Just My Hockey Roommate’s Filthy Desires by Esther Pen novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Chapter 197

ARIA’S POV

The heavy click of the front door locking behind us felt like a final barrier against the chaos Julian had brought to our doorstep.

I leaned my back against the wood for a fleeting second, closing my eyes and forcing the image of his bloodshot, furious face out of my mind.

The air inside the house was thick with tension, a sharp contrast to the peaceful sanctuary I had walked into just an hour prior. Taking a shaky breath, I smoothed down my clothes and walked back into the living room.

Amelia was sitting on the hardwood floor, a brightly colored doll clutched tightly in her small hands. The nanny was right beside her, trying to pick up the pieces of their interrupted game and draw my daughter’s attention away from the shouting that had echoed from the driveway.

But it wasn’t working. Amelia’s tiny shoulders were tense, her lower lip trembling as she stared at the floor.” Could you please give us a few moments alone?” I asked the nanny, keeping my voice as gentle and steady as possible.

“Of course, Miss Aria,” the young woman replied softly. She offered a reassuring smile, stood up quietly, and exited the living room, leaving the three of us in a heavy, suffocating silence.

The moment the nanny left the room, Brandon didn’t hesitate. He immediately walked over, dropping his massive frame down until he was kneeling on the floor right in front of Amelia’s small form.

His sharp, rugged features softened completely as he reached out and gently rested his large hands on her knees. “Hey, princess,” Brandon murmured, his deep voice dropping into that low, incredibly tender register he only used with her. “Are you okay?”

The moment he asked, the floodgates opened. Amelia’s wide, innocent eyes instantly filled with thick, pooling tears. She didn’t look at Brandon, though.

Instead, she lifted her head and looked directly at me, her voice breaking into a tiny, heartbroken sob. “Mommy..

why do you hate my daddy so much?”

Her question felt like a physical blow to my chest, completely knocking the air out of my lungs. I froze, my hands trembling against my sides as a suffocating wave of pain and old bitterness rushed over me.

How was I supposed to answer that? How could I possibly explain the brutal, ugly truth to an innocent five- year-old girl? I couldn’t tell her that her father had gotten me pregnant and then completely denied her existence.

I couldn’t tell her that I had been cruelly framed and shamed by the media, and that her father had turned his back on us when we needed him the most, even going as far as calling her a bastard to my face.

I couldn’t tell her that her father had married someone else, building a life with another woman while leaving the two of us to survive in the dark for five long years.

I couldn’t tell her any of those things, but I also couldn’t deny the reality of my feelings. I did hate Julian. I hated him with every single fiber of my being for what he had stolen from us.

But looking down at my sobbing daughter, I knew my hatred was hurting her. I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat, stepping closer and kneeling down beside Brandon.

“Sweetie, look at me,” I whispered, reaching out to brush a stray tear from her wet cheek. “Adult things are very.. . they’re very complicated. It’s not as simple as you think.”

Amelia sniffled, her tearful gaze shifting from me over to Brandon. She reached out, her tiny fingers clutching the sleeve of his expensive jacket. “Is my daddy a bad person?”

Brandon’s expression turned deeply solemn, but his movements remained incredibly gentle. He reached up, his large, warm palms cradling her small face, forcing her to look into his reassuring eyes.

“Amelia, your mother and your father hav

ng years. You’ve grown up with just your

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Chapter 197

mommy protecting you. And now, suddenly, your dad wants to come back into your life.”

Amelia blinked through her tears, looking utterly confused. “But… is that such a bad thing to want him here?” Hearing her ask that made tears prick my own eyes, a sharp, burning sensation behind my lids. A cold ache settled deep into my chest because Amelia was still so entirely young for this brutal, grown-up struggle

She couldn’t see the legal war, the corporate threats, or the malicious intentions of the Vance family, she just saw a missing piece of her heart.

Amelia wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her small voice hardening with a sudden, stubborn determination that reminded me terrifyingly of her father. “I want to be with my father, Mommy. I want to see

him.”

“That is not going to happen, Amelia,” I said, my tone sharpening before I could stop myself. The panic was clawing at my throat, the terrifying fear of losing her blinding my judgment.

Brandon turned his head sharply toward me, his dark eyes urging me to calm down. He opened his mouth, his hand shifting to grip my arm. “Aria, wait, let’s talk about this smoothly-”

“No, Brandon, don’t interfere right now,” I cut him off, my voice laced with a frantic, breathless desperation. I pulled my arm away from his touch, completely focused on the little girl in front of me. “You shouldn’t meddle in this.”

I turned my full attention back to Amelia, my heart racing wildly as I tried to make her understand the danger we were facing. “Amelia, listen to me. We are going to have to go to a courtroom. We are going to a judge to fight for custody, because your father’s parents are very bad, cruel people. They don’t care about your happiness. They want to use their power to take you completely away from me, and I won’t let them do that. I can’t let them take you.”

“But I just want what other people have!” Amelia suddenly yelled, her tiny voice cracking as she slammed her small fists against her knees. The sheer emotion in her outburst made both Brandon and me freeze. “I want a mother and a father! Like everyone else at school!”

“You have Brandon,” I reminded her softly, gesturing to the man who had spent the last several days pouring his massive power, time, and devotion into keeping us safe. “Brandon is right here with us.”

“But Uncle Brandon isn’t my father!” Amelia screamed back. The words cut through the quiet living room like an absolute blade. Immediately the moment those harsh words left the little girl’s mouth, Brandon completely froze.

His entire body went rigid, his large hands dropping away from her face as if he had been burned. I looked at him, and my heart shattered into a million pieces.

The raw, unprotected hurt in his dark eyes was agonizing to see. He had put everything on the line for us, using his own legal team and status to protect a child that wasn’t his, only to have his heart broken by her

words.

Amelia saw the devastating impact of her statement too. She stared at Brandon’s frozen, pained expression, and a look of instant regret washed over her small face.

“I’m sorry, uncle Brandon…” she whispered, her voice choking up as a fresh wave of tears poured down her

cheeks.

Before either of us could stop her, Amelia scrambled to her feet, turned on her heel, and ran straight out of the living room toward the back door, disappearing into the estate gardens in tears.

For a long, agonizing moment, Brandon remained completely motionless on the floor. His head was bowed, his shoulders tense as he stared at the empty space where my daughter had just been standing.

The quietness of the house felt incredibly heavy.

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