Michael's POV

"Michael...he's downstairs." Bill says. 

"He is?" I say running a hand through my hair shakily. 

"You might wanna get freshened up, before going down there." he nods to my sweats as I bury my hands in my pocket. 

"Just keep him, occupied..." I say softly. "I'll be down in a moment." 

He nods as he walks out the room. I swallow hard and rubs my neck, trying to relieve the sudden tension.

I was honestly hoping Eva would be here, though knowing Daniel....he likes to handle things himself. I take a deep sigh as I put on some slacks, and a flannel shirt. I pull my hair back in a ponytail, slipping on loafers. 

"Prepare to get your ass kicked, Michael." I mumble to myself before walking downstairs. 

I had to face him sooner or later. It was my plan to reach out, to let him know how I feel. And I am very well aware that none of this is going to be easy. I'm know what I'm getting myself into. But I'm willing to do anything and everything to get back into Tatiana's life...for good.

I walk lightly down the steps stuffing my hands in my pockets as I walk down the hall to my office.

"What's taking him so long?!" I hear him say loudly as I slowly walk to the doorway. I see him face to face, with Bill. 

"He's coming right down, Mr. Thumbtzen. In the meantime, I recommend you sit down." 

"I'll get the bastard up myself." he says angrily, pushing past Bill.  They both look up at me as I cross my arms.

By the way Daniel was staring him down; I was certain he was going to have a black eye. 

"Bill, I'll take it from here." I demand softly, not tearing my eyes off Daniel, his eyes burning in mine. Bill nods looking between us hesitantly before walking out. 

"Would, you...uhm, like to sit down?" I say nodding to the couches as he looks at me hatefully, sitting down slowly.  I sit down awkwardly 

"I was hoping we could talk..." I say licking my lips slowly . "I owe you and your family an apology." I stare at him as he crosses his arms listening.  "Look, I know we aren't exactly on the best terms right now..." I talk slowly, and  looks at Daniel, "And I know you probably want to kill me or something." I mutter nervously.

This was extremely difficult. The awkward tension was not comforting at all.

"Trust me, I do." Daniel nods. "But I won't, because I know my daughter wouldn't want me to. Especially on some kid."

I clench my jaw, slightly offended by his last sentence, but I knew I had to take his shit or else I actually might get a good knockout.

It remained awkward; I didn't know what to say now, or how to respond to that.

Exhaling a deep breath, "Listen, I'm just trying to fix my mistakes and make things right." I say calmly. 

"Why?" Daniel asks, raising his eyebrows. "I thought you couldn't stand my daughter."

"I couldn't stand the thought of her, hurting me..." 

"I know..." I say in that same slow tone. "I was mad at her, and for the wrong reasons."

"And those reasons were...?"

I stay silent looking down.  "Well I--" 

I pause seeing his eyes travel to the office coffee table. I freeze as he slowly moves the newspaper. Underneath were papers from the hospital offering counseling with help on preventing suicide.

He stays silent for a moment. 

"What happened, Michael?" he asks in a tone that was as if he already knew the answer.

"N-nothing." I stutter, bringing the newspaper over the papers to keep them hidden from view. "It's nothing, really."

He glares at me suspiciously, and then clears his throat slowly. For now, anyway.

I inwardly beg for him not to ask any more questions about it.

"What made you change your mind?" Daniel questions. "Why do you want to be with her all of a sudden?"

"After the Grammys, I started to have second thoughts. I felt some guilt." I say slowly. "But then she got into that car accident, and I swear my heart stopped. And I didn't know why I was feeling like this, I thought she did me wrong." I continue, feeling Daniel's sharp eyes burning through my flesh, getting to my insides, making my stomach turn. "I thought she was dead. The news reporter said she was pronounced dead at the scene."I say brokenly. "Sure we weren't on good terms, but I never wanted her to get hurt like that. Okay? You have to understand that. And then later on I called Eva, after the concert that night." I swallow hard. "She told me she wasn't dead, but she was in a coma... But what I didn't see coming was that Tatiana was carrying my child."

"Let me just stop you right there, just for a second."Daniel raises a hand. "You do realize that if Tatiana never got into this car accident you would still want nothing to do with her, right? What you're feeling is guilt, Michael. Not love."

"I'm feeling a lot of things, and I know love is one of them." I retort. "And that's not entirely true. If Tatiana never got into that car accident, she still would've been pregnant with my child. I was going to find out sooner or later, right?"I raise my eyebrows, trying to get Daniel to understand. "And trust me, if I knew she was carrying my child, I would've done whatever I tried to get in contact with her, or to help, let her know that she wouldn't be alone on this. And we could've solved our own problems in the process. Everything would've been fine."

"But you couldn't try to get in contact with her when she was in the hospital, right?" Daniel spat.

"I tried." I glare at him. "I wasn't allowed to postpone shows or cancel. So I tried to stay in contact with Eva or Winnie."

Daniel sighs loudly, shaking his head. "How the hell..." He mutters under his breath. "So you had no idea she was pregnant?"

"I had no idea." I confirm. "Tatiana didn't even know."

"Why do you want to be with her now?" He asks again.

I look up, glares at him dead in the eye, "Because I'm in love with her."I answer with a serious expression on my face. "I love her."

"Do you even know what love is, Michael?" he scoffs, finding this to be a joke. "How can you do her so dirty and now you claim to love her?"

"Because that's how I feel." I shrug. "And I want to make things right for her. I want to be there for her. But I need your approval of me being with her first." I say. "I don't want this to be some type of teenage crap, when a girl's parents don't approve of the guy she's dating. I don't want this to be awkward. We're grown up now, and I'm trying to settle this like an adult though my actions towards Tatiana in the past have been immature. But I have definitely learned my lesson."

"So what are you trying to get at?" Daniel asks.

"I..." I breathe, "I want to marry her." I announce, making his eyes bulge.

"You wanna marry her?" he chokes.  "You think after all the shit you just put my daughter through you can just marry her as if nothing happened?" he asks, trying to keep his cool.

"I'm not saying I'm gonna propose to her as if nothing happened." I reply. "When the time is right, when we're together... I want her to feel completely comfortable around me like the way she used to be before I can do that. It's not like I'm going to propose out of nowhere. I need to prove to her that what I feel for her is real, that she is the one for me. I'm not messing around; you have my word on that. I know it's not going to be easy. It's going to take a lot of time."

"What makes you think all this?"

"When you know... You just know." I say softly, not knowing what else to say. "Mr. Thumbtzen," I say, leaning forward. "I want her to feel like she can trust me, and she can open up to me about anything. Because I don't think it was like that before. I want to take her pain away, and I believe that in time, I can." He says with full confidence, never taking his eyes off Daniel. Michael's stare was so powerful and sincere as he spoke, and the words just kept spewing from the heart. "I want her to know that there is someone there for her. And I know that you are always going to be there for your daughter, but you know what I mean. I know that my terrible actions have taken a huge toll on her, and now I want to take it away. I saw the pain in her eyes when I talked to her at the airport. I want to heal her. To make her feel that she can be loved, because it seems as if she believes otherwise. And I cannot take the distance anymore, and I cannot let her think so low of herself. And you can say I'm doing this all out of guilt, though part of it is true. My guilt made me see clearer, and now I want to show her that I am there for her. I just need both of your approvals. And... I don't know what else to say. I think I explained myself."

Daniel stays silent for a moment and stares at me in the eye. "So you love my daughter?" he asks,

I nod "I'd do anything..."

He sighs and put his head in his hands for a moment, and rubs his face slowly.

"I'm going to let you talk to her." He announces calmly. "Because I know she still has a soft spot for you. And we'll see how it goes from there. But if you screw this up so help me God I will—"

"I won't." I  assure quickly, cutting Daniel off mid-threat. "You don't have to worry."

"I hope not." he retorts before getting up from his chair. 

I get up from my chair to say  goodbye. "Goodbye, Daniel." He nods. "And thank you."

"We'll see how it goes." Daniel nods as well before walking off.

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Hello! 

I'm sorry I haven't updated guys! I've been going through writer's block, and I've literately been staying up at night to write and organize the chapters out so it can flow, so my updates can be more frequent and organized. So expect me to update at least every week now! Because some bombshells and kick-ass chapters are going to be coming! 

I hope you enjoyed! 

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xoxoxo,

moonwalkergal