Mag-log inChapter 50Julian Cross~•~ After spending about an hour at the mall, we were finally done shopping. The trolley was filled with different kinds of toys. Whatever the kids wanted, I asked them to throw it into the trolley. I knew that Aria was going to be upset when she saw them. But I didn’t mind. My main priority at the moment was to make the kids happy. Isla didn’t talk much. I could tell she didn’t like me that much. But Owen was finally warming up to me. Throughout our car ride to the mall, he kept telling me about things that had happened since he was a baby—the ones he could remember. As I listened to him, a part of me felt sad because I didn’t get to experience it with them, but I masked my emotions. I knew about them now and that was all that mattered. We got to the counter and I paid for the toys. One of the workers at the mall helped take the shopping bags to the car. When Aria saw that I was about to load everything in the trunk of my car, she stepped out of her
Chapter 49Aria Blake ~•~ “We got divorced,” I forced out the words from my mouth. Isla wouldn’t stop asking questions if she didn’t get the answer she wanted. “He had no idea I was pregnant after we’d gotten divorced.” “So why didn’t you tell him about it later? Did he treat you badly?” Her question caught me off-guard. But I wasn’t entirely surprised. Isla had always been too perceptive for her age. I reached out and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “You don’t have to always know the answer to certain things. We will probably talk about it when you’re old enough.” Julian breathed, his eyes mirroring his relief. “Thank you,” he mouthed to me. The kids hadn’t warmed up to Julian. I knew that there was a probability that things would get messy, and the fact that they didn’t like him would work to my own advantage. But at the same time, I didn’t want them to hate him. I mean, they shared the same DNA and he was actually their father. Julian might not have been the best hus
Chapter 48Julian Cross ~•~ As I drove over to the restaurant, my hands were clammy with sweat. I could command a boardroom filled with adults at work, but right now, two five-year-olds were making me nervous. I’d met them before, but they had no idea who I was. Aria had finally told them the truth about me, and I had no idea how they took it. I wasn’t even sure if they were looking forward to meeting me. Our first encounter wasn’t exactly the best—they accused me of kidnapping them and threatened to shout until I called their mother. And they were already used to knowing Samuel as their father. The transition to me wasn’t going to be easy. What if they wouldn’t even accept me? I mean, if someone told me that the man whom I’d known for my whole life as my father wasn’t my real father, I wouldn’t take it lightly either.The thought about everything was suffocating. “Breathe, they’re just kids,” I whispered to myself as I pulled into the restaurant's parking lot. “And they’re y
Chapter 47Julian Cross ~•~ “You’ve been there for almost a week, Julian… we have a company to run,” Cole’s annoyed voice came through the other end of the line. “When are you coming back to New York?” Cole knew what was happening over here but he just wanted to piss me off. “You can run the company without me for a few weeks. Stop acting like the world is about to end.” Cole snorted. “I know, but it doesn’t mean that you should stay there forever. You have responsibilities over here.” I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “The only thing I care about now is getting to know my kids. I don’t know why you’re trying to make me upset.” Cole was quiet for a while, then he snorted. “I’m not trying to make you upset, I know you want to know your kids. I want that for you too,” he replied. “But I want you to remember that you have a life back here too.” I swallowed hard. “So what are you insinuating?” “What is your plan? I just want to make sure that you have a solid plan,
Chapter 46Aria Blake ~•~ I took a deep breath before I continued. I reached out and took both of their small hands in mine, squeezing them gently. “The two babies turned out to be both of you.” The room fell thick with silence. Isla’s gaze dropped to our joined hands. “But…” Owen stammered, his eyes darting toward the closed door. He was probably looking in the direction of the bedroom that I shared with Samuel. Isla was quiet, her sharp mind clearly working through the timeline and trying to put the pieces together. “So Daddy isn’t our Daddy?” she finally muttered under her breath. “Our Daddy is the man from your former marriage?” I nodded. “Yes, Samuel isn’t your biological father,” I admitted, delivering the truth gently as I possibly could, even though the words tasted like lead on my tongue. “But he loves you more than anything in the world.” Their mouths parted slightly. I could tell they had a lot of questions but probably didn’t know how to begin. I couldn’t even i
Chapter 45Aria Blake ~•~ “Do you want to be present when I have the conversation with them?” I asked Samuel, who was focused on his computer. He let out a deep sigh. “Not really.” “Why? Are you upset?” He turned around and glanced at me for a moment before shifting his gaze back to his screen. “Do you expect me to be happy?” Ever since Julian came to Texas, Samuel had been acting strange. At first, he pretended like he was okay with everything.But at one point, he couldn’t mask his emotions anymore. It was evident that he was bothered by Julian’s presence. And now, he had finally admitted that he wasn’t happy. I dragged a hand through my hair. “This isn’t going to change anything between you and the kids,” I said, attempting to comfort him. But I failed. He scoffed. “Do you really believe what you just said?” My face fell. “Trust me, it’s not going to change anything. They’ll still see you as their father. Isla doesn’t even like Julian.” “That’s because she doesn’t know







