Toni's POV
"Toni...Aurora is-"
Emily had a very nervous look on her face. It's like she is scared to tell me something and I can see from her expression that what she wanted to tell me seems really hard to talk about. From the look of it, this must be really important.
*Aurora?!*
"Wait! Aurora?! What happened?! Is she hurt?! Is she in the hospital again?!" i said as i stood up from the couch.
"No,Toni. It's not that" Emily said and i was really relieved that Aurora was not hurt again.
"It's just that Aurora is..."
"Aurora is what?! Emily, just tell me. You have nothing to be worried about, why is everyone looking so worried?'' I said as I looked at all their faces around me.
"Toni..." said Emily and I saw tears forming from her eyes and falling down her cheek. "Aurora is..."
I stood up and walked towards Emily and held her shoulders and started hugging her tightly while rubbing her back. "Emily, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you sure Aurora is not hurt? What is going on? James? Mama? Papa?" I said as I looked at all of them looking as anxious as Emily was.
I then heard Emily muffled words into my shirt. "What? What did you say emily." i let go of her but her face looked down as she tried to stop herself from crying.
"Toni, I love you because you have always been a brother to me and you accepted me as your family." she sobbed. "And you have been a great husband to Isabella and... and..."
"And what? I love you too Emily, you have always been a sister to me, both me and Isabella.'' I said.
"And it really hurts me to say this but, i just want to let you know that we didn't know about this until just recently and it pains me to even say it because you didn't experience it, you didn't have a chance to experience the joy of raising her first hand." she continued to sob even harder.
"Okay now you're scaring me Emily. What are you talking about?!"
"Toni..." she sobbed harder and finally looked up at me and what came out of her mouth next shocked me so much that I didn't know what to say.
"Toni, Aurora is your daughter!" Emily said and finally broke down and cried.
I took a step back as I was shocked in disbelief of what she was saying. "What? What are you talking about? You're joking right?" I said while chuckling a little, hoping that this is a joke.
I look around the room and I can see mom, dad and James faces looking anxious and serious and I know at that moment that this isn't a joke.
"No..." I shook my head. "No...No..." I then saw all the flashbacks in my head which gave me a headache.
Flashback after flashback came through my mind so fast, like I was seeing a home movie in fast forward.
"She looks just like you Isabella."
"There's Daddy's little girl"
"Aurora looks so much like Isabella...Isabella..."
"So much like Isabella"
"Isabella? What do you want to name her?"
"Hmm? Isabella jr? Just joking, i have the perfect name for her"
"Really what is it?"
"Aurora, full name Aurora Rosella Rossi"
"Dad?" I heard a familiar voice calling someone dad, the name I wanted to be called by my own daughter. I looked up to see Aurora and she wore something that had finally made me tear up.
Aurora was wearing an outfit that I haven't seen in a long time. It was Isabella's favourite blue dress and it even had her blue bow on her hair. Seeing it makes me remember when she used to wear that to school or on our dates, she also looked beautiful in it.
"Dad?" she came running towards us but when i wanted to come near her, she wasn't running to me. She went running to James. Which really made me have a panic attack and in that moment I just left the room without saying anything.
"Toni!" I heard James call my name but I just don't feel like talking to him or anyone else at this moment.
*She called him dad, she CALLED HIM DAD! Not me... my little girl, she was here all this time?! And I didn't know it? For years, I have missed her and her mother and now to find out that she has always been here made me feel terrible that I wasn't being a father to her. But James did. This isn't happening!*
I went to my room and locked the door behind me, crouching near my bed crying like a little boy. I then heard my door open, but I didn't look because I knew who it was or who they were since I heard more than one footsteps.
"Bro? Are you okay?" James asked and I heard Sofia scolding him.
"Of course he isn't okay! His daughter is alive and she called you dad instead of him! What do you think?!" she scolded James.
"I was just asking him! Stop scolding me Sofia!" James yelled back.
I then looked up at them with my nose sniffling from my crying. "Guys! I'm upset and you are still fighting like when we were children?!"
"Well he started it!" said Sofia.
"No I didn't!" yelled back James.
"GUYS!" I yelled at them back.
They then looked at me with childlike eyes like they used to do when they were kids whenever mom scolded them.
They then came and sat next to me, and I was in the middle still crouching, holding my legs with my arms.
"Wow, I haven't seen you this upset since dad stopped you from playing the piano, playing other instruments or singing." said Sofia.
"Yeah, well, this is way worse than that, my own daughter is alive and i was near her, i saw her when she was kid and i now saw her as a teenager but i didn't really see her until now. She was there all along, under my nose and I didn't see her!"
"Bro, it's not your fault. No one knew, not even I or Emily knew until Aiko found out herself. The only thing we knew is that Aurora is a Witch but we didn't think she was yours and Isabella's daughter." James explained.
"I know you don't know James but..." I looked at him with tears in my eyes. "When she called you dad and ran to you. It makes me feel like I lost my daughter again just as I just found her. I failed as a father, I failed as a parent and I failed Isabella."
"You didn't fail her, you were there for Aurora, it's just that you didn't know. You paid for our living arrangements and the kids' schools and you handled their transfers to a school here. You did all that and Emily and I appreciate all that you have done for the kids and us. Don't say you failed as a father or a parent. You are as much of a father to the kids as I am."
"James but still... she was there...my little girl, i didn't protect her!"
"What are you talking about?" Sofia asked as she looked at me and then looked at James with a confused look on her face. "What is he talking about James?"
"I'm not sure..."
"Aurora was bullied before she came here and I wasn't there to comfort her like I had done with her mom. I used to comfort Isabella whenever she was bullied by other girls, by other guys or anyone else that tried to hurt her. But I didn't do the same thing for our own daughter. Isabella would have been disappointed in me."
"Hey, hey. Do we need an intervention for you or something or a family therapy?!" Sofia yelled at me. "We told you it's not your fault! We all didn't know till recently that Aurora is your daughter and we just have to live with the fact and also be grateful for the fact that your daughter is here and she is well."
"And she wants to get to know you Toni." James says and I was surprised when he said that.
I looked at him and I could see him smiling at me nodding that he said was true. "Really? She wants to get to know me?! Well, I know that she wanted me as her uncle but as a father? Does she even know who her real- i mean biological parents are?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" James said as he shifted his body and leaned on my bed so I could see who was at the door entrance.
"Hey dad? I mean bio dad? I mean daddy?" Aurora laughed nervously at me.
When I saw my beautiful daughter at the door, I saw a vision of my own wife standing there as well. She is really a spitting image of her mother and a little of me too, mostly on her skin tone and freckles.
"Well, I guess we better leave you both alone to catch up. Sofia?" James said as he signalled to Sofia that it was time to leave me and Aurora alone to talk.
Sofia held my shoulder and patted my back. "See you later bro." she said as both James and her stood up, James stopped and patted Aurora's head before he left the room with Sofia and closed the door behind them, which only left me and Aurora in the room together. Alone... to talk.
I stood up from my crouching sitting position and faced Aurora, my daughter, my little girl.
She then looked at me and suddenly gave a slight soft chuckle and I looked at her with a confused look on my face.
"What's so funny?" i asked her
She laughed again, which made me happy because she laughed exactly like her mother and I could literally see my wife standing in front of me the more she laughed.
"Oh nothing, it's just that... that's the position I always am when I am upset, like crouching like that but mostly I do it in the corner or near my closet so I can lean on something so I can rest from crying." she explained.
I smiled for a while but when I heard her explanation I felt sad that she had to do all that to cope with her sadness and probably depression.
"I'm sorry" I said.
Now is Aurora's turn to look at me with a confused look on her face."Sorry for what exactly?"
"That i wasn't the one that could help you cope with everything that you have been through. That i didn't comfort you like i did with your mo- i mean...what i mean was...like help you like-"
"My mother?" She then cut me off. "My biological mother? Your wife?" i was shocked when she said that, my eyes widened.
"You knew? That Isabella is your biological mother? And i am your-"
She then cut me off again and continued my sentence. "My biological father, yeah, I kinda realised that last night when mom, I mean Aunt Emily?- Okay, this is confusing. Can I just call her mom because I feel that I'm just confusing myself."
"I agree, just call her mom. She raised you as her own daughter."
Aurora then smiled at me, she had a very beautiful smile. Just like her mom and i think a little bit like her grandmother as well, i mean my mom.
" Well, mom kind of slipped and kinda told me with a hint because last night she called me princess which she always does but it felt different now. I looked into my reflection and then in that moment, I realised I was the lost princess and your daughter."
"Wow, that fast? I might be kind of slow because I looked at you many times and I just didn't realise or maybe I just... didn't want to, I guess."
"Why?" Aurora looked at me as I stood up and sat on my bed. I patted on the bed and gestured to her to sit next to me.
"When you and... your mom went missing, I was sad and angry. Your mom gave me a letter that she was leaving with you and I went after her but I didn't know where she went. Not until I came back home and saw the royal guards from the other realm came into my house and told me and the family that, your mother's powers were not there and the crown lost its light. Which from what your other grandmother had told me was meaning that your mother was gone.'' I started tearing but tried to control my tears.
"On the spot I broke down and ran away from the situation and went to your Abuela's music room. That music room was also how I try to express my love for your mother and being there makes me even more miserable than before."
"Your Uncle Diego came after me and tried to comfort me as I cried and mourned for your mother and you. You just turned 1 and we were supposed to celebrate your birthday that day but it became a sad day because your mother ran away with you on your birthday. And that is also why every year on your birthday, I just distance myself from everyone, because it keeps reminding me of that fateful day and I didn't want to remember it. After you and your mother were gone, I went to a dark place in my life. Good for my career in the Mafia but bad for myself and for your grandmother."
I looked at Aurora after that sentence and she looked back at me with wide shocked eyes, and then I realised something... SHE DIDN'T KNOW THAT I'M A GANGSTER!
"Mafia? Like the mafia, mafia?! Like the Godfather MAFIA?!" her voice became high, like really high. She kinda reminds me of me when I found out that Isabella was the Queen of another realm. Huh? She did take that after me.
"Yes," I said camly answering her.
She stood up from my bed, and was still in shock, her voice was still high. " YOU'RE A GANGSTER?! Are you serious?! How- how- how-" she stopped talking for a while and looked like she was thinking about something. She looked back at me with even wider eyes. "Is dad a gangster too?!"
"Yes, he is."
She then paused again and looked like she was thinking about something again, and somehow while she did that, it seemed quite comical on how she kept pausing like that. Reminds me of her mother, Isabella was quite comical with her expressions as well.
"Actually, now that I think about it, I realise that it makes sense now."
"What does?"
She then slowly sat back down next to me. " About dad being a gangster, I kept remembering that he got hurt sometimes and his excuses were always a bit off. And I actually also found a gun in his jacket once when I was younger but I just kept quiet about it."
"Yeah...James sometimes can't be discreet, he has a bad poker face but it is getting better than before. Probably since it's family, it's harder for him to lie but when it's to other people, like our rivals, he would have a really good poker face on.'' I explained.
"Uncle Toni?" I turned my head to look at her. " I know it's a little weird and sudden and I just called you Uncle Toni just now. But can I call you daddy? Or maybe try to call you daddy since you are my daddy?" she smiled at me with adoring eyes.
My heart was pumping as she said that, I have longed and dreamed for my daughter to call me that and for her to even ask me that. I know now that she really wanted to meet me and really see me as her dad too. I would be so happy, if only her mother were here to see her daughter now, how beautiful she has become.
"Of course, princess."
"Hey, that's what my dad calls me...uh, I mean my other dad." We then started to laugh.
"Then maybe i can call you a new nickname, hmm..." I started thinking of some nickname I should call her. "Hey, what about my rose? Or should I say La mia bella rosa (My beautiful rose). It was the nickname i used call you when you were little, i don't know if you remember that but-"
"Yeah, I do. Whenever I feel sad, you call me that."
"Yeah, I did." I then chuckled. "The funny thing is that it was your mother's nickname too. I gave it to her because I sometimes see her in the garden and she always looks at the roses, no other flower than the roses."
"She said even though the roses had thorns, its beauty was still there. In a way, the thorns represent like a shield or like something to guard the rose and its beauty. Your mother was Queen and I know that she was always guarded by her guards, so I called her that because, like the rose, she has to be guarded as well. Because her beauty, her kindness and personality is too precious to me and I don't want to ever let that go."
"That's beautiful Daddy. Hey, I just called you Daddy and didn't call you Uncle Toni. i think i'm getting used to calling you Daddy now, Daddy" she said as she started giggling cutely.
"Daddy?" I looked at her. "What was mom like?"
I felt like crying when she said that because, talking about her even though I just talked about the nickname I gave her, was making me feel sad. But i want to tell her about her mother, every information about her.
"Well, Aurora, your mother was a beautiful woman, with the same eyes as you and the same hair colour as you have now. And she was very talented, she could play all kinds of musical instruments from guitar, piano, flute, you name it, she can play it. Guitar and piano were her favourite instruments. Your mother and I would play the piano as a duet until it was late at night, making music with her was one of the most fondest memories I have of her."
"And I heard that you play piano too, so you got that from me and your mother. Oh, and your mother loves books, she loves reading, she also loves looking at Art and she loves flowers, and of course like i said i always see her looking at roses because roses were her favourite and she didn't care if it seems like a basic choice.'' We both laughed when I said that.
"She seems like an amazing woman, I hope I can be as amazing as her Daddy." she said to me while looking a little sad and looking down on her feet
"Hey" I said softly while cupping her cheek and slowly turning her head to face me. "Aurora, your mother would never want you to follow her expectation or anyone's expectation because she never wanted to put you in a box. She wanted you to spread your wings, and I mean that figuratively ''I said slightly laughing. " and find yourself and not let anyone tell you who you are, because you know who you are."
I then kissed her on her forehead and hugged her tightly. " I love you Aurora, La mia bella rosa (My beautiful rose), my rose."
She looked up at me and I looked down at her and we started smiling. I didn't want to let her go, she fits perfectly in my arms like she did when she was a baby. But then there was a knock on the door and the moment of a family reunion had hit a pause.
"Yes? Who is there?" I asked curiously.
"It's me Toni, Rebecca. I need to discuss with you about Aurora's future. Can we discuss it in the living room?"
I sighed but was also kinda angry because I just got my daughter back and I am not letting anyone take her away from me ever again!