CHAPTER 41 - Bryan Trevor
In case you didn't know
Baby, I'm crazy for you
And I would be lying if I said that I
Could live this life without you
In Case You Didn't Know - Brett Young
One month later…
The dashboard clock reads nine-thirty when I park in front of the clinic. Every Thursday I leave the office to pick up the two of them. I could hire a driver until Noah gets her license, but I don’t like the idea of them in another man’s car, even if I’m the one paying him.
With each passing day, I become more obsessive about Noah and more protective of Sadie.
They don’t leave my head for a single second, not even when I’m working.
The only reason I don’t take them with me is that they need to live their own lives—and there are things my little girl should never witness.
Despite needing to be away during the day and sometimes at night, I’m always watching—lurking through the cameras I installed in every room of the apartment.
I also have trusted security guards accompanying them everywhere.
I snap out of my thoughts when I catch the two on duty today leaving the clinic with my girls right behind them.
Noah appears with her hair down, wearing a red dress that somehow makes her even more beautiful. Sadie’s in a blue one with white butterflies painted on the fabric. My daughter hops along beside her mother, a lollipop in hand and her drawing notebook pressed to her chest.
I narrow my eyes when I see the therapist calling out to them. The idiot in the expensive suit lets his gaze linger a few seconds too long on my girl. He leans in, says something that makes her laugh, and my blood boils.
Laugh.
She laughs.
The woman who spent years in silence now laughs—and it’s not for me.
I get out of the car, slamming the door harder than I should to announce my presence. I crack my neck, undo a button on my suit jacket, and Sadie runs to me, shouting “hi” before jumping into my arms.
“Hi, little one,” I greet her, but my eyes stay fixed on the scene ahead.
The therapist lightly touches Noah’s arm before saying goodbye, and all I can see is his head being crushed against the wall after every limb has been ripped from his body.
Maybe I need to show him what happens to anyone who touches what’s mine.
“You’ve got a jealousy face,” Sadie teases, laughing.
I swallow the urge to curse out loud, or she’ll scold me.
“Of course not,” I lie, watching her as Noah approaches.
“Yes you do,” she singsongs, and I press a kiss to her cheek.
“How was today’s session?” I ask as soon as she stops in front of me.
Noah and Sadie chose to go to therapy because even though they’re far removed from everything they went through, some scars take time to heal, and professional help is essential for their healing process.
“Wonderful, just like all the others,” she answers, and I kiss her lips before we head back to the car. “Julius is an excellent therapist, just like his sister, who treats our girl.” I clench my jaw at the compliment, and she arches an eyebrow, noticing the change in my expression.
“Seriously? He’s my therapist,” she declares while I put Sadie in the car seat.
I close the door, move close enough that no one can hear us, and lean in toward her ear.
“Then tell him that if he keeps smiling at you like he just did, he’ll be the one who needs therapy—but his will be intensive.”
She rolls her eyes, but the blush on her cheeks gives away that she liked seeing me jealous.
What a hell of a woman—she loves messing with my head. Both of them do, because every time she blushes, I want to fuck her.
“You’re impossible,” she retorts, biting her lip, and I open the passenger door. “He was just telling me that you’re big and intimidating. That he understood how you managed to free me from that place.”
“If he doesn’t watch himself, he’ll be the next one I destroy,” I grumble, closing the door as her laugh follows me.
I walk around the car and slide behind the wheel, starting it up right away.
“What time are we going to fly?” Sadie asks excitedly.
“Told you she wouldn’t forget,” Noah teases.
We only mentioned today’s trip at breakfast so we wouldn’t make our daughter anxious, but it was pointless. She spent the entire drive to the clinic asking questions, and I’m sure she’ll keep going until we reach our final destination.
“First we’re going to see a place, then we’ll head to the airport.”
“Is it going to take long?”
“No, it won’t,” I answer, taking the route toward our apartment.
I connect the kids’ playlist to the sound system, and soon she’s singing at the top of her lungs, completely absorbed in her performance.
“Are we going home?” Noah asks, looking around.
“Yes,” I answer with a half smile, and she arches an eyebrow, suspicious.
Minutes later, I park in front of the property and look back and forth between the two of them, wanting to capture both their reactions. They stare at the house, completely stunned.
The property is enormous with three floors. There's a garden for Sadie to play in, an outdoor entertainment area with a gourmet kitchen and pool. Trees provide shade and privacy, and also hold up the wooden treehouse and swing.
“Who lives here?” Noah asks curiously.
“We do,” I reply, getting out of the car and helping them both down.
“No, no.” My daughter shakes her head, wagging her finger. “We live up high, really high,” she corrects me, and I want to squeeze her, she's so adorable.
“I thought you wanted a big house to run around and play in.” I pretend to think it over. “Did you see the swing?” I point to the corner. “And the treehouse?” Her mouth falls open, eyes shining. “There's also a pool and a playroom just like the one we went to at the mall that day.”
“I want it. I want to live here,” she shouts, jumping up and down.
“You bought this house for us?” my girl asks in disbelief, and I nod, holding her hand and Sadie's.
“Do you like it?”
“If it's this beautiful on the outside, I can't imagine what it'll be like inside,” she says, her voice thick with emotion.
“Then let's go see,” I say, and together we walk through the white gate.
Sadie runs to the swing and we give her a push to get her going.
Her laughter fills the entire garden, and Noah and I both watch her, enchanted.
She climbs up to the treehouse, runs through the garden, and begs to jump in the pool, but that'll have to wait until we move in since we need to leave in an hour.
“There are butterflies!” she shouts in wonder as we enter the house. “So many butterflies!”
There are hundreds of them. I had a wall installed in the living room covered with handmade artificial butterflies. They're mounted so the wings look like they're about to flutter, and below each one there's space to add a message.
Noah covers her mouth with her hand, surprised.
“Bryan…” she whispers, her voice trembling.
“A new home needs memories that don't hurt,” I reply, stepping closer. “Each butterfly will represent something good in our lives.”
“The blue one in the middle is…”
“To represent you two,” I say, and she leans in, pressing a tender kiss to my lips.
“You manage to outdo yourself every day,” she says, but we pull apart when we hear our little one's footsteps on the stairs.
We follow her, and when we reach the second floor, I go straight to the door to her room.
“I have a butterfly room!” she shouts, looking around as I turn the handle. “How beautiful, buddy!” She turns to me. “Before, mine was ugly like the monster and the witch.”
“Did you like it, sweetheart? If you want to change anything, just tell me, okay?” I say, and she nods eagerly.
“Little one…” Noah begins, her voice trembling, and my heart is already racing. “We need to tell you something.”
“Another surprise?” she asks, with that smile that always seems like light.
“Yes.” I force a smile, even with the knot forming in my throat. What if she doesn't like it? “And this is the best one of all.”
We go into the room and I set her on the bed between us.
She watches us with curious eyes, her little legs swinging impatiently.
“Bryan and I met a long, long time ago and we used to date, but we had to be apart.”
“How sad. You two are so cute together,” she blurts out, making us laugh.
She laughs along with us, and it cuts the tension, if only for a second.
Noah looks at me, and I know she's as nervous as I am, but it's the kind of nervousness that comes before something beautiful.
“Our love was so big that…” she continues, her voice thick with emotion, “something beautiful was born from it.”
“What?” Sadie asks, tilting her head.
“You, little one. You were born from our love.”
She blinks and furrows her brow, trying to process my words.
“I don't understand,” she says with a sigh.
Noah takes her hand, and I take the other.
“I know it's confusing, sweetheart, but Gavin and Sarah were your grandparents. They forced me to say you were their daughter.”
Her expression changes and the smile disappears. I don't know if it's from remembering them or from discovering they weren't her parents.
I hope it's the first.
“If Noah hadn't done that, they would have hurt you. She had to lie to protect you.”
Her gaze moves between us, and then, as if the penny suddenly drops, her eyes widen.
“So you’re not my sister?” she exclaims, her voice rising with each word.
Noah shakes her head, tears already falling.
“No, sweetheart. I’m your mommy.”
Sadie brings both hands to her mouth, her eyes shining.
“And you…” she turns to me, “are my daddy?”
“Yes, and besides being your buddy, I’m your dad,” I reply, swallowing the emotion welling up inside me. Before I know it, she jumps from the bed straight into my arms, laughing and crying at the same time.
“Yippeeee! I have the best parents in the world!” she sings, and I let my shoulders relax. “I asked the daddy in heaven to make you my mommy and daddy here on earth, and he heard me.”
“You asked?”
“Yes… Aunt Greta explained that God isn’t bad. That the bad ones were the monster and the witch.”
Noah covers her face, laughing between sobs, and I pull her close to us.