Fifteen minutes later, when the negotiations failed and they resorted to action, Kevin emerged holding Ryland.
Ryland's hair was disheveled, and his face was pale, but thankfully, he wasn't hurt.
"Waaah... Ryland, I'm sorry, Mommy didn't protect you well enough..."
I hugged Ryland tightly. Beside us, Kevin grimaced and suddenly collapsed.
Only then did I notice that his back of his head was covered in blood.
Three days later, in the hospital.
Ryland had recovered from her shock, but Kevin was still unconscious.
Not only had he suffered a severe blow to the head, he had also been stabbed twice.
"You don't know how amazing he is. The bad guys had tied me up, and then he appeared out of nowhere, like a superhero, and started fighting them..."
Ryland, with admiration in her eyes, told Grant and Cruz how great Kevin was.
I smiled warmly and walked in. "From now on, don't call him jerk then, he's your dad."
A father who would risk his life to save his child deserves to be called 'Dad.'
"But Mommy, didn't you say before that we are..."
"Yes, Mommy lied to you. I'm sorry. After I had a fight with your dad, I went abroad, and then I found out I was pregnant with you."
I didn't know how much the three four-year-olds understood, but they were clearly thrilled to have a great dad.
They surrounded Kevin's hospital bed, chattering away.
As if responding to some sort of telepathy, Kevin opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the three babies calling him "Daddy" in unison.
Immediately, the usually composed and mature man shed tears.
"Ahh!" He choked out, pulling the three children into his embrace.
The next day after he woke up, he asked about the reason for the kidnapping. Upon learning that Ciara had paid someone to do this, he immediately prepared to contact a lawyer.
"Kevin, my child almost died. Ciara deserves a ten-year sentence. You wouldn't be covering for her, would you?" I looked at Kevin warily.
He paused, coming back to his senses. "No, she hurt my child. Ten years isn't enough."
Clearly, I hadn't expected Kevin to act this way, and I even felt that he was being too harsh.
As I was thinking this, I heard Kevin continue. "Six years ago, she left me to pursue her career abroad. Later, I met you. At first, I treated you as a replacement, which prevented me from recognizing my feelings for you in time. After you left the country, I realized that I truly liked you, and my feelings for Ciara were merely an obsession."
"I made things clear with Ciara right away. Over these five years, the Lopez Corporation has supported her family. I believed I owed her nothing, but I never expected that she would keep acting in her social media posts just for you, continually hurting you, and now, she even dared to harm my child!"
Listening to Kevin's words, I understood his hatred towards Ciara.
Nodding, I prepared to leave the hospital.
Now that Kevin had woken up, I didn't need to stay in the hospital to take care of him.
As I turned to go, his voice rang out again. "Siena, I was wrong. Can you forgive me? Can we live happily together as a family of five?"
A family of five...
This picture I only imagined during the first year after I left the country. Back then, the children weren't born yet, but I, already brimming with maternal love, wanted to give them a complete family.
But with Ciara's daily posts on her social media, that hope had long since shattered completely.
"The past is past, people should look forward."
I made it clear that I wouldn't forgive Kevin, but he stubbornly persisted. "Siena, I'll wait for you to forgive me, forever and ever."
"Whether you wait or not is your business, but I won't look back."
Half a month later, Kevin was discharged from the hospital, fully recovered.
He shamelessly moved into the my house.
He seemed like a different person, no longer domineering or irritable. He indulged the children's every whim and pampered them excessively.
He would let the children ride him like a horse, read books with them, and paint pictures together. Even when they drew on his face with colored pens, he didn't get upset.
I could clearly feel that with the presence of a father, the three children had become much more cheerful.
So, I didn't ask him to leave.
Days passed by like this. Kevin didn't bring up remarriage, but he would occasionally insist that he would wait for me.
At this stage, I won't forgive Kevin.
As for the future...
Perhaps one day, successful in my career, I might find a young lover to dote on, or maybe I'll rediscover the charm of Kevin, an older man, and reunite with him.
Who can predict what will happen in the future?
