Chapter 005

"Who is he, Mum?"

I was sharing with Yemi when I heard David's piercing, questioning voice coming from the corridor. Like an electric current, my pulse rushed through my veins. I felt the full gravity of the circumstance.

Yemi waited for a response as he stood there staring into my eyes. Our past, our kids, everything was knotted in a tight knot that I didn't know how to untangle, and the heat between us was evident. The twins stood naively at the doorway, waiting for me to answer. Their eyes were on me, but all I could see was Yemi.

For an instant, I wanted to tell a lie. to protect them from reality. to prevent the world I had painstakingly created for them from collapsing. However, I was unable to. No more. My barriers were already being chipped away by Yemi. They were gone now.

I inhaled deeply and used all of my remaining power. I had to deal with this, and I had to deal with it immediately.

My voice was more steady than I felt as I said, "He's someone I knew a long time ago." I could tell David's eyes were confused. I wasn't sure how to explain, and he didn't know who Yemi was.

Yemi took a step forward and broke the tension with his words. "David, I am their father."

I went cold. I was struck by his comments like a stone wall. He had stated it so plainly, so casually, as though it were unquestionable. However, there was a question—the one I had been dodging for years.

David blinked as his impressionable brain took in the facts. "Father?" he asked again in a bewildered tone. Ava, his twin sister, stood next to him, just as confused.

The room seemed to be closing in on me. Yemi's look was a mix of hurt and resolve, and his eyes were riveted on me. His kids. My kids. I had kept him away from all of us, from them, for years. The time had arrived. And the running had stopped.

I tried to smile as I turned to face David and Ava, but I felt like my insides were falling apart. I whispered, "It's... a complicated story." Yemi is your father, though. I ought to have informed you earlier.

David's little face was full of curiosity as he peered up at me. Ava, who was always more perceptive, moved forward. "Why haven't we seen him before?"

Her naive inquiry made my heart turn. In an attempt to shield them from the past I had so valiantly attempted to bury, I had kept them so far away from Yemi's world. Now, however, everything was becoming clear. I could feel my resolve eroding, even though I was trying my hardest to keep it together.

Yemi's voice was forceful as he spoke again before I could reply. "Because she felt afraid." I'm afraid of what it could mean for everyone. And I understand that. But you need to know the truth now.

I was unable to look at him, but I could feel the intensity of his stare. I couldn't deal with him at the moment. The reality was too much to bear. Too uncooked. I felt a surge of rage that had accumulated over the years, anger at Yemi for never seeking me out and for never knowing the truth, anger at myself.

I stared down at the floor, away from them. "I apologize. I never intended for you to learn this way.

The room was suffocatingly quiet. Unspoken words weighed heavily in the air, and I could feel the tension between Yemi and me becoming stronger by the moment. But the attraction, which I had sensed from our first meeting again, was too strong to ignore. The bond that had been seething beneath the surface all along. I wanted to contact him, but I was unable to do so. Not right now. Not when it was all crashing down.

David glanced between us, obviously perplexed. "Are you going to stay right now?"

I bit my lip, trying to control my feelings. I wanted to be honest with him and let him know how difficult things were. However, I was at a loss for words. Not quite yet. Not when it was all so unclear.

"Why don't you return to your room for a little while, David and Ava?" I forced a grin as I spoke. "All right, let's talk more later."

They turned and walked back down the corridor with reluctance. As I watched them leave, guilt weighed heavily on my heart. A steady life free from the specters of the past was what I had promised them. However, I had no idea how to stop those shadows from coming in at this point.

I looked back at Yemi when the sound of their footsteps subsided. He had inquiries in his eyes. He repeated the question, his voice softer now but no less intense, "Why didn't you tell me?"

I started to say something, but the words stuck in my throat. How could I respond? What could I say about the terror that had motivated me for so long? How could I explain to him what I had given up to keep my family safe?

After a moment, I blurted out, "I was trying to protect them." "I did not want them to grow up in a dysfunctional household." I didn't want them to experience what I did—being deserted by everyone they cared about.

Although Yemi's eyes softened, the pain persisted. However, you didn't have enough faith in me to tell me the truth. They have now grown up believing a lie.

Like a tidal wave, the guilt swept over me and threatened to submerge me. I didn't want to tell them a falsehood. I hadn't wanted to live a secret-based life. However, I had. Their father had every right to know them, but I had kept them away from him. Everyone has the right to participate in their lives. It was all for the wrong reasons, too.

My voice broke as I murmured, "I didn't think you'd want to be a part of their lives." "I believed I was acting in their best interests. For you.

Yemi took a step toward me and shook his head. "You failed to think. You simply took action. We're all paying the price now.

I glanced up at him, who had a sad and frustrated look on his face. In my chest, my heart wrenched. He was correct. I hadn't given it much thought. And now, like him, I was paying for it.

With a shaky voice, I added, "I never meant to hurt you." "I didn't intend to hide them from you. However, I was terrified.

He looked into my eyes and was silent for a while. He suddenly reached out and caressed my cheek, wiping away a tear I hadn't even known had fallen with his thumb.

He whispered, "Dee, I'm not leaving." "Not right now. Never. However, we must speak. For their sake, we must solve this. For us.

Too overwhelmed to say anything, I nodded. Everything was too much to bear. I wanted to cling to him, to think that we could make this right, that we still had a shot. However, I had a gut feeling that the journey ahead would be more difficult than everything we had encountered thus far.

He muttered, "And you're not the only one with secrets, Dee," as he leaned in and nearly touched my ear. Our narrative is not over yet. More than you are aware of.

I went cold. The remarks were like a kick to the stomach.

"What do you mean?" My voice was hardly heard as I asked.

However, there was a jarring knock on the door before Yemi could respond.

My heart stopped beating.