Your daughter
Melissa
“Where is this place?” Dexter asked, passing a cursory glance around the old-looking building.
I didn’t want to tell him ahead of time because I didn’t know what his reaction might be, but since we’d driven all the way here, I wasn’t sure he would think of returning home after discovering the reason we were here.
“You’ll find out soon. Just be patient and don’t ask too many questions.” I slid out of the driver’s seat, recalling how he made a fuss over the fact that I wanted to drive.
He thought that being pregnant with a set of twins meant that I wouldn’t do anything for myself, but what he didn’t understand was that I wouldn’t stay put in the house, feeling useless.
I didn’t blame him though, because he was yet again, the sweetest man I’d ever been with. Even though I hadn’t gotten bloated yet, he took it upon himself to give me a full body massage almost every night which usually transcended into long hours of passionate lovemaking, that made me breathless and fulfilled at the end of it.
“It’s hard not to ask, Lorraine.” He whined, his lips stretching into a pout. “I’m not a huge fan of surprises.”
We had an agreement on what he’d call me. If it was just the both of us, he’d call me Lorraine, but when we were in public, he’d switch to Melissa.
I didn’t find it strange since they were both my names, what I was tired of was the mask that hid my true identity.
We crossed through the silent hallway, our heels clicking on the tiled floor as the sounds resonated loudly. It smelled of dust as if no one had stayed there for a long time.
It wasn’t until we stopped at a room with two guards in front of us that Dexter got the memo. The door was specifically made to reveal whoever was inside the room, while the part facing inside the room was opaque, making the person inside oblivious to whatever was going on outside.
“You brought me to see Liam without even asking if I was ready for that?”
I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. “If you weren’t ready to see him, you wouldn’t have gone to the cell to visit him and then discovered that he was missing. You have to see him, Dexter, I’m sure he has some things to tell you.” I tried to convince him.
He scoffed, his nose flared up in anger which I knew wasn’t directed at me.
“What if I changed my mind about going to see him, huh?” His voice rose a bit, causing the guard to glance at us. “I have you and Lilly, and our unborn kids. I’m satisfied with that.”
I shook my head again, drawing in the air to summon the patience I needed to make Dexter see another important fact.
“I’m happy that we have each other, but if we don’t take out the people who separated us from each other, we’ll never have peace, and once they discover that I’m still alive, what happened before might occur again. For that to be avoided, we need to be on the offensive and take the bull by the horns.” I could see the hard lines on his face reclining, then I went ahead to cup his cheeks. “Cupcake, I’ve always known you to be courageous and brave, and they are some of the traits that turn me on when I’m around you, so don’t turn me off and get in there so we can have that conversation,” I smirked at him.
He wrapped his arm around my neck and ruffled my hair. “You really know how to make me do things I don’t want to do.”
I made a sign to the guard on my left. He understood immediately and plunged the key into the keyhole, letting us into the room.
Liam, whose face was covered with the book he was reading, straightened and dropped the book, his jaw-dropping.
He pushed backward and swallowed nervously.
“You found me.” He muttered in disbelief, his pupils dilating.
Dexter scoffed and approached him while I sought for a chair to sit on. “She brought me to you. I didn’t find you.” He corrected with a curt tone.
“Who’s she to you anyway?” Liam probed quietly.
“That’s none of your business, but have it in mind that anything you have to say would be said in front of her.”
I liked that Dexter was able to make me feel important without having to let him know who I was.
“I’m sorry for asking, but in case you don’t know. She saved my life-”
Dexter raised his hand sharply, interrupting him with a hint of irritation on his face. “Look, I don’t want to know what happened. I don’t care. So let’s get straight to the point. Why did you want to see me?”
“I want to ask you for your forgiveness because I’m a terrible person.” He rasped.
His legs were chained to the bed on my suggestion, so he couldn’t take much aside from turning to the side. He could only be set loose with someone watching him whenever he wanted to use the bathroom.
Inspector James ensured that there were hidden cameras all over the place so that whatever he did would be noted. He couldn’t afford to run away, because there were other cops stationed in every escape route of the building.
Dexter hissed loudly. “If this is what I came here for, then I made a very big mistake.”
“Emilia and I were lovers.” He blurted and I froze, including Dexter who had almost gotten to the door.
He spun around, darting his gaze from Liam to me. “Lovers?” He repeated like he didn’t hear Liam clearly. “What do you mean by that? How do you even know each other?”
“Emilia came to me when I was on the run. I knew that you were searching for Blake and me, and we both knew that we wouldn’t see the light of the day if you found us. I don’t know how she found me, but she did and things got messy between us…” He inhaled deeply and rubbed the back of his neck. “I found her hot and alluring so we had engaged in some wild intimate moments, which was in exchange for my assistance…”
“What kind of assistance?” Dexter cut in.
“She wanted me to eliminate Lorraine by myself, but I couldn’t so I sent someone who did the job, unfortunately, you caught him.”
I clenched my fists, trying hard to suppress the urge to manhandle him. Initially, I was happy that he didn’t know that I was Lorraine, but after his recent revelation, I was having a hard time maintaining the facade.
“You sent the kidnapper?”
He inclined his head, and mouthed a “Yes.”
Surprisingly, Dexter didn’t lose it and threw him a punch which I appreciated. Since we were being watched, I wouldn’t have the cops running in to detain him for physical assault.
Dexter went closer to him and propped his arms against the bed, his jaw clenched in anger.
“You were my friend, Liam. What did I ever do to you?”
“Nothing.” He tried to sound nonchalant, but I could detect the regret in his eyes. “I was just greedy and jealous.” He admitted and sniffed. “You know, when I wasn’t able to do as Emilia wished, she came up with another option. She kept complaining about how you rejected her because of Lorraine, and then she came up with a plan that I resonated with. Emilia never loved you, she was just after your money, and so was I.”
Dexter raised his fist and I quickly ran towards him and gripped his arm to stop him from going ahead with his intentions.
“Get a grip on yourself, baby, we are being watched,” I whispered into his ear.
He nodded and sprang to his feet.
“Let’s leave now. I’m losing my mind with each second that passes.” He seethed.
“Alright then. Let’s go.” I replied with hesitation, knowing that Liam wasn’t done with what he wanted to tell us.
There was still more news on the way.
If only Dexter could be patient enough to listen.
“How’s Lilly doing?” Liam questioned with an obvious glint of concern.
I’d never seen him concerned about anyone in his life. He was a narcissistic bastard who only cared about himself.
“And how do you know my daughter’s name?” Dexter raged.
“Because I was the one who asked Emilia to name her that.” He replied.
I gasped, clutching onto my chest while shaking my head. It had better not be what I thought it was.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Liam?” Dexter barked.
Liam rubbed his palms and nibbled on his lower lip.
“Lilly…” His breathing became ragged. “Lilly isn’t your daughter.” He announced.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.