I Am Proud Of Her

Aria’s POV:

I nudged at Mother, who shook her head and signaled I eat quietly. “Just come in and eat already,” I said with a loud tone, and Caleb nodded.

He walked in and bowed slightly. “Good day, Father, Mother…Gigi,” he greeted, but Gigi scoffed loudly.

Caleb pulled the chair next to me, and Mother pushed a plate towards him; she didn’t want to talk to him, but after all, she was a mother.

We ate silently till we were done. I helped Mother clean the table, and now we were in the kitchen with Gigi, and I was drying the dishes.

“I don’t understand why your father invited him over,” Mother said with an irritated tone as she passed the plate for me to dry.

“This time around he really crossed a line.” She smacked her lips, and Gigi sighed.

“Divorce isn’t a joke; the kids had gone too far,” Gigi muttered while staring at me, and I pouted. I didn’t go far. That was the best solution to this relationship.

“Aria,” Father called, and I almost dropped what I was holding.

I turned to Mother, who shrugged her shoulder, so I wiped my hand and returned to the sitting room. Father sat on his usual couch with Caleb sitting by his left.

“Uhm, Father,” I said, sitting opposite Caleb, hoping that whatever Father has to say won’t put me in a spot or an uncomfortable situation. I was done with Caleb, and I wish they were done too.

“What happened? I don’t believe what I see online from strangers, so you both go on and explain yourselves.”

He leaned back while staring at us; I rubbed my palms, and my toes curled.

“It was my fault,” Caleb started, and I still had nothing to say.

“I…I betrayed my wife and wedding vows by having an affair with someone, but it was once. I really regret it, Father.”

I rolled my eyes. “You regret it because you were caught,” I scoffed, and he kept holding on to his story about getting intimate with Olivia just once, but no one was a fool to believe that.

If it could happen at his workplace, then it already happened at his place.

“I am being honest here, Aria. I was just a miserable man.”

I had absolutely nothing to say to him; if he was miserable, then that’s on him, and he should be happy I freed him from this web of a marriage that turned him into a miserable man.

Father turned his gaze to me, as if expecting me to add something. “He wants a child, and you all know I can’t give him that,” I scoffed as my eyes became sore. He knew I couldn’t give him a child before we got married, but he was all in.

So how dare he blame my womb?

“I don’t care about that, Aria; I was just upset when I said that,” he said in a pleading tone, but I knew he was being dishonest. That moment he said a lot of hurtful things to me, and he meant it.

“It’s over, Caleb.” There was no going back together, so everyone should save their energies.

“Because of Liam Styles?” He fired, and I glared at him. What has Liam got to do with this?

“Liam Styles?” Father asked with furrowed brows. “Is it that criminal?”

“He is not a criminal.” I defended, and Caleb sneered loudly, “He is a lawyer just like you.”

“Please, Aria, don’t be naive.” Caleb said in disbelief.

“What business do you have with him?” Father questioned, and I pressed my thumb in my palm and bit my lower lip. “Aria Nicole!!!” Father scolded, and I flinched.

This was one of the rare moments when he lost his temper with me.

“I…I have nothing to do with him,” I blurted, and he nodded.

“Good, because my daughter won’t be so stupid as to have anything to do with a criminal, right?” He asked, his gaze stuck on me that I couldn’t even look away.

I nodded as a tear rolled down my cheek, but I quickly wiped it. He was just a man, so why was Father overreacting?

“You keep crossing every line, Aria,” Father added. He stood up angrily before Mother and Gigi hurried in.

“I told you… I told you not to get married when you just graduated, but you insisted; you felt 20 was such a mature age, so you chose to settle with this man. I had no choice but to give in because he was a good person, but you go to court for a divorce without letting me know?”

“And now I hear your name in the same sentence with a bloody criminal?”

He is not a criminal. Liam is not a criminal; he is a lawyer…he has a legit business.

I kept muttering to myself as my face was already wet from tears; I hated it whenever Father raised his voice at me.

“You are moving back in,” he added, and my eyes widened in shock. What did he mean by that?

“Father?” I stared at him, trying to understand what he meant by moving in.

“You heard me right, you are moving back in, and I dare you to go against me.”

I clenched my fist; I didn’t want to come back to live here. Why was Father being impossible?

I clenched my fist and glared at Caleb; if he had stayed quiet and not mentioned Liam’s name, then things wouldn’t have gotten to this.

“And marriage is for better or for worse; you don’t give up on marriage so easily. You don’t, so stop being a spoilt brat,” Father kept scolding, and I couldn’t even retort; I have never had the guts to.

“Calm down,” Gigi muttered, but Father scoffed.

“She wanted to get married, and we let her; now she gets divorced so easily? Who does she think she is?”

“And you?” Father turned to Caleb and chuckled lightly. “You brat, you cheated on my daughter.”

“And you want a child?” He chuckled in disbelief before he clenched his fist and returned to his original seat.

“I heard everything that happened, and I am proud of my daughter,” he blurted, and my eyes widened in shock. I stared at him, wondering if I heard him correctly.

Caleb rubbed his palms and stared at me; it was obvious he was surprised by Father’s words as well. “She knew when to set boundaries, and I am proud of her.”

A smile crept on my lips; for a moment I thought he was going to side with Caleb and ask us to make our marriage work… but he was happy I made such a decision.

“You can leave, Caleb; you are no longer welcome here,” Father added, stood up, and walked away without giving Caleb the chance to express himself.