My Little Princesa

Chapter Fourteen: Better Man Than I

Sipping on his cup of coffee while he waited for his father to arrive, Sergio couldn't help but think about what his mother had told him; he still couldn't quite believe that his father had cheated on his mother.

It seemed so unreal and at no point in his memory could he remember a time where his parents seemed at odds; from his conversation with his siblings, the affair had taken place when Sergio had been four.

Never in his life would he have believed that his father was capable of making the same mistake that he had done; it was even more upsetting to hear that he had turned his back on the child like that.

Sergio didn't have to wait long before José María arrived at the small quiet café where they were meeting to talk; he wasn't sure how his father was going to react to the questions that he had about all of this.

"I'm surprised you wanted to speak with me," José María murmured sitting down across from Sergio, he didn't understand why he was being punished for something that had happened so long ago.

Paqui seemed to want to bring everyone down with her because she was angry, she couldn't let go of the past and that was what was hurting them now.

"Why wouldn't I?" Sergio asked knowing that now that he had found out the truth, his mother had shared the news with Mirian and René; he wasn't entirely sure what they had made of this.

They weren't on the best of terms right now since he was having a child with Camille, they didn't want to make the situation worse by taking a side in their mother's disapproval.

José María sighed, he didn't say anything for a moment just wishing that all of his children were like this; he had never thought that he would be punished for what he had done twenty-six years after it had happened.

Paqui had even gone as far as to blame him for what had happened with Sergio, it was his fault that Sergio had cheated on Pilar and ended up getting some royal pregnant.

"Your sister refuses to... your brother avoids me..." José María mumbled hating that it had come to this, he had been punished enough for his actions in the past; his in-laws had hated him for what he had done and had never forgiven him.

It hurt that the past had come back to haunt him and José María wished that he could change the past; he would have changed his decision in a heartbeat to do the right thing.

There had never been a moment that he hadn't regretted what he had done, José María regretted not only cheating on his wife but allowing people to pressure him into turning his back on his unborn child.

"You're a better man than I, Sergio... I am proud of you son," José María said smiling at Sergio, he didn't know how it had happened but he was happy that Sergio hadn't given into the pressure like he had.

Sergio stared at his father, he had heard those words before but this time it felt like it was actually real; he felt like finally there was someone supporting him in his decision to be a father to the child that Camille was carrying.

"I wish I could have done what you have..." José María muttered with a shake his head, he wanted nothing more than to fix what he had done; he wanted to show Sergio that he wasn't alone in all of this.

He might have done a bad thing by cheating on his girlfriend and getting another woman pregnant; but Sergio was standing by his actions and doing the right thing for the child.

Sergio looked down at his coffee, he wasn't sure what would happen when the baby was born but he knew that he would do everything in his power to be there.

The baby was due in January and Sergio was very aware of the fact that there was every chance that he might be playing football when that happened but he would happily take the time away.

"Did you ever..." Sergio started not sure how to finish, he didn't know if his father had ever looked for the child that he had let go; the last thing that he wanted to do was upset him in anyway.

José María stared at his son, he had an idea what he was asking and he didn't blame him for being curious; he was pleased that someone was taking an interest in his love-child.

"Not until recently..." José María admitted ashamed of what he had done, it hadn't been until Sergio had decided to stand by Camille when she had his child that he had tracked his other child down.

It had scared him for years what she might think of him, he had only heard that his former lover had delivered a girl; José María had been worried that his daughter would want nothing to do with him.

"I tracked her down a couple of months ago... she's a teacher," José María admitted reaching into a pocket and getting the picture that he had of her out; he still couldn't believe that she had welcomed him into her life.

He hadn't received a warm welcome from her mother but he hadn't expected anything less since he had done the cowards thing and left her alone with child.

Sergio took the picture and stared at his half-sister, he was surprised to hear that his father had gone to see her and he guessed that was why his mother had been so unhappy recently.

"Her name's Colleen," José María stated with a small smile on his face, he had loved getting to know her and he wanted to make up for all the time that he had missed with her.

He just wished that he could introduce Colleen to her siblings, she was an only child by her mother and yet had three siblings by her father and he wanted to welcome her into his life.

Of course, Paqui would never be welcoming to her but José María didn't care what his wife thought anymore; he was done trying to keep her happy all the time.

"She's beautiful..." Sergio mused before handing the picture back to his father, he wasn't sure if his half-sister would ever want to meet him but he was sure that he would get the chance one day.

It was probably a shock to her to have contact with her biological father after all these years, Sergio couldn't imagine what it had been like for her when José María had turned up like that.

The thought made Sergio even more glad that he hadn't turned his unborn child away, he was looking forward to the birth even if the world was counting down with him until the birth.

"I invited her to Madrid during the half-term... maybe we could have dinner together," José María explained hoping that would be alright, he wasn't sure what would happen but he was sure that Colleen would feel welcome if she got to meet her older half-brother.

He also hoped that his other two children would come around and wish to get to know their half-sister; José María didn't want them cutting him out of their lives over this.

Sergio nodded his head, he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he was relieved to know that he was at least doing something right in the eyes of one of his parents.

"I'd like that," Sergio told him reassuringly, he was pleased to hear that his father was correcting the wrong that he had made all those years ago.

It gave Sergio hope that he was doing the right thing for his unborn child and he wanted to make sure that nothing changed that; he now just had to work on things with Pilar.

His ex-girlfriend had been quite agreeable since they had broken up about their custody arrangement for Junior and Marco; however Sergio doubted that it would remain that why when it came to their half-sibling.