Chapter 26 — R.I.P.

Dana POV:

"Where is this place?" Carmen asks as soon as we arrive at the house address that Blake had sent.

When Blake mentioned that he was living comfortably, I didn't realize how comfortably he meant until I arrived in front of his home and now, I can see for myself clearly just how comfortable his living condition is cause having a home like this in a place like Claremont and maintaining it with such a beautiful garden as a bonus could only mean, you're far from being financially unstable.

"Are you sure this is the right address Dana? This doesn't seem like a place dad would be living," Ximena says and I didn't blame her for thinking that way. I would have thought the exact same way if Blake hadn't already filled me in on his life and since I couldn't bring myself to personally tell them, I decided to let them see for themselves how much of a bastard our father really is.

"Yes Ximena, I can assure you that this is the right house. Before we hit that doorbell, I want you and Carmen to prepare yourselves for what you're going to witness today. It'll probably hurt your feelings, but no matter what happens, don't let it break you, okay?" I say to them, and they stare back at me, confused.

"You don't have to be so dramatic, Dana. What's the worst that could possibly happen? It's not like he's married to some other woman or something," Ximena blurts outs dismissively and I kind of feel terrible that she's about to find out that her dismissive guess is actually the truth.

"Sister Dana, I'm tired," Carmen mutters from behind Ximena where she stands quietly. I move towards her, squatting down to her height and engulf her in a hug.

"I'm so sorry for bringing you out here like this, baby, but I promise it'll be quick," I assure her, and she nods a little to show she doesn't mind.

When I told Carmen that we'd be seeing dad today, she did not react at all. Her face was completely blank and the words that came out of her mouth was even more shocking.

"I thought he died?" Those were her exact words, and it actually took me by surprise how unbothered she seemed.

"I'm a little hungry though, sister Dana. Can't we get some food before we meet this man?" she asks, and Ximena immediately scowls at her.

"Stop acting like a little child, Carmen. Let's just get this over with, and this man is your father. Show him some respect, you brat," she hisses at her. Carmen simply replies with an eye roll and that was when I confirmed that she was doing all of this on purpose just to stall.

She wasn't ready to meet him again and she keeps thinking of any excuse just to keep us behind.

"I promise we'll have some food after this Carmen," I tell her before taking her hand in mine and we both walk towards the house.

I turn to look at Jason briefly and he nods his head a little as a form of encouragement which was something I very much needed right now.

"Are you gonna hit the bell, or should I?" Ximena asks and when I don't reply to her quickly, she goes ahead and does it anyway and we wait a while to see if anyone would respond.

"I still don't get why you brought flowers with you," Ximena mutters, referring to the flowers I had in my left hand.

"You'll see why very soon dear," I reply, and she simply scoffs before hitting the doorbell for a second time and this time, someone opens up and it's a kid.

"Good afternoon, miss. May I ask who you're looking for?" the little boy asks and for a few long seconds, I'm actually tongue tied. I still cannot believe that Dad really has other children besides us. Seeing him now, I couldn't deny the fact that he was Dad's son because he looks exactly like him.

"Wait a second, Dana. Are you sure this is the right house cause I'm really starting to doubt it," Ximena voices out and I let out a sigh before finally speaking up.

"We're here to see a Mr. Gonzalez. Is he home?" I ask and Carmen and Ximena stare back at me in confusion.

"There's no point asking, Dana. This is obviously the wrong address," Ximena hisses.

"No, it isn't. My dad lives here," the little boy chimes in and I can see Ximena's expression switch from irritated to confused in less than a second.

"Your dad? What do you mean your dad?" she asks and I'm quick to stop her.

"Relax yourself, Ximena," I warn her quickly.

"Is your dad home, kid?" I ask.

"No, he isn't, but he'll be back soon. May I ask who you are? I need to tell my mom who's looking for him," he asks.

"Just tell her that a young miss wants to meet with him," I reply.

"Okay miss, I'll be back," he replies before shutting the door. When I see the look in Ximena's eyes, I can’t help but feel even more sad. She looked like something dreadful just happened to her.

"Dad has other kids?" she mutters shakily, and I can't let out a proper reply.

"It's not true, right, Dana? He can't possibly do that to us, right?" she stutters desperately, and I sigh.

"We're here to find out just that, Ximena, so control yourself. We don't want to be thrown out before we do," I reply, and she lets out a bitter laugh.

"So, this is why you asked us not to be broken no matter what?" she asks rhetorically with a short loud laugh that was obviously a result of the anger in her.

"Why aren't you saying anything, Carmen?" I ask, looking down at her.

"We still haven't met that man yet, so we don't know anything until he shows up and confirms," she replies and it's almost as if she doesn't care.

"So, what if it turns out to be true, Carmen? Can you handle it?" I ask. Before she can reply, a middle-aged woman with blonde hair throws the door open.

"Good afternoon, madam," I greet. From the look on her face, I can tell she isn't the friendliest person.

"My son says you're here to see my husband. May I ask why? I do not recognize any of you and I don't think you're acquainted with him personally," she says in a somewhat sassy manner. I let out a small sigh, trying hard not to get irritated by her.

"Madam, we are acquainted with your husband, but if you don't believe us simply because you don't know us, then that's fine. We'll just wait outside till he gets back," I reply calmly, resisting the urge to scream in her face that I'm her husband's first-born child.

"Listen miss, I can't just have you standing outside my home. It's embarrassing and the neighbors could get the wrong impression. Since my husband and I have a reputation to uphold in this neighborhood, I can't afford to let people think I'm keeping two kids and their mother outside under the scorching sun. So please miss, elaborate on your relationship with my husband so I can let you in, or take your leave and come back next time," she replies, and I chuckle.

"Madam, if you really don't want to be embarrassed in your cherished neighborhood, then you better let us in or let us wait for him to get back. Did you just ask who we are? Well then, let me introduce myself. Hi, I'm Ximena Juana Gonzalez and your husband is my father," Ximena responds snappily, and I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Be quiet, Ximena!" I hiss sharply at her, and she scowls.

"Well, you should have told that to your kid first before she started to spout nonsense about my husband being her father. What is wrong with you young mothers and not knowing how to train your children?" she hisses in a disgusted tone, and I let out a laugh.

"Did you just laugh at me, young lady? Oh, my goodness miss! Now I see where this young child gets her brazen attitude from. How can she not turn out this way when her own mother is the very same way?" she adds and this time, all three of us burst out laughing.

"Do we look like mother and daughter to you, madam? Really? She's my sister, for Pete's sake, not my daughter. And just like you heard earlier, your husband is our father, madam, and we're here to see him," I reply, still maintaining my cool and being as polite as I can.

She laughs out loud before staring back at me with a much darker expression that actually takes me by surprise.

"You must be Adriana then," she says, and I frown.

"So, you know who I am?" I ask the obvious.

"Well duh, you're my husband's first kid. He told me all about you guys, but I didn't think I'd ever get to meet you. I'm not even surprised by your brazen attitude anymore. I mean, your mother was a lousy woman, and as the saying goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," she replies. My frown deepens.

"You met our mom?" Ximena asks, chiming in.

"Well, of course I did. What? You didn't know? She came here a few years ago to beg that I let your father go. As if I was ever holding him. I mean it's not like I chased after your father or anything, but anyway, I did hear about her passing, and I know it's late but my condolences to you girls. I hope she's resting in peace wherever she is," she replies in a disgustingly condescending tone that irked me to no end.

"What did you say? She begged you to leave her husband and yet you married him and even had kids with him knowing very well that he already had four kids? You knew about us and yet you let him abandon us to fend for ourselves? Do you really have no shame lady? And you have the audacity to call my mother lousy? Really? After you made her suffer? You know what, you're not the one I have a bone to pick with, it's your husband, so I'll wait here till he gets back," I say to her before pushing her aside and letting my sisters and I in.

She was right after all. The sun was really scorching.

"How dare you barge into my house like that?" she hisses, and I roll my eyes.

"You said it yourself. You're a respectable family in the neighborhood and I don't want to ruin that for you by screaming to your precious neighbors that you seduced a shameless married man and made him abandon his dying wife and her four kids. You and I both know how very judgmental you crappy rich pricks are, and I don't think they'd care to know the truth before spreading the word about how disgusting you really are," I fire back at her furiously, daring her to do her worse.

"You are just as bad your mother, you brat!" she hisses, and I scoff.

"Say that one more time and I'll tear you into shreds, madam," I warn. She lets out a shaky breath before noticing one of her kids staring at us with a confused look on his face.

"Liam, go upstairs with your brother, and don't come down until I say so," she instructs, and the kid immediately does as she asked without asking any questions.

A car honk suddenly distracts us and by the fearful look in her eyes, I knew what that meant.

"He's finally here," I mutter to myself, taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

"That must be dad, right? Well, it's about time he arrived because he has some explaining to do," Ximena hisses with a deep frown.

As for Carmen, she looked the same way she looked when we arrived and the unbothered expression on her face kind of scared me.

"Well, at least now you'll realize that I didn't force your father to leave your mom. Anyone in their right mind would leave that piece of trash anyway," the blonde witch muttered and as much as I wanted to hit her across the face so badly, I refrained myself from doing it.

She walks towards the door and opens it and when the familiar face of dad walked in, I partially froze.

He didn't notice us standing there watching him smile at her at first but when he did, his jaw immediately dropped and so did the grocery bags he had in his hands.

"A-Adriana? What are you doing here?" he asks, and I scoff.

"Really, Dad? That's the best you could come up with? Not even a, how have you been doing or what have you been up to? Does seeing us here bother you?" I ask furiously.

"I'm just surprised to see you here because I wasn't expecting you, Adriana. Anyway, what are you doing here and how did you find this place?" he asks. I could not believe how dismissive he sounded. Almost like he was more worried about the fact that we came here rather than feeling guilty about what he did to us.

"Dad?" Ximena calls out from behind me. She walks towards him with tears welling up in her eyes and I can tell she is hurt by the fact that he didn't even acknowledge her presence.

"Good to see you're doing well, Ximena, but how did you find this place?" he asks again, and the second Ximena glared at him, I knew she already lost it.

"Are you serious, Dad? That is really all you care about? How we got here? Shouldn't you be more worried about the fact that you abandoned us just to be with the bleached hair bitch? Shouldn't that be your concern?" she snaps at him. His reaction caught us all off guard.

"Show some respect, you brat!" he yells, and I'm immediately taken aback.

"Honey, please get them to leave soon, so they don't create a scene in the neighborhood," the blonde witch instructs and when dad nods to her, I knew there was absolutely no reason for me to be here because the bastard really didn't care.

"Ximena, stand back now. Let me handle this," I tell her. When she looked back at me with tears streaming down her face, I swore to myself that I would ruin Dad's happy family for causing my own family pain.

"Mr. Gonzalez, there's no need to fret because we're not here to claim you as our father. I just wanted the girls to see for themselves how happy you are and how much we don't mean anything to you..."

"You don't have to be so dramatic, Adriana," he cuts me off.

"Shut the hell up, Aaron, or I'll do something that you won't find very pleasing," I warn him, and he furrows his brows in confusion.

"What gives you the right to call me by my first name, you brat?" he scoffs.

"I earned that right the day you walked out of our lives, Aaron, and since you want us to leave so badly, I’ll be quick. We came here for a reason. Let me give you a quick update on how we've lived so far and how we're doing right now," I say to him.

"I don't think I need to know that, Dana. If it's money you need, I'll give you more than enough, so you can at least find something to do so you can take care of yourself and your siblings. I'm sure Jencarlos can take care of himself now, and sooner or later, Ximena should be able to do the same," he says. I was shocked beyond belief. He is unbelievably shameless, and I can't believe I never realized this.

"Dad, did you know I'm diabetic?" Carmen asks out of nowhere and I'm curious to hear what she has to say.

"Yes, I did Carmen. Have you been receiving the right treatment?" he asks.

"Yes, Dad, and it's all thanks to sister Dana. She worked several jobs to pay my hospital bills. She barely slept, barely ate anything healthy, wore really old clothes at times because she didn't see the need to buy herself new clothes, didn't go out to party like people her age normally would, and she pretty much sacrificed her life just to make sure my health didn't deteriorate. Now, you may be wondering why I'm telling you this because it shouldn't be any of your business, but I just thought you need to know just how brave and wonderful your first-born child is.

"Now Dad, I personally don't want to be here because I already forgot about you. Since you want us to leave so quickly, I’ll leave. I hope this is the last time I ever see you. Have a good life," she says, and with that, she starts to head outside.

"I'll wait for you in the car with Uncle Jason," she tells me before walking out and leaving everyone in the room stunned.

"Mr. Gonzalez, I was actually the one who got Dana to find you and if you're wondering how she was able to, well, it’s my pleasure to inform you that your daughter is a millionaire now. She married billionaire heir, Blake Davies, a name you should know, and if you don't, look it up. We're not in need of your money, Aaron, so you and your sorry excuse for a happy family can go straight to hell. I hope you die a very painful death, goodbye," Ximena adds before following Carmen. I can tell Dad cannot believe what he’s hearing.

"You're the mystery woman who married Blake Davies?" the blonde witch asks but I ignore her and focus on Dad.

"Thank you for letting us say goodbye to the dead Aaron. I hope you find inner peace one day and I hope your guilt doesn't kill you eventually," I say to him, taking his hand in mine and handing him the flowers I brought with me.

"Before I forget, madam, for daring to call my late mother lousy even when you should be begging for her forgiveness, I'll make sure you pay for it. I hear you're into real estate, and fortunately, my husband knows his way around that field. Best of luck dealing with what's coming, and goodbye to you both," I add quickly before walking out of the house and shutting the down behind as loudly as I could.

Finally, I can state that my siblings and I are officially orphans.