and turns will make sense soon! Also, I dropped a little hint with Miranda... you'll get that part soon enough.
I LOVE YOU!
THANK YOU FOR READING MY BOOK!!!