"Chloe." The man says.
I turn around and see a man dressed in Factionless clothes.
He walks towards me and I start to back up. All the Fationless were surrounding us. I look to Caleb as he stands in the crowd.
He walks over to me and stands in front of me.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"I'm your father." The man says.
I was shocked.
"I think you have the wrong girl. My dad died when I was 2." I say.
"I am your father. I faked my death to get away from Jeanine and the evil of Erudite." He says.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A tear slipped from my eye as I looked at him.
"It is you." I say softly.
He embraces me in a hug and I hug back. I could tell he was tearing up as well.
"Dad." I say as I hug him.
"I love you so much." He says.
"I love you too." I say.
I pulled away and looked at him. He wiped away his tears and looked at me. I smiled at him. I couldn't believe this was happening. After 14 years of thinking he was dead, he never was.
"I can't believe your actually here." I say softly with a smile.
"I've been trying to find you for so long." He says.
I smile knowing he cared for me after all these years.
"Can I ask you one thing?" I ask.
"Anything." He says.
"Why did you leave?" I ask.
"I needed to leave. Erudite is evil. Jeanine did so many wrong things. I had to get away from everything so I came here and I remarried." He said.
I nod and looked down at the ground.
All the Factionless were still looking at us.
"Who did you marry?" I ask him.
Just then Evelyn walked up and he wrapped his arm around her.
"Me." She says with a small smile.
I was shocked.
"Does my mom know about this?" I ask.
"Yes, that's why she doesn't like Factionless. And that's why she's kept you away for all these years." He says.
I nod. I had so many thoughts running through my mind. I couldn't even think straight.
"Is this why you asked me to join Factionless?" I ask Evelyn.
"Yes. I know you love your mother but she's done many horrible things." Evelyn says.
"I know." I say quietly.
"You could stay here." My father says.
"But mom will just come looking for me and drag me back to Erudite." I say.
"I won't let that happen." He says. "I promise." He says.
This was such a tough decision. Live Factionless with my dad or live in Erudite with my mom. I couldn't imagine when my mom found out that I now knew everything.
"Can I think about it?" I ask him.
"Of course. I'll love you no matter what you decide to do." He says.
"Thanks." I say.
He smiles before walking away with Evelyn. Caleb walks up to me and looks at me.
"I didn't expect that." I say.
"Neither did I." He says.
Caleb wraps his arm around me.
"I don't know what to do. I mean, my mother will be furious if she finds out." I say.
"Just think about it." Caleb says.
I nod. He leads me back to his room. I lay down on his bed and he lays down as well. I put my head on his chest and close my eyes. I feel sleep taking over and fall asleep instantly.