Daniel couldn't stop thinking about his encounter with Bella, she was now a mother, birthing another man's baby.
He wondered who that man was that was able to win her over very fast.
His first reaction when he saw her was happiness, he was going to apologize for how he treated her back then but he changed his mind when he saw her with kids.
His mind went to the little boy, he had eyes exactly like Bella's, he felt wistful and imagined that the boy was his.
That Bella moved on so quickly was proof that she never loved him enough.
His mood turned sour and he hated it that Bella suddenly showed up.
*
*
The surgery took hours and Bella sat apprehensively with Niko on the chair waiting for news of Nikky.
Niko was already asleep on her lap when the doctor came and told her that the surgery was successful and Nikky had been wheeled into the ICU.
She was not allowed to go inside the ICU so she just stared at her daughter's tiny frame through the glass.
She didn't want to leave but she still had to take care of Niko, he looked so exhausted already and he needed to take a bath and have a good sleep.
She gently woke up Niko and took him to the hotel she had booked online for them.
*******************************************
"I need an explanation, how could you just disappear without a word?" Daniel clenched out days later.
Nikky was recovering pretty well and she has been moved from the ICU.
Bella and Niko had just come out from her room, the doctor had warned her not to spend too much time in her room so as not to exhaust her and Bella was always conscious of how much time she spent with her
She raised her head at Daniel's question to see him walking close to her, she was grateful that Niko was not close to her, she had allowed him to go and get ice cream immediately after they came out of Nikky's room.
"You wanted a divorce remember? Which means either way I would have still gone out of your life"
"Really, was that why you were so quick to birth the children of another man?" He snarled and Bella paled but before she could think of a comeback, Niko suddenly appeared
"Mom, look who's here, it's Dad" he yelled and she glanced up to see him walk up to her with Jason in tow
Dad? When has he decided to address Jason as Dad? Nevertheless, she was grateful for the interruption
Jason hugged her and placed a kiss on her forehead, "are you okay?" He asked softly and she nodded
He turned and stared at Daniel, "er... Jason, this is Daniel...an old friend, and Daniel, this is Jason...m...m ..my f...fiance"
Jason's face brow furrowed as he stared at Bella, since he had come to know her, she had never stuttered this much, who was this old friend out of hers that was making her fidgety and stuttering
"I... I'm happy to see you, my love, let's go and have some coffee" she said nervously and all but pushed him out of the hospital.
Daniel watched them leave and he fisted his hands, "my love" he scoffed, she had called him "my love" he looks like a junkie, what's there to love about him?
His brow furrowed into a frown. Bella had addressed him as her fiance, which means she wasn't married, were her kids for that guy? He hated the guy already
He walked towards Dr Perkins's office but paused when he walked past the room where Bella's child was.
He had no idea what made him go into her room but he felt a pull and he just stopped and went into her room.
She was sleeping but her eyes opened as soon as he entered. Caramel eyes that were so much like his own stared at him and Daniel shuddered, although, he had no idea why.
"Hello mister, I am Nikky" she murmured weakly and Daniel went even closer to her, his heart melted at the frail-looking kid staring up at him, he had no idea why he was being drawn to Bella's kids
He smiled softly at her, "Hi there Nikky, how are you feeling?"
She returned his smile, "Although I still feel weak, I feel much better"
"That's good to know, in no time at all, you will be fine"
"Have you seen my mom and brother?"
"Em...they went to have some cup of coffee with your dad"
Her brow furrowed in confusion, "Dad? I don't have a dad" she replied
"Were the medicines being administered to her affecting her? Why can't she remember her dad"
"Well, a man with sandy brown hair came into the hospital and your brother addressed him as Dad"
She gave him a big smile, "Oh, that's just Uncle Jason" She paused and stared at him, "Can I tell you a secret?"
Daniel nodded, curious at what secret was he supposed to hear from this little girl
"Uncle Jason is not my real dad, my mum decided to get married to him because the other kids in school were teasing us about not having a father"
Daniel felt shocked by this revelation, "And your mom never told you who your real dad is?"
Nikky shook her head solemnly and Daniel rubbed his eyes, he did not want to think about the implication of what this child was saying
"You have a tattoo too? My brother has one too"
Daniel stared at the corner of his wrist, he had a birthmark there, a unique one that only those who belong to his mother's family have, he had inherited it from.his mother while she had inherited it from her dad
"Your brother has this too?" He asked seriously, this was something too big to be a coincidence
Again, Nikky nodded solemnly
"How come the both of you are almost the same height, are you...." Daniel stopped as it suddenly hit his disjointed brain and just before Nikky said it out loud
"Twins, we are twins".
Daniel felt his world spiraled out of control, why hadn't he thought about it? Bella's kids are twins and he was almost convinced that they are his.
Daniel went closer to Nikky and gently took a strand of her hair, he ran his fingers through her hair and smiled softly at her "Rest Nikky, I want you to recover and become very strong"
"Will you be back?" She asked and he nodded.
Of course, he would be back, most especially if it turned out that she was his daughter.
Daniel gave the strand of hair to Dr Perkins, "I want answers before the end of today"
Daniel left the hospital, his mind on Bella's kids, if it turns out that those kids were his, he would do everything to have them by his side.
******************************************
Daniel stared at the DNA result in his hand, his heart was in his throat, 99.9% match.
They are his kids, those kids are his and Bella kept it hidden from him. That means when she had left five years ago, she was pregnant.
How could she do this to him? She took five years of his kids' life away from him
He will make sure that he has his kids with him.
Caramel-colored eyes and clear blue eyes came into his memory, they had both shared both his and Bella's attributes between themselves.
His kids, he has kids.
******************************************
Bella had just tucked Nikky in bed when she heard a knock on her door and she checked the time, it was barely six o'clock in the evening who could be here knocking on her door? The knock sounded again, more urgent and she frowned,
Was Niko back already with Jason? They just left to get the medicines that the doctor had prescribed for Nikky, could it be that they forgot something?
"Who's there?" She asked as she walked towards the door, she peeped through the door hole and gasped when she saw Daniel, how did he manage to find out where she lived?
what the hell was he doing here? She was grateful for her decision to let Niko go with Jason to get that drug but still, Nikky was in the house and Daniel might disturb her sleep, they just got back from the hospital and Nikky would need her rest.
Bella opened the door and stepped out and confronted him outside
"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked
"Where are the kids?" He asked and made to go inside but Bella blocked his path "Nikky is sleeping and does not need your disturbs"
"Why are you looking for my kids?" Bella countered,
"My kids you mean?"
Bella paled and held the doorpost for support
"What made you to think that? They are not your kids" she argued hotly
"Stop with your goddamn lies" he gritted
"you are mad" she whispered fiercely, "I have told you that they are not your kids. How more do you want me to say it?"
Daniel stared at her through narrowed eyes as anger seethed through his veins, "can you prove it?"
"What do you mean by proving it"
"I want to conduct a DNA test, that will be enough proof right?"
No, this can't be happening to her, what's with the sudden talk about conducting DNA? She won't allow it because she already knows what the result will be, she tries to gather her composure that was fast flying off
"Why would I grant that? I don't have to prove anything to you"
Daniel jerked her roughly to him, pinning her hand to her back, she wiggled in pain,
"Oh yes Bella, you have a lot of proving to do because I know for a fact that the twins are mine" he pushed her away from him with such force that she almost tumbled and fell on the ground
"What can you say about this? I want an explanation"Daniel yelled throwing a piece of paper at her,
"What is this?" She asked and slowly started to open it when he did not bother to reply to her, her eyes widened when she saw what he had thrown at her, it was a DNA test result, her hands trembled and she suddenly felt like throwing up, he had already done a DNA test? She suddenly felt furious, how dare he? He betrayed her years ago and when she had left, did he know what she had gone through, and now he thinks he can just show up in her life and act like she was the one at fault here?
"How dare you perform this test without my permission, you are so despicable, I hate you, leave us alone" she raved as she hit him all over, she was like a mad woman with her hair flying everywhere,
"listen and listen to me carefully, I will not allow you to take my kids away from me" she yelled angrily, neither will I allow you to be part of our life, we are perfectly fine without you" she clenched out and Daniel caught her hands that were about to hit him again,
"Well, you listen and listen carefully, you took five years of my kids' life from me, I will make sure that you feel how it is to be absent in your kids' lives" he gritted and
Bella shook her head, no, no, no, this cannot be happening to her, no way, "you can't do that" she cried
"Oh yes, I can and I will, I want custody of my kids, the both of them are going to stay with me" he spat out, his words were like tiny arrows shooting right at her, her world tilted, as she watched him leave without another word.
Bella had to force herself to breathe, tears ran down her cheeks, never, she would never allow him to take her kids from her, she gave birth to them, and she suffered alone throughout the pregnancy period without him by her side, they were supposed to have their babies together and experience the joy of it but he ruined everything, why didn't he believe her when she told him that Jeremy was her past, he chose to believe Joana and served her divorce papers.
His love and everything he had said to her were all lies, she was the only one who had truly loved him, she had loved him with every fiber of her being and took in a lot just to be with him and make her marriage work.
Her stomach fluttered and she sat on the floor with tears streaming down her cheeks, she would not allow him to take her kids away from her.
When Jason and Niko came back, that was how they met her, seated on the floor and crying.
She will have to tell Jason about Daniel and ask him to postpone their wedding, there won't be any wedding until she has resolved this issue with Daniel because the Daniel she knew will most definitely carry out his threat about wanting full custody of his kids.
Her kids too. It was time that they knew who their real father was before they found it out from someone else. Someone like Daniel.