Alpha Aidan's Rejection Chapter 84

TARA

　　I kept on ignoring the voice in my head that had been echoing on repeat, making me question if I had made a rash decision without properly thinking about it.

　　Nadia's eyes were swollen with tears, her face, still wet and puffy from sobbing after we broke the news to her. She had let me into the room now, but I still gave her a few minutes for her occasional shudders to calm down before I started speaking.

　　"Can I talk to you now?" I asked, watching her sunken frame on the bed and wondering when my baby became this smart. I couldn't say "shocked" was an appropriate word to describe how I felt when she uttered those words.

　　Nadia nodded, so I steadied myself with a deep breath before I spoke.

　　"Aidan, your daddy, and I, first met each other a very long time ago, and as of then, we weren't very wise to make the best decisions. Aidan hurt me by pushing me away, but I realized that he only pushed me away because he was scared for us and trying to protect you from a bad man who would have hurt you."

　　Nadia's eyes widened with each passing second as I told her the truth about the situation as vaguely as I could while letting her know that the both of us had been loved since the very beginning.

　　"Aidan was afraid?" Her voice shook, and I feared that mine would, so I simply nodded. "And he wanted to protect us but he wasn't strong enough?" Nadia asked, flexing her muscles as she spoke with confusion.

　　I nodded. "But he's stronger now, and that's why he's here to stay because he can protect us from any harm now."

　　He had done that repeatedly, so I was sure I was right.

　　I watched the wall Nadia had initially put up melt into something softer in the next few heartbeats. "He protected me that day from Alpha Collin," Nadia mused, more to herself than me, and I tensed up.

　　Aidan had mentioned what happened, and how he was there for Nadia, so I knew that Collin didn't affect her in any way, but I still wondered how I missed that. I managed to speak, breathing out a sigh of relief that this didn't escalate more than it already had.

　　"And Mommy kinda likes him, and he likes Mommy too, and you as well."

　　Nadia's dry eyes met mine, and she finally shrugged, muttering, "I guess he's cool."

　　I exhaled. "So you're okay if he comes in here and apologizes for upsetting you before you go to bed?" I asked, knowing that after the ordeal, Nadia would be out soon.

　　Nadia paused, and then she nodded.

　　Hope flared in my chest as I pranced the hallway leading to the living room in search of him, and when I saw Aidan's hunched-over frame as he sat there looking lost, my heart hurt for him.

　　"Aidan," I called, and his head shot up immediately as he rose to his feet, eyes asking the questions that were too heavy for his lips to utter. I gladly took him out of his misery. "She's okay now. Would you like to talk to her before she crashes?"

　　"Yeah," Aidan responded immediately, already walking in the direction. I wished I could offer something more comforting now, but Aidan's eyes were ahead with determination.

　　As soon as we stepped into the room, Nadia was already bundled up in the bed, and I was thankful that this time, she didn't look like her most prized possession was taken from her by force.

　　Aidan took a few more steps into the room, then he stopped, maintaining some distance, and he dropped onto one knee.

　　"Mommy said you were scared of the people that wanted to harm us. Is that true?"

　　I maintained my distance by standing at the entrance, and Aidan's eyes only came up to mine for half a second before he returned his attention to Nadia, nodding.

　　"Yes, I was, but it doesn't excuse my actions. I promise not to have that happen again. I won't leave again…well unless it's important work, but I'll be sure to come back as soon as I can." Aidan's expression hardened, as he spoke again. "I'm sorry, Nadia, I really am."

　　Nadia, who has already made up her mind, only shrugged, then did a jaw-dropping thing by stretching her hands out to Aidan for a hug.

　　Aidan froze for a moment, just as I did, but he eventually shuffled himself into Nadia's small frame, returning the hug.

　　When they broke apart, I helped Nadia get comfortable, and I kissed her goodnight.

　　Aidan and I silently returned to the living room, but I changed direction and headed for the half-opened bottle of wine we had drank after dinner that day, needing something to patch my throat after that rough experience.

　　I didn't need to ask Aidan, because as he felt the heat of the moment more than me, I was sure he also needed the drink more. Coming back with two filled glasses, I handed one to him.

　　"Thanks, Tara," Aidan chuckled humorlessly, and before I could respond, he tilted the glass to his lips, and gulped down the entire content in a few seconds.

　　"Wow," I exclaimed. "I knew you needed it, but I didn't know you needed it that much."

　　I swallowed my drink too, savoring the burn at the back of my throat before I took my position on the seat I was in before the incident.

　　"I don't know what I would have done if I was the only one in that situation." It was Aidan, and honest to heaven, I could count on one palm the number of times that I'd seen him that shaken. "I can't even believe that she finally knows, and it's thanks to you, Tara. Even if this is all I get, know that I'm eternally thankful for it."

　　I was speechless, but after clearing my throat, I responded. "You shouldn't be though. Like I said before, everyone deserves to know their parents, some even more deserving than others," I shrugged.

　　Aidan nodded, his eyes slowly returning to their usual calmness as he took me in.

　　The hard part was over, but something kept telling me that the even harder part was yet to come.