🧸💞✨🧸💞✨🧸💞✨🧸💞✨

Layla

Daniel held me tightly; I couldn't help but bury my head in his shoulder as I hugged him back. "Ladybug, I know you have every right to be mad and doubt in me. But I promise I had my reasons. I kept Zoey from you, and I have been nothing but a jerk to you for years. And I know I should have told you about Zoey, except..it's more complicated than it seems. Plus, I never thought I'd see her again, then this happened. Suddenly you and I are married, and-" he rambles on as he looks at me with teary eyes.

"Danny! Relax...True, I am a little upset. Ok, a lot upset... But I'm here for you. And I'm here for Zoey if needed. I'm all ears. Just tell me. I'm listening." I say as he takes a seat next to me. "Zoey is special to me, Layla. And now... I'm all she's got." he says as he lowers his voice. "What do you mean? Who's her mom, Danny?" I ask, making him look at me, worried.

"You know, the night you and I finally slept together, I felt my life was complete." he says smiling and looking down.

"When we met, I tried to act like a tough guy in front of you; you somehow worked yourself into my heart. I fell in love with you the minute I saw you, and I was sure I would settle down one day with you. We were both young, but I didn't care. I was ready to put my past to a side, to forget my stupid childish games, and be serious for a change." he says as he holds my hand, kissing my knuckles.

"Danny, this doesn't explain Zoey's situation," I said, smiling. He smirks, lowering his sight. "I know. I'm getting there, I promise." he clears his throat, sighing deeply as he looks toward our room. "Would you be more comfortable if we had a quiet talk in the room so you can see that she's ok?" I suggest seeing how worried he looks. He looks at me lovingly and nods as he turns toward our room again. "Yeah, I just... I want to make sure she never gets hurt again," he says as I smile at him.

We make our way to our room, where she is still sound asleep. Her little mouth pouted. She had pulled my body pillow toward her, her little head rested on top of the pillow, and she was hugging it as if it was for dear life.

He sighs, hugging me and kissing my forehead. I can't help but rest my head on his chest. That's when I found the hard truth about the day after I had lost my virginity to him and the day after.

He had taken me home that morning. He kissed me goodbye, and we made plans to see each other later that day. Except when his family and I met later that day to celebrate the success of the latest runway, he showed up with Heather and introduced her to me as his girlfriend.

It was odd to me that she'd show up with jeans, tennis shoes, and an oversized sweater. He treated her like a delicate flower, which only served to pour more salt on my wound.

"The afternoon we were supposed to meet; Heather showed up at my doorstep. She confessed to me that she was pregnant with my baby." Danny says; my heart sank at the thought of him having a baby with someone else.

He sighed, looking at Zoey. His eyes watered, and I could tell he was fighting back the tears. "I was scared and angry. And honestly speaking, I wanted to run. But grandpa didn't raise a fool. I told her I'd take responsibility. It broke my heart to break things up with you. All my plans had gone down the drain."

"So you were thinking of marrying her. What happened? Why didn't you marry, Heather?" I asked as he sat on the floor between my legs. He bent his knees, placing his right elbow on his knee and sighing.

" I knew if I were a pessimist over this, I'd grow to hate her and maybe even the baby. And that was the last thing I wanted. The pain only mounted when I heard you had left for Mexico to finish studying. I lost interest in everything. Still... I began to attend the doctor consultations and even had Riley throw a baby shower for her. I started falling in love with the baby, but I wanted nothing to do with Heather. We argued so much. She was rude to everyone and began acting like she was entitled to everything we had. When I refused for her to sleep in my room, she started telling everyone that I was incompetent and that I must be gay." he scuffed at the thought. And believe me, I know he's not gay.

"The baby was finally born, but it didn't make sense. Given the time we had slept together, she should have given birth a month before, but she had a way of making my mind clouded. As time went by, we only argued more and more. I lost it when I saw her mistreating Zoey. She was always yelling at her and neglected proper care. I'd come back to see Zoey with severe diaper rash because she was too busy talking to friends. She mistreated her badly, hit her, and wouldn't feed her. Until one day, when grandpa had had enough. He sat us down." he says, leaning his head down on my lap.

I kept my eyes on Zoey; she was so beautiful. I ran my fingers through his hair, making him close his eyes. "Grandpa had had his doubts about her from the beginning. A few months after Zoey was born, grandpa secretly had a DNA test done," he says as he stands up and walks to Zoey. He leans close, caressing her cheek and making her sigh in her sleep.

"Word got around that she was not my daughter. Heather became hysterical and threatened to sue us for defamation and tampering with the DNA results. But then, one night, she just left. No word, nothing. And she had left Zoey behind." his voice breaks as he leans forward, kissing Zoey on her cheek.

"I don't get it, Ladybug. How can someone not want a beautiful little girl like her?" he says as he wipes away his tears. He stands up, walking toward our glass sliding door. The lights from the Los Angeles buildings illuminate the city. Unbothered, unaware of our turmoil.

I walk behind him, wrapping my arms around his chest and resting my head on his back. "When I finally found where she was, she admitted she wasn't mine all along. And that because she was born with down syndrome, she wanted nothing to do with her either. I told her I was willing to pay her if she sign over her rights to me. She didn't have to thin twice, Layla. She was willing to sign on the spot as long as I gave her enough money." I lifted my head and pondered on his words.

"But then...why did Zoey leave?" I asked him, resting my chin on his back. "When Zoey was around one, her real dad, Peter, showed up out of nowhere. He didn't know about Zoey's existence and begged me to give her to him. He and I bumped heads at first, to the point of almost getting physical. But the more we fought for her, the more we realized we both cared for her and soon became friends. I hate to admit it, but I was too busy with work to take proper care of her. We both wanted what was best for Zoey. It hurt like a mother fucker to give her away, but I had to do the right thing. It's what was best for her."

Danny turns, hugging me around my shoulders. "Heather soon found out that I had given her to Peter. She threatened him many times, blackmailing him for more money. I promised him that if anything ever happened to him, I'd take care of Zoey as her legal guardian and never let Heather have her. I sent Heather a large sum and made her promise never to return. We never heard from her again."

"So, where is Peter now?" I asked, concerned with his whereabouts. Danny sighs, tightening his hold on me.

"Peter worked as a fireman. A month ago, he had a call for fire rescue. Unfortunately, he never made it out. The babysitter took care of her for a few days until the social worker took her in. After his burial, social workers had to investigate her case and had her in a foster home, but she was being mistreated again. Peter's lawyer gave them my information and saw the paperwork that Peter had signed, rewarding me with full custody over Zoey."

I felt horrible for Zoey. So tiny, and she had already suffered so much, "ladybug, I know this must be difficult for you, but I need you to know that I can not give her up. Zoey needs me if they find her mom; she will only hurt her again."

"Then we won't let that happen. As you said, she has us now. I won't let anything happen to her either. After all, I'm her step momma now, right?" I say, smiling.

"Do you mean it?" He asks, with a gleam in his eyes. I chuckle, kissing his lips, "of course, silly. It's the three Musketeers now."

"All for one, one for all!" he adds, making me giggle. "Till the end!" I add as we give in to a sweet kiss. And this is how we suddenly became a party of three.

🧸💞✨🧸💞✨🧸💞✨🧸💞✨