ADRIA'S POV:
"Dad!", I exclaimed again and went running towards him.
"Adria", he cried out and we hugged each other tightly. For at least two minutes no words were exchanged by either of us or anyone in the room.
We just cried our hearts out. The sounds of our sobs echoing in the quiet room. It was the first time for me to see my dad so vulnerable.
"I missed you so much, sweetie. It was so hard for me to be there knowing that you were imprisoned by this bastard. It was so hard for me", he said ignoring Austin's presence.
"I was so worried, dad. And.. and Connor said that Austin killed you I was devasted and so furious", I cried.
"I know, sweetie he lied to you. But I won't say you did any bad by stabbing this bastard", he said. I don't know why dad cursed Connor and also Augustus was weird after hearing his name that day?
What was the reason?
"You are being a pussy. If I were at your place I would have hit his head again", Augustus said looking at Austin.
Austin held his hand up to ask him to calm down.
"You dare hurt him", I stood in front of my father and snarled at Augustus. He just rolled his eyes at me.
"Hey", a soft voice called from somewhere far in the room. "Even though we are meeting for the first time I already know you", Andrea said looking at dad.
"Is it... Oh my god Andrea", without delaying another second dad went running towards Andrea and hugged her tightly.
"I am so sorry. I am so sorry my dear", he kept on saying as he cried while hugging her. "I tried my best, trust me. He was way too powerful and I promised your mom not to put her other daughter in danger", he said
"It's ok Edward...."
"I would appreciate it if you call me dad. Please", he practically pleaded in front of her.
"I know. I.. It's hard for me. And it's not your fault. You were kind enough to help us. Mom asked me to convey her message and thank you. If it wasn't you neither of us would have been alive", she cried.
"Don't make it sound like it was a great deal. I accepted you even before you two were born. And it was my duty to protect you all, but I failed eve..."
"Ok enough. We can continue this family drama, later on, we have other 'important' matters to handle right now", Augustus butted in.
"There are no matters that concerns 'us' now. It's just me and my daughters. I won't even let your shadow fall on them. We are leaving here right now and you stay away from us", dad said pointing fingers at Austin and Augustus and the next second he was holding mine and Anndrea's hand and was dragging us towards the door.
"But dad. They saved us", Andrea cried out.
"You know nothing dear. I will tell you once we are out of here", he kept dragging us. I wasn't able to think of anything.
"Just let me explain myself, Edward", Austin spoke just before we could step out of the main door. "I know I did wrong. I was a bad person, fuck! I still am a bad person. I know no explanation I give can justify my actions but at least give me a fucking chance to reduce some guilt. Besides Andrea and Adria both deserve to know the shit they were stuck in", he continued. If it wasn't for the voice and the choice of words I would have never believed that these sentences dripping of self loath belonged to Austin Hawk.
Dad stopped for a few seconds but then he just ignored Austin's words and started dragging us again. But just after a few steps, we were stopped again. Andrea refused to move.
"I trust him, dad. He saved us", she said and walked back to Austin. But he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were fixed on me.
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When Andrea walked back to Austin there was no way dad was leaving the Hawk's mansion without her. I on the other hand had mixed feelings about the situation. I was happy because staying back means staying with Austin, also I was sad and frustrated because I was being happy for not leaving the man who held me captive, abused me, was my twin sister's lover, beat my father and also was stabbed by me.
Have I fallen in love with him or am I really suffering from Stockholm syndrome?
I don't know.
But coming back to the present. Right now I, Andrea, Dad, Austin and Augustus, all were sitting in Austin's study.
"I want nothing hidden from my daughters from now", dad started. "And I mean anything", he said now pointing towards Austin who just gave a quick nod in response.
"All these years I was successful running and hiding from the whole world. I changed my real name. It was hard but possible with the help of all the loyal contacts I had being an ex-cop. I fulfilled my promise of keeping Adria safe.
But that one day everything messed up. It happened just 2 months before when I joined Hawk Enterprises. I was going home from my old office but some people stopped my car in the middle of the road. They pointed guns at me and forcefully drove me to an abandoned warehouse. At first, I was scared and worried shitless, not for me but Adria. I thought Jake found us but I was wrong. The man who kidnapped me was Daniel Blake, Connor Blake's father"