Divine Will

Chapter Seventeen - Saturday Night Dinner

"It's nothing." I lied through my teeth.

Julian looked at me trying to figure out if I was telling the truth or not. "Kids, can you go to your room for a little while I talk to your mother?"

They both nodded and placed a kiss on our cheeks before they ran to their room. Julian then turned to look at me as he placed a hand on my arm.

"Rosie, love, what's wrong?"

"I can't tell you. You won't like it." My voice was barely above a whisper.

"Rosie, love, you can tell me anything." He assured me.

I looked into his eyes; knowing I could get comfort from them. "I promised Nicholas before he died that I wouldn't let the kids forget him." Julian nodded so I continued. "They barely have any memories of him since they were so young when he died, and now Lily Rose wants to call you daddy. I don't want to break my promise to him." Julian seemed to be in another world as he placed his arms on his knees and clasped his hands together. "You're mad at me." I stated rather than asked.

Julian turned his head sideways to look at me. "No, love, of course I'm not mad at you." He said with a sincere smile.

"Then what's with that face?"

"I'm just thinking about what you said." He told me as he held my hand in his. "If Lily Rose and Adam called me daddy, it doesn't mean that they will forget Nicholas." I looked down at our hands. "Rosie, I don't want to take the place of Nicholas, he is their dad and always will be. I just want to be someone they could trust and love. Even though I would love it if they called me daddy, I would give it up just to make you happy." He said with a half hearted smile.

I nodded then called for my kids to come back out to the living room. "Baby, you never got an answer for your question." I told Lily Rose and she nodded. "Do you want an answer?" I asked her.

"Yes, mommy"

"You can call Julian Daddy." I told them as I looked sideways at Julian who was giving me a wide and bright smile. "But," I looked back at the kids. "I don't want you to forget who your real dad is." I said with sad eyes.

"Nicholas is your dad." Julian piped up. "I want you to call me daddy and I will treat like a real dad treats his kids, but I don't want you to ever forget your dad. Okay?"

They both nodded. "I love my real dad, but I love Julian too." Adam said, sounding so much older than he is.

"Me too" Lily Rose piped up.

"I love you both so much." I told them as I hugged them tightly.

#

"Hey, sorry for making you wait. It was really busy at work today." I apologised to Julian as I stepped into his car.

It was Saturday, and Julian decided to pick me up from work since he was coming over to my house for dinner along with Charlie.

"It's okay, love." He said as he leaned forwards and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Where is Charlie?" I asked him as he started driving.

"He said he would meet us at your house." He told me and I nodded. "I also dropped the food at your house before coming to pick you up."

I looked at him sideways with a shy smile on my face. "Thank you, Julian."

"You don't have to thank me, love." He said as he raised my hand and placed a kiss there.

It wasn't long before we arrived at my house. I grabbed the keys from my bag and opened the door. We could hear noises and laughter as we stepped inside. We walked to the living room and found my mom and dad, Charlie, and my kids sitting in the living room. Charlie was sitting on the ground along with the kids playing god knows what with them.