Raising Kiara

5

"I am her dad Rowan. LA PD called me the other day and I took a paternity test. She's mine."

Rowan folds his arms and hands his younger brother a deadpan expression. He tilts his head to one side and shakes it in disbelief.

"Just because she's ginger doesn't mean I'm going to believe you Kian. What are you playing at?"

Rowan asks.

Kian grumbles in frustration and walks past him, heading for the sofa where he sits Kiara down.

She had been watching the two as though she was watching a tennis match she really couldn't understand.

All she wanted to do was play with her uncle Rowan and share lots of giggles like she had done with Kian.

"Do you wanna watch the rest of beauty and the beast for a minute while daddy talks to uncle Rowan?"

Kian bends down infront of the tiny girl, holding her little hands and giving her his full attention.

"Yeh!" Kiara beams, wriggling on the large grey sofa in excitement.

She had gotten half way through beauty and the beast on the plane before they landed and had to leave the plane.

Kian fiddles with the remote and changes the channel to disney plus, skipping half of the film until it's round about the same place she left off.

He turns the volume up a few extra notches so that she doesn't have to hear their conversation which is bound to be interesting.

Kian kisses Kiara's chubby cheek before turning back to his dumbfounded brother and nodding his head towards the kitchen half of the room, gesturing for him to follow him there.

"What's going on."

Rowan sighs, turning serious suddenly after realising his brother isn't letting up.

"They called me the other night and told me to go to the station because something had happened."

Kian begins recounting the events of the past few days.

"They told me my daughters mother was shot dead in her home but my daughter was okay. I didn't believe it either Ro.

I took a paternity test to get them off my back but it came back a match. I flew over to London to sort things out because they said I was the only living family of hers they could find.

I wasn't going to keep her. I'm twenty two for fucks sake you know I can hardly look after myself.

But...just...look at her."

Kian finishes, looking over the kitchen island to his beautiful little girl, completely engrossed in the drama of the Disney film.

He avoided looking at his older brother throughout the whole retelling which is how Rowan knew.

He knew Kian was telling the truth.

Sure he was a stupidly good actor. After all, he learnt from the best.

And that's how he knew how to decipher the difference between Kian the actor and real Kian.