2 am.

Chapter 30

"I'm not the one who knocked down an innocent man." I defended, and he shook his head with a small smile.

"My bad. I trust you to stay well, right? Avoid the system. Avoid overthinking about that thing, okay?" I nodded, and he pulled me in for a hug. And he had a nice cologne, too. Ugh, this man was a ten for a father.

"I'll try my best to talk to mom. I don't like this arrangement. "

"Neither do I, baby. I don't know where Bella went off to, but I know she's somewhere around. So, I'll leave you so you two can get home. Call me once you get home." I nodded and watched him retreat. And immediately, Bella emerged.

"Your dad is so young."

"Yep. But so old for you." I smiled, and she huffed, dragging her feet behind me.

This girl has to be the one with most crushes.

We arrived home minutes to three in the afternoon and was there really a grand welcome for me. Karl was here, and with Chloe, surprisingly. Mom, Claire, Kian, and Dad. They all stood in the living room, looking at me with bright faces.

"This one is not really a fan of me. " I pointed at Chloe, and Karl scratched his head awkwardly.

"She didn't want to go home or stay at my place alone."
Chloe frowned at him.

"Or, you'd have just said she wanted to say hi to the almost dead girl?" She asked Karl in annoyance. That's a great way to start.

"Welcome home, baby. Come, come, let's get appetisers. " She said, dragging Bella and Kian to the kitchen.

"At this juncture, is it safe to say we don't have bad blood between us?" Claire asked with a straight face. Was she apologising?

"I'll pass. I still don't like you."

"Me neither." She said with a bright smile and sigh of relief. She just wanted to be sure I still don't like her? Why is this girl crazy?

I entered the kitchen and took mom to a safe distance so we could talk.

"I want you to tell him. " Mom scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Tell dad who my real father is." Her happy face fell.

"What? Why? It's not necessary."

"To you, but to me, it is."

"Maddie..."

"I don't want to live here anymore, mom. I want to stay with Cory. Dad can not claim ownership over Kian, so what exactly are you scared of?"

Mom sighed. A deep sad sigh.

"Things were just getting better..."

"After he ruined everything by showing up with Mae. Surely, he can handle a little bad news."

"This is worse than what he had done, Madd. I had a baby, which wasn't his all these years." She explained with a teary look. "I'm truly sorry, but I can't. I really can't." She said and turned to go.

"I'll tell him if you don't." She stopped, and my heart raced. I would never do that to her, but I was going to make her think I could do it. Ever since I stopped writing, I started feeling a lot more compassionate.

"You won't." She muttered, but her voice showed how much she didn't believe her own words. It was shaky.

The dinner was okay, but mom wasn't. She kept daydreaming. Her mind was far away from here. All she wanted was a happy dinner, but all I wanted was a happy home. Here wasn't that place for me anymore, especially when I had a choice.