¶Chapter Song- At my worst¶

¶by-Pink Sweat$, Kehlani¶

"How's my Cora today?" Arthur whispered as she was lying in his arms clutching his shirt firmly.

He waited for a moment but there was no reply.
"Cora..., ok baby. you might be sleepy." He pampered her head.

"No, I do not sleep like Mommy." Cora sat back on his stomach as his feet were on her bed while he was sitting on the chair next to it. Providing her enough space to spread her tiny legs to sleep on himself.

Arthur looked at the bed where Hailey was lying with closed eyes, "But I guess, you might have slept by now." He settled strands of hair away from her eyes, "let me see, these twinkling eyes are looking so tired that the twinkle is fading away."

"It's not because of tiredness." She removed his hand to hug around the neck.

"Then what's troubling my Princess?" He planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Today I met Adam." Cora started with a bowed head, "you know, he was mom's classmate. And Mom hasn't invited him to the wedding."

"Ok, Wedding. But who's wedding?" Arthur inquired.

"Your's with mom!" She growled at him. "He reminded me, you didn't invite me too!"

Arthur chuckled at her innocent complaint first. "But any of your friends ever told you about attending their parent's wedding?"

"No, but none of their father met them so late! Neither of their father lives away from home." Cora accused him with confidence.

"Ahm..." Arthur found himself in trouble to reply this time.

"Because none of their Father is a Doctor, Cora." Hailey's voice grabbed their attention.

Arthur turned to find her looking at them. For a moment they had eye contact. Arthur looked away breaking it.

"Yes Mom but at least they have seen their wedding pictures. I didn't see it too. "

"How does it matter if you have seen it or not?" Hailey inquired while Cora dug her face in Arthur's chest.

"Cora, don't do that. Look at Mumma first." Hailey chided her as she knew Cora was getting stubborn about it.

"You are lying!"

"Cora, what are you saying?" Hailey came closer to Arthur to place her hand on Cora.

Cora shrank more into Arthur's arms to keep herself out of her mother's reach, "You are hiding something or lying! Your friend Adam has told me!"

Hailey's face turned yellow out of fear, What Adam might have told Cora?
It might affect her innocent psyche.

"Cora! Look at me and tell me everything!" Hailey chided at her in frustration.

Arthur placed his hand between as Hailey was about to hold Cora from hand.

He looked up at her and gestured to stay calm, "Cora, Are you crying baby?" He said with love, pampering her head.

"Yes."

"But why? Haven't I told you? You should not cry, baby. It's not good for your health." Arthur rubbed her back as Cora was sobbing badly digging her head into him.

"Because you both hiding it from me. Adam said he didn't know if you are my father or not!" Her sobs turned worse.

"Look at me." Arthur pulled her apart to wipe her face, "look at me, Baby. Ok, you tell me. If someone says that I'm not your father. Will you not talk to me? Or listen to me?" He said hugging her firmly to calm her.

"No! I'll kick him. You are my Daddy. You play with me. You make me sleep at night. You feed me, takes care of me. That's what fathers do! You are my Daddy!" She screamed with sobs.

"Shu... If you believe that then why crying?" He wiped her face again giving her water, "look at me. If you know how much I love you, if you know how much you love me then how does it matter if anyone believes or not?"

Cora looked at him gravely.

"And suppose if I say that someone else is your father. Will you believe it? Will your love for me die if I'm not your father?" This time he couldn't control his emotions and fear of losing Cora. His voice trembled and his eyes got flooded.

"No! You are my Daddy because you love me!" Cora declared placing a peck on his cheek.

Arthur inhaled a breath of relief and stood up picking Cora in arms.

"I'm not gonna forgive that man for these tears of my baby." Arthur hissed in anger.

"Neither do I!" Hailey affirmed, seething in anger.

"But I'm still angry with you both! You haven't invited or shown me your wedding pictures." Cora grabbed their attention back to the main problem.

That was their wedding pictures which never existed.

"Umm... Cora, you have cried a lot for the day. Now be a good girl and sleep for now. Come here, let your Daddy take some rest." Hailey took Cora from his hands.

"Wait, " Cora stopped Hailey before she could walk away from Arthur.

"Daddy, lean." She gestured him to come closer and as he did so, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek, "Good Night Daddy."

Her eyes twinkled like a bright star of the night sky after a heavy downpour.

Hope, and sheer love, that's the only thing they can see in her eyes at the moment. It was a different, unknown, unsaid feel Arthur and Hailey were experiencing together. Cora was connecting them like a bridge, a delicate bridge that was binding them together while she, herself was so delicate that they had to take care of her with a lie.

***

"We have to do something," Arthur said without looking at Hailey.

"Regarding what?" She replied in the same way.

"About what's going on." He said with some hesitation. After all, he was thinking about it the whole night.

"There's so much going on. I'm not very sure what you are talking about. Like it's about the illusion, Cora is living in. Or Adam, who is banging at our door. Or your Ex. Oops! Sorry, I mean Mrs. Jones, who is hitting on you." She replied with a smirk this time.

As her mind was unable to decide whether she should worry about what Cora is believing or about the threat Adam had given to her. She knew it won't be easy for Adam to claim the custody of Cora but what if he did?

She never wanted Cora to know about Adam. And his current behavior has proven her decision correct. But what if he claimed for her? What if he proved that Hailey wasn't a good mother for her? As much as she knew him, he would make sure to hurt Hailey by anyway. Even if he didn't win the custody he could break Cora emotionally.

"She would be the last thing to my concern," Arthur answered disdainfully, "You might be thinking about your Ex. I don't do such stuff." Hailey finally gave him a stern look which he avoided without noticing even.

"I was thinking about the wedding picture thing."

"What about it?" She got confused this time.

"Morphing." He replied casually.

Her eyes went wide with his reply.

"We can't marry for it. But I can get your face on Lily's pictures." He said with some hesitation. "Problem is, even for that I'll have to leave the hospital, to search those old pics. I have to find some good editors and you have to make sure Luke or Meril don't get a whiff about all this. However, I can't leave the hospital, when that son of..." He felt a sudden rush of anger as he thought about Adam near Hailey and Cora. "I don't wanna take the risk."

Hailey was listening to him with an open mouth out of shock. Arthur looked around, expecting some reply but she sat still gazing at him out of surprise.

"What? Say something."

"What do you expect me to say? That would be a lie! I can't lie to my daughter. Have you ever thought about what will happen after doing it?" She said in shock, yet trying to keep her voice low as Cora was sleeping next to her.

"What!" Arthur exclaimed to which he got a stern look from Hailey.

"Do I need to remind you that Cora is sleeping here only?" She said maintaining her tone.

"Fine, don't lie, tell her the truth as that man will do it eventually." He exhaled in irritation and got up to leave the room.

"What after it?" Hailey got up and stepped ahead to face him, "Have you ever thought what after that? I mean after the surgery we have to be more careful about her. And mind you, I have to look after her at my place." She took a pause realizing that she had sold her apartment to Arthur only.

"I mean at your apartment. I mean, I... What will I tell her once we get back to our normal lives?" For the first time, She felt the gravity of the situation, her eyes got flooded with the sudden realization of the fact that she had dragged the misunderstanding of Cora too far.

"What will I tell her? No... No... I have to keep visiting the hospital for her check-ups. You have to keep this facade for a few days or weeks at least until she is ready to face it. Or gradually forget it." She pleaded looking at him.

"What do you mean by Until she forgets? What do you think of all this going on? Facade! I love her as a father!" Arthur declared with annoyance as her words scared him.

He felt numb at the thought that Cora can forget him.

"Are you insane? What do you know about a child's mind? Have you forgot your father just because he is not with you? Or do you want to make me a villain in her eyes, who ditched his young child!" He held her arms to drag her closer to look into her eyes straight, "that's what your Adam might be, but I'm Arthur! Once she called me her father, I'll be there for her until she asks me to leave, until she doesn't need me anymore. You can go to your toxic Ex. If you want."

He left her with a push, "tell him if he dared to hurt my daughter, anyhow! I'll tear him."

The anger was visible in his eyes and so was the firmness of decision in his voice.

It scared her for a moment and it was visible on her face too.

"Call me insane but I know how it feels to get connected with someone, like they are the epicenter of your universe, and all of sudden they desert you, abandoned like a useless thing!" This time his eyes were lost, revisiting past events but Hailey could see tears and pain clearly.

"I won't do it with anyone, and Cora, she gave me a new life. I won't let anyone hurt her ever! Doesn't matter if I have the right to do it or not!"