Chapter 66 Are the kids mine?
NOVA
"Uhm... I greatly appreciate your help." I smiled at him, praying he didn't realize how forced the smile was, and how much I was trembling. We had just concluded the drawing when he asked me to meet him outside. At first, I didn't want to go with him. I wanted to lie that I had something to take care of with my kids, but I knew it would only make him more suspicious. The earliest I get things out of the way, the better.
It didn't seem like he knew Willow was his. If he had known, he wouldn't have calmly sat with them. Hell, he would have confronted me about it the moment I showed up. He wouldn't have waited this long to talk to me. Right?
I wiped my palm on my suit jacket as I watched him, waiting for him to say something. Aside from the time he asked me to meet him outside, Dashiell hadn't said a word to me since I arrived, which was odd.
I glanced around, noticing how deserted the place was. With the parents and the teachers out in the hall, there was no one in the playground. We were the only ones around, and that worked for me. I didn't need anyone butting their head in.
"Dashiell?" I called him. "Are you alright? Why did you ask me to meet you here if you aren't going to say anything?"
He let out a breath at my words, watching me with a hooded expression. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but from the way he was acting, I could tell it wasn't something that should be taken
lightly. "Who is their father?"
My heart lunged into my stomach at the question. Gulping, I tried to calm my racing heart, but it was difficult. For a moment, it felt like the world was rotating, about to spin me off my feet and land me on my butt.
"Nova?"
"They are my niece and nephew," I whispered, not looking at him. I kept my gaze averted so he wouldn't know what was going through my head at that point. I knew I had to play things safe if I wanted him to let go of his suspicion. Since he only asked about their father and didn't outrightly ask why I kept his kids a secret from him, it seemed I still had enough time to salvage the situation. Keeping my voice calm, and my expression blank seemed to be the right step to take at the moment.
He scoffed at my response. "Do you think you can fucking lie to me?!" He yelled, drawing a step towards me with his face clouded in anger. "For how long are you fucking going to lie to me?"
I gulped, steadying my breath. "I don't know what you are talking about, Dashiell. They are my sister's children. Why do you want to know their father?" I placed my hands on my waist, taking a defensive pose, even though I wanted to run from here and take my kids to a faraway place where he wouldn't find us. "The kids are my niece and nephew. I don't get why you want to know who their father is. Don't tell me you want to look for him?" I lifted an eyebrow at that, pursing my lips.
"Fuck, Nova!" He groaned. "Why are you hell-bent on lying even though it's fucking obvious!" He pinched the bridge of his nose, his face reddening as he watched me. "Who is their father?" He repeated, this time, taking the world slowly.
"You don't know him." I kept my expression neutral, and my voice steady, even though I didn't feel as calm as I felt on the outside inwardly.
"Fine. Since you don't want to answer that, then tell me this, Nova. Are they my kids, mine?"
I sucked in a breath at that, blinking as I tried to calm my racing heart. "Yours?" I scoffed at that. "Why in the freaking hell will you think they are yours? Did you by chance hit your head on the wall? Don't tell me you are acting this way because you just played their dad. Come on, you don't need to take this seriously. This isn't a story. They aren't yours. Their dad has nothing to do with you."
He didn't say a word as he watched me. I anxiously glanced at my wristwatch. "It's getting late. I need to take the kids home. They must be hungry," I lied, to get him to let me go, but he didn't. "Who is their father?" He asked again, his voice getting harder. "Who is their fuckin father, Nova? You better tell the truth."
"They are my niece and nephew. Do you have a problem with that?"
"I will ask you one last time, Nova. Who is their dad?" His tone seemed to get hard on the mods he spoke, almost like he was about to explode. "You better not lie about this," he warned. "They are my relatives," I insisted. "I don't know why you are asking odd questions about what you wish to gain from doing that. If you want kids so badly, you can adopt. Or better still, find a surrogate to give you one." "Fine. Since you don't want to tell the truth, I will have my doctor conduct a DNA test on them. Since you don't want to tell me who they are, Nova. I will find my way."
"You don't have any damned right to do that!" I pointed at him, panic rising within me. My stomach twisted into a ball of nerves as I tried to stand my ground, not to let him know how much I was fighting this. "They are my sister's children. What gave you the idea that you can do anything you want with someone's children??!"
"They are not someone's children! They are mine, Nova! Those kids are mine!"
"Yours?" I blinked, wondering if my ears were hearing it well.
"Yes, Mine." He paced the floor, his steps echoing on the floor. "They are bloody mine! Don't fucking lie about that!"