59. Delilah
Chapter fifty-nine
Delilah
S itting on the kitchen counter, I swung my legs back and forth as Archer made breakfast. The morning after, we just seemed nonchalant about the sins that we committed yesterday... But Archer didn’t seem too fazed. If anything, he just continued to remind me how much he loved me and even told me that I was such a good girl for him. Like I said… crazy!
“Do you want tea this morning, Princess, or orange juice?” he asked.
I leaned back as I tilted my head, thinking. “Orange juice, please.”
He nodded as he opened the fridge and grabbed the jug. He placed it on the counter, walked over to me, and kissed my lips for the hundredth time this morning. I giggled into the kiss, and he placed his hands on the counter outside my thighs. I ran my hand up and down his defined chest slowly.
“I want to go to the park today,” he said, pulling away.
I smiled. “That sounds fun.”
He ran his hands up and down my thighs, and I heard my phone ring. I looked over, and my heart momentarily stopped, as it was my dad. Archer continued rubbing my legs comfortingly, and I answered the call, expecting it to be something minor that he wanted to ask. I answered it as I played with one of Archer’s hands.
“Hi, Dad,” I said into the phone, and he replied... but something wasn’t right.
“Hello, Delilah.” He spoke in his angry dad tone, and I made eye contact with Archer as panic rose in my chest. He rubbed my knee soothingly as he could hear his voice over the phone, too, and my throat went dry.
It’s probably nothing. It’s just Dad. He always overreacts.
“...Daddy, is everything okay?” I asked softly, and he paused for a moment.
“Where are you right now?”
I bit my lip. “…I spent the night over at Kimi’s, and I’m out right now,” I said, trying to keep my voice stable.
As if God were punishing me, my father let out a humorless chuckle, one that told me he was furious.
He stopped laughing at once. “ Come home, now,” he ordered, and I felt like throwing up as the next words came out of his mouth. “ Bring him, too.”
Killian
Sitting in my home office, I kissed Brielle’s lips as she was going over to Blaine’s home to pick up a few things from Maia. Meanwhile, the idiot was here with me as he lay on the couch and sighed heavily.
“I miss my sunshine . She told me to leave so she could let the kids take a nap. Probably because I planned to… make her take a nap too,” he muttered.
I rolled my eyes at him. “Still calling Maia ‘sunshine,’ I see?” I asked.
He scoffed. “And constantly referring to Brielle as darling is any less creepy?” he asked me.
I shrugged. He’s got a point.
After finishing up the last of the files I had to send out this morning, I took a sip of my coffee and sighed. The children were quiet today. The twins were either napping or in their playroom, Ivory and Zachary stayed in their rooms, and Delilah was at Kimiko’s, from what I heard from Brielle.
Sending the last email, I got a phone call from an unknown number. I thought of simply ignoring it, but I decided to answer just in case.
I answered, holding it to my ear. “Killian speaking.”
There was silence for a moment before I heard a voice. “ Hello, Killian.” The voice sounded strangely familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint it to anyone I may have spoken to in the last few days or weeks.
“Can I help you with something?” I asked, putting it on speaker as Blaine’s eyes virtually begged me to.
The man sighed. “How well do you know Delilah?”
I tilted my head, and Blaine’s face suddenly paled.
“Well enough, I believe… she is my daughter, after all. I’m sorry. How did you get this number, and why are you speaking of her with me?”
The man laughed. “ You know, I thought about letting it continue to slide. I didn’t see the need to inform you of this, but the faster you know, the faster I can get away from you all and finally live in peace... My little brother’s been living happily for the past few months, and although I don’t want to disrupt the fun, I’m tired of being the punching bag and worrying about my own life. If I can get you all away, then so be it.”
I was about to ask what exactly he meant when an email came to my screen… from Stephan Lockwood. I opened the email with about twenty attachments, and my mind drew a blank.
“You ever notice the diamond bracelet on her wrist?” Stephan, I’m assuming, said into the phone, but I couldn’t even speak. Pictures of Delilah and Archer spending time together, kissing, and one in which he was only in a towel. It was nothing too explicit, but I couldn’t even register what I was seeing.
I glared over at Blaine, and I had the feeling of strangling him as he looked like a deer in headlights. He knew, too.
Stephan continued to speak. “ I know my little brother… he thinks… no. He knows she belongs to him.”
Delilah
“How did he find out?” I whispered to Archer as I held his hand in mine, and we, unfortunately, made our way to my home. I was in shock. Sure, we were reckless at times, but we were careful enough. Why now? We were planning to tell him when the time was right. Why now? Where is Mom? How did he find out?
Archer shushed me softly, as he could probably tell my mind was racing, and he brushed the hair out of my face. “It’s okay, Princess. It’s going to be okay, baby.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked as I felt like I was about to pass out from the fear of it all.
“Because not even your father will be able to tear us apart. It may seem like he will, but I won’t let that happen.”
I nodded as I tried to breathe, but it got caught in my throat as my door ripped open, and my father stood back, crossing his arms.
“Out of the car. Now,” he ordered.
I shakily unbuckled my seatbelt, and Archer did his as well. My father walked ahead of us, and I knew he was going to his office and wanted us to follow.
Archer grabbed my hand in his, and upon entering our home, it was silent. Benjamin and Reginald gave me looks of sympathy from the kitchen, and Zachary was simply staring in utter shock. I noticed Ivory in the corner, and as she put on her shoes, she gave me a look that told me she was going to find Mom. I felt thankful that she wanted to help, but we already had a death sentence to face. Uncle Blaine sat in the living room, and he seemed to be stressed. I couldn’t even blame him.
We entered Dad’s office, and it was eerily quiet. Nothing was broken yet , and my father sat calmly as he tilted his head to the side with a glass of whiskey. The fireplace was on, and he was just sitting there thinking.
All right, he’s pissed.
“I thought I did everything right,” he muttered.
I squeezed Archer’s hand. He rubbed the back of my hand with his own.
“Taught you right from wrong, spoiled you at times, even went as far as to see how far I could take my control. So you would be safe, happy, healthy…” my father continued, but he chuckled as he shook his head. “Right under my fucking nose… all this time,” he muttered, taking his final sip, and I jumped into Archer’s hands as he threw his glass across the room, breaking it.
I was shaking, and Archer did his best to soothe my nerves as he rubbed my back.
My father stood up and looked at us in a way I’d never seen him look at me before. Hurt, anger, rage, betrayal.
His eyes narrowed in on Archer’s hand, which was still caressing me, and I let out a breath as I heard my mother’s voice.
“Killian, no. We need to have a civilized talk—that’s it,” she began.
My father ran his fingers through his hair as he paced.
“How did everyone know but me? Am I that fucking blind?” he whispered.
My mother made her way to the middle of the room to be the separation between my father and both me and Archer.
“Killian—” she started.
My father glared at me. “You, little girl , have done enough fucking growing up,” he sneered, and I was taken aback as tears sprung to my eyes.
“Killian. No—”
He ignored her as he continued. “And you... How dare you!” he scowled, looking at Archer, who remained quiet as he listened, still soothing me. “My little girl... you think you have a right to do anything with her? To hold her? To fucking touch her?!” he asked, and soon, the look in his eyes changed. He lowered his head, and after a few moments, he looked back over at us.
“Say goodbye to him, Delilah,” he said, his face not wavering.
A tear fell from my eye. “W-why?” I whispered.
He shook his head as he walked closer. “Because this will be the last time you ever see him this close again. After today, you two will no longer be in a relationship, and the second he leaves, I want your ass in your room for the rest of the day. I’ve been too lenient with you, and I’ve had enough of the blatant defiance and disobedience. Am I understood?” he seethed, progressively getting angrier.
I felt as if my throat was closing up. Is this what love is? Needing the person so much, it’s almost as if you can’t breathe without them?
Awaiting the answer he wanted to hear, my father looked at me expectantly as my heart raced in my chest. Everything within me that has been groomed by his authority and control was coaxing me to say yes, to satisfy him because the repercussions had been proven to be dire.
But I couldn’t. Not when Archer was by my side, giving me the support I needed to face my father. Not when we had already been through so much. I loved Archer. I loved his smile, his caresses, his attitude, and his possessiveness; I loved him too much to let him go so abruptly. And as a result, I uttered a word my father never liked to hear.
“No,” I whispered.
He tilted his head as he approached me slowly again. My adrenaline was through the roof, and I felt I had enough energy to run a marathon and pass out simultaneously.
“No? Did I hear that correctly?” he asked.
I nodded. “No. Y-you don’t even want to listen to Mom or us... Why should I bother to listen to you?” I asked, and even my mother looked shocked as I stood up to him. And how was I feeling at that moment? I was practically trembling in anxiety as he looked terrifying, his shoulders shaking with anger.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “If I say you’re going to do something... you do it, no fucking questions or concerns. You don’t need to be dating anyone right now… especially him .”
“I’m my own person, Dad. I’m twenty years old. You keep treating me like I’m a little girl, and I’m sick of it!” I yelled, stepping out of Archer’s hold as tears streamed down my face.
“You better watch your tone with me, or you will be locked in your room for the next month,” he warned me, and I groaned loudly.
“Did you really just ignore everything I said!? Why is everything about what you want and never about what makes us happy?!” I screamed.
He simply looked down at me in complete rage. “Because I am your father. I make the fucking rules, and you listen because you’re my little girl. Whatever ‘claim’ this boy thinks he has over you is over, as it shouldn’t have started in the first place. Like I said before, say your goodbyes and take your ass to your room. Now ,” he seethed.
My chest heaved as a sob broke through. My mother had tears in her eyes as she looked at me in pain, and Archer didn’t move as my father already had his eyes set on him.
“I hate you,” I whispered, defeated.
Dad simply stared at me. I didn’t care about the hurt that flashed through his eyes as he took a look at his watch and turned away from me.
“Hurry up. I expect to see you in your room in the next ten minutes.”
Archer placed his hand on my lower back, and I stomped my foot and clutched my hands in a fist as I sobbed once again.
“I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Archer shushed me as he laid my head on his shoulder and rubbed my back. “It’s okay... Princess. It’s okay,” he whispered.
I wiped away my tears and shook my head as I soon pulled away and continued screaming at my father, who was now looking at me with his arms crossed.
“No, it’s not okay! All you’ve ever done is control me! What I wear, where I go, how I look, what I do, who I’m with, EVERYTHING!” I yelled with a sob as he stared at me, emotionless. “Mom listens to us. She compromises. She understands that she cannot control her children... but you? All you’ve ever done is control me! You don’t even care if I cry or throw a tantrum, but the world bends over backward when you throw one, right?! RIGHT?!” I snapped, and he remained stoic.
“But you justify needing to control me because I’m your little girl, right? But you don’t treat me like it! You treat me like I’m something just for you to control or own, and I am sick and tired of it!! If this is how you treat me... how you treat us, your children, then I don’t want to be your little girl anymore, because you’re not even my real father !!!” I seethed.
My heart felt like it was crumbling in my chest.
My father remained silent, and I wiped my tears as I left the room and made a beeline to the front door.
All that was heard were the clicks of my heels and Archer’s footsteps. Other than that, you could practically hear a pin drop throughout the entire house.
Archer closed the door behind him. I felt my knees going weak, and he pulled me into an embrace as he shushed me softly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and continued to sob as he gave me what Killian wouldn’t in that moment: love, understanding, and trust.