Love and Debt - Chapter 90

“Y-You’re my real father.” Brie exclaimed.

“What?” Andrew’s eyes widened when he got the confirmation of his suspicion.

Nina’s had the same expression. She couldn’t look Andrew in the eyes, then grabbed Brie’s arms, dragging her daughter towards the door.

“That’s enough, young lady! We’re going home!” She yelled, ignoring Andrew.

But Andrew would not allow them to leave just like that. He grabbed Brie’s other hand, pulling the little girl away from her.

“Let her go!” Andrew yelled.

Nina looked at Andrew. She could see his dark expression, and she suddenly felt fear towards him. Nina let Brie go, and Andrew crouched down to talk to the little girl.

“Tell me, what did you mean that I am your father?” Andrew asked.

Brie bit her lips and looked at her father intently with teary eyes.

“Y-You are my father. I always knew that James was not my real dad. I-I heard them yesterday talking about you; that’s why I came here to meet you.” Brie answered.

Andrew didn’t say a word. Then he stood up and looked at Nina.

“Is it true? Or are you just using her to deceive me again?” Andrew asked.

“No! I would never use my daughter to do that.” Nina answered.

“Are you saying it’s true? Answer me, Nina!” He yelled.

Nina couldn’t look him in the eyes. Her knees were starting to get weak. She wanted to run away from him and hide herself forever, but she was already cornered. She couldn’t possibly lie to him again.

She bit her lips, and tears started falling from her eyes. Then she looked at Andrew.

“Yes! She’s your daughter! I-I was pregnant when I left four years ago.” She answered.

Andrew shook his head and walked backward. He sat down on the couch while rubbing his temple.

“T-This can’t be! Y-You’re lying to me again! How could you do this to me? Hurting me once was not enough, Nina? Are you really that heartless?” Andrew exclaimed.

“N-No, Andrew! It’s the truth. I don’t have any plans to tell you. I didn’t know Brie knew that you were his father. I-I’m sorry. We’ll leave now. I don’t want to disturb you.” Nina stammered.

Andrew frowned, glaring at Nina.

“You don’t have any plans? Really? How dare you! She’s my daughter, and you don’t even want to tell me!” Andrew was fuming with anger.

Nina burst out from crying.

“W-What do you want me to do? I know you hated me. How could I possibly tell you!” She said.

“Yeah, because you deceived me! You lied to me for six years then left me with just a divorce paper! Do you expect me to be happy about it? I did everything for you and your family. I loved you, but what did you do in return? You spied on us and gave all the information to the enemies. Peggy lost her child because of you! Then you married the son of the man who tortured my mother!” Andrew yelled.

Brie heard everything her father said. She couldn’t believe her mother did all of that. Her heart felt something was piercing her heart. She couldn’t say anything and was just looking at her mother and father.

“I tried to escape many times, but Paolo always caught me. I was tortured and beaten even though I was pregnant with Brie. If I don’t obey them, I will be chained and will not be allowed to eat for days. I swear to God, I tried to come back to you, Andrew. But I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything. Your daughter and I would be dead if I tried to escape. Andrew, I regret everything I’ve done for you and our friends. Please, I know you’re mad at me. I will accept that, but please don’t deny Brie. It wasn’t her fault.” Nina cried and begged.

Andrew couldn’t say anything. He looked at Brie, who was silently crying. His heart broke seeing her cry. He pulled her in his arms, hugging her tightly.

“Shh. I’m sorry. Did I scare you?” He asked.

Brie shook her head while wrapping her arms around his father’s neck.

“Daddy!” Brie called him.

Andrew’s heart softened, hearing that word from Brie.

“Oh my God! My baby!” He whispered.

Nina’s heart felt like it was being crushed. Everything Andrew told her was true, and it was painful. But she was happy to see that Brie finally met her father.

Andrew asked Brie to stay in the bedroom so she could talk to Nina. The little girl understood and went inside the room.

Nina, who was already sitting on the sofa, couldn’t do anything but follow Andrew’s words. With her head down, she stayed and waited for him.

“Brie will stay with me from now on. Do whatever you want, but I won’t let you take her away again from me.” Andrew said in a serious tone.

Nina was surprised. She looked at him and with pleading eyes, she bit her lips before responding to him.

“Please, Andrew. Don’t take her away from me.” She begged.

“No. I will never do that. I’m not like you. I will allow you to come here and see her. You can take care of her when I’m at work and leave once I come back. But that’s all. If I will take this legally, I could sue you for cheating and lying to me. You deprived me of being her father for four years; I will definitely win. But I’m not that bad, so I will still allow you to see her. ” Andrew said.

Nina bit her lips. Her heart was pounding at the same time felt like it was being trampled, but what could she do about it. It was her fault. She couldn’t deny Brie to her real father any longer.

Now that Andrew knew about it, he would never allow her to take Brie away from him.

“Can we at least ask Brie about it? If she wanted to stay here, then I will agree with it.” She answered.

Andrew nodded then called Brie so Nina could talk to her.

“Honey, I won’t force you to come home with me. You can stay with your father for now if you want to. Your father would not force you either. We will let you decide.” Nina said.

Brie understood what her mother told her. But she had another plan in mind. She knew her father hated her mother based on what she heard earlier, so she wanted to stay with Andrew. She was not mad at her mother, but she wanted them to get close again.

Brie was thankful to James. She wasn’t a bad father, but her young heart wanted to feel the genuine affection from a parent.

“I-I want to stay with daddy, and then you could visit me here.” Brie answered.

Nina sighed. She couldn’t possibly disappoint her daughter further. She knew that Brie had wanted to know her real father for a long time, and now that she had found him, Nina knew her daughter would insist on staying with him.

“O-Okay. But will you promise mommy to send me a text every day?” She asked.

Brie nodded then hugged her mother tightly. While the mother and daughter were hugging each other, Andrew felt a sudden pain in his heart. If Nina didn’t leave him, maybe they would be a happy family. He thought to himself.

Andrew sighed, then stood up and went to the kitchen. He felt his stomach rumbling, so he wanted to cook something for breakfast.

Brie also felt hungry and followed Andrew in the kitchen. She sat down on the high chair in front of the kitchen counter and watched her father.

“Do you know how to cook, daddy?” She asked.

Andrew hesitantly nodded at his daughter. He wasn’t sure if he would believe what Nina said, but Andrew could feel a deep connection to the little girl, so he couldn’t question the truth.

“Mommy is a good cook! Right mommy? Can you cook something for daddy and me? I’m starving.” Brie yelled while looking at Nina.

Andrew and Nina glanced at each other. They didn’t know what to say, but then they heard Andrew’s stomach rumble again.

“Can you cook for her? I needed to work on something anyway. ” He said, then walked out of the kitchen.

Nina nodded and went to the kitchen to see what meal she could prepare for Brie and her father. She was sighing the whole time, thinking what would happen to them from now on.

This morning, before she went to Andrew’s apartment to pick up Brie, James gave her the divorce paper. James already signed it, and Nina just needed to sign them to be legally divorced.

And so she did. She cried because she was finally free from the hands of the Santelmo’s. She knew that other people might think she was horrible since James didn’t do anything terrible towards her, but what could she do? She couldn’t pretend anymore.. Her heart only belongs to one man, and that was her ex-husband, Andrew Cross.