Chapter 23

• Narrated by Abel.
• My head was pounding. My mouth was drier than the Sahara desert.
• “Damn it,” I grumbled, sitting on the bed. My hands ran through my hair, memories flooding my mind. After leaving the house, I checked into a hotel. I knew It was better to give Ericka space, but sitting in this quiet room only allowed my mind to drown in my horrible reality. The shock and pain in my daughter’s eyes haunted me, and regret burned deeply in my chest for not going after Luciana immediately. Instead of trying to fix things, I sank into a stupor, needing to numb my mind, but only made it worse. The look of pain In Luciana’s eyes, the way I let her leave my house as if she meant nothing to me was painful. "Shit!" I exclaimed aloud, fighting against the guilt. I grabbed my phone and called her again; she didn’t respond to my calls neither did she to my messages. I was a bastard, a coward. She was right. We should have told Ericka a long time ago, but the bastard that I was simply rejected the idea of being honest for my own selfish reasons. Reasons that no longer matter because our secret has been discovered.