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𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 with a crying Alexander in front of him. It was official. His daughter hated him. And there was nothing he could do about it.

He was asking himself millions of questions, what had he been thinking when he thought that his kids would happily accept him? This reaction was honestly very natural for two ten year olds to give. But it still hurt him.

He did not want his relationship with his kids to remind him of the broken pieces of a bond that he had with his father. But ironically this was what he did get. Maybe it was karma, Tony hadn't been the most easiest to deal with when he was younger.

The man could only look at Happy helplessly as he went out of the office to look for Valerie. This caused Tony to make his way towards Alexander. He kneeled down on his knees to reach the boy's height, "Hey kiddo, I-I know that this is a lot....to take in...but I just want you to know that I did what I did because I love you both, very much. And I know I can't expect you to accept me and whatever I told you, so soon...but I hope that one of these days....you can forgive me...."

Alexander was a very understanding child, while Valerie was just the opposite. So it was a surprise for Tony when Alexander wrapped his arms around his father's neck and brought him in a hug. Tony was stunned. He couldn't express how emotional he felt when his son hugged him. For the very first time since he was born.

"I'm not upset with you, dad....I just can't get over the fact that Val isn't my real twin and mom isn't my real mom, when all my life these two people have been— my world."

Tony did understand his son's point of view as the young boy sniffled in his father's embrace and continued, "But I'm also happy.....to finally know who my dad is...." Alexander felt his father's arms embrace his small body and his cries had, by now, subdued as he came to terms with the news he just received.

But he couldn't say the same about his sister. He knew how stubborn, and hard-headed she could be at times.

The father of the two, while was happy with Alexander having accepted him, was also worried about Valerie. Her initial reaction had been terrifying for him as it was a vague reminder of Tony's relationship with his father.

He didn't want things to escalate to that point.

On the other hand Happy had found Valerie, leaning against the hallway walls while holding her knees close to her chest. He could see her shoulders move up and down as she was in the middle of crying her heart out.

Valerie felt like the life she had been living was nothing but fake.

She felt betrayed.

Was this why her mother never told them about their dad—wait no.....Athena wasn't her real mother anymore....she never was.

She couldn't understand what was worse, the fact that her father kept her away from him for 10 years or the fact that her perfect family was full of holes and fakes and lies.

Valerie knew that by now Alexander must have gotten over his crying fit and accepted their father with open arms. He was always the one who gave in easily, and in her views that was being weak. He was a wimp. Her wimp.

She was always the older sibling between the two. Always the one who stood her ground and clapped back. She protected her brother, looked out for him. She made sure he was safe. But there were times when she absolutely hated how easily Alexander gave up.

Valerie felt just so....drained.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, not having expected anyone to come looking for her. She looked up to find Happy looking at her with a sympathetic smile.

He felt like Valerie was similar to Tony. Stubborn. Hard-headed. And Emotional. He understood how the girl was feeling to some extent, "Valerie....this is hard to accept...and it's a lot...to process....I know, but you have to understand that your dad, did what he did to keep you and Alexander safe—" Valerie cut the man off.

"What was the reason....you know what I'm not even upset about the fact that my whole life was a lie anymore, why didn't he tell me? Tell us? That he was our father? Was I some kind of a mistake?"

Happy had a heart attack when she said that, how could he explain to this ten year old girl that Tony initially, really hadn't wished to have children....how could he tell her that he slept with two different unknown women when he was drunk....forgot protection with them both...and created her and her brother? He couldn't tell her that.

"No Valerie, your dad loves you....so very much. But you know his job....right? What he does?"

The girl nodded, listening to Happy intently, "He's Iron Man."

Happy nodded at her answer, "Yeah, but Iron Man, has a lot of enemies and those enemies could've hurt you and your brother as little kids. So he sent you both into hiding with a close friend of his....to keep you safe until the danger passed."

Valerie came into realisation that this close friend was, "Mom...." Happy nodded. The bearded man knew that Valerie was smart and quick to catch up on things. "So....as another friend of your dad's, I ask you to give him a chance...you know? For him to redeem himself."

Now that was an idea that striked Valerie's interest, "Okay. I'll give him a chance." Both the adult and child smiled at each other. Both for completely different reasons. Happy smiled because he got Valerie to agree to give Tony a chance while Valerie smiled because she could now take....revenge. Or in better wording, she would give Tony, a punishment.

Happy took Valerie back to the office where Tony and Alexander were now talking. The two had bonded super quick, given their shared interests. Tony was also not surprised when he discovered that Alexander was smarter than kids his age. I mean, Tony's genes can be dominant.

Valerie cleared her throat when she entered the office. She saw Alexander and Tony talking to each other as if they'd known each other for ages. She mentally rolled her eyes at that.

"Val!" Alexander shouted and ran towards his sister to pull her in his embrace as he whispered something in her ear, "Are you okay?" Valerie pulled back but still kept her hands on the boy's shoulders, "I'm okay. Hey, I want to tell you that no matter what everyone says, I still consider you my twin. I don't care if we have different mothers or shit like that, all I know is that you are my twin and there's nothing that can separate us." Alexander hugged his sister again, feeling the need to cry due to her words.

Tony watched his kids with soft eyes, he loved the bond they both had between them. Suddenly Valerie left her brother's embrace for the second time and made her way towards her dad, making the adult nervous, "I'm willing to give you a chance....only if you tell us the complete truth as to why you sent us to live with someone else. Also don't expect that I've forgiven you or accepted you even if my brother, idiotically has. I'm still upset."

Tony's happy face dimmed down a bit and Alexander noticed this, "Don't be so mean Val! You're hurting dad's feelings..." Valerie felt her jaw clench, "What about my feelings Alex! Dad has hurt my feelings for a lot longer than just a moment. He has hurt my feelings for 10 years."

Tony felt miserable after hearing that but he decided to speak up, "Valerie, I'm sorry for hurting you sweetie, but I really hope that one day, you accept and forgive me."

Tony swore that very moment that he would do anything, anything, to forge a healthy bond with his kids.

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𝟎𝟖-𝟎𝟑-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥!