Page 18 of His Aries Heiress (BLP Signs of Love #21)

Aries men know how to take life’s hardest lessons to the chin. They’ll never bow to a difficult task.

Marcellus’s knee bounced as he watched Tato play with his toys on the floor in the living room. He couldn’t recall a time he had been this nervous before. Confidence normally exuded from him, but telling Tato he was his father had him out of sorts.

Despite his nerves, after the night he had with Cassydie, he wanted to do everything he could to move forward with his family.

Cassydie urged him to take a few days to think about what he wanted to say to Tato, but he knew more time would only stress him out.

It was bad enough he had to sit through breakfast with them without blurting the shit out.

Cassydie reached over and grabbed his hand.

“You okay?” Marcellus relaxed slightly because of her touch.

He lifted their hands and kissed the back of hers before he nodded.

“You ready?” she asked. He nodded again.

Cassydie gently tugged on his beard and gave him a quick peck before turning her attention back to Tato. “Tato, can you come here for a minute?”

Tato stopped playing with his plastic dinosaurs and quickly did as he was told. “Okay, but hurry. The dinosaurs need my help so they don’t all die.”

Marcellus watched as Cassydie giggled at Tato.

He wondered how she could be so calm in this moment, but he quickly realized two things.

Underneath that calm demeanor, she was probably a nervous wreck.

Aries had a way of hiding their emotions really well when they wanted to.

The other thing he realized at that moment was that Cassydie had been through a lot, and spilling the news to Tato about his lineage really wasn’t her burden to bear.

It was his. Something like this was probably considered lightweight to her.

At least nobody had died this time around.

“We need to talk to you about something serious, okay? And when we’re done, if you’re up for it, me and Cell will play with you.

” Cassydie always knew the right shit to say.

If Marcellus wasn’t already stupid in love with her, this moment would have made him so.

She was just so . . . feminine and nurturing.

Exactly what he had been missing in his life.

Tato’s eyes lit up. “Okay, but do you know how to play dinosaurs?” He eyed Cassydie suspiciously.

“I’m not sure, but you can teach me, right?”

“Right,” Tato agreed.

Cassydie looked at Marcellus and uttered, “Go ’head, baby.”

He wished this was one of those times she could tell Tato for him, but he knew it wasn’t. This was his mess, and he needed to man up and own up to it.

Marcellus cleared his throat and averted his gaze toward Tato. “Come here, man.”

As if he could suddenly sense the seriousness of the conversation, Tato moved slowly toward Marcellus. When he stood in front of him, Marcellus took his son’s hands in his and looked into his eyes that mirrored his own.

“I don’t really know how to say this, Tato . . .”

Tato peered at him for a second before he shrugged. “Just say it. Daddy always said when you have something hard to tell someone, you look them in the eyes and get it over with.”

Marcellus’s eyebrows rose. Tato had always been so wise beyond his years. This felt like a new level. Tato had said exactly what Marcellus needed to hear to get through this. He had no doubt that his OG spoke straight through his son at that moment, and it gave him a sense of comfort.

“You right, man. Look, you know how much Grim loved us, right?”

Tato nodded seriously. “A whole lot.”

“That’s right. He loved you a whole lot, and he loved me just the same. He loved me so much he was willing to lie for me, and you know that ain’t something OG ever did.”

Tato’s eye ballooned. “Lie about what?”

Marcellus shifted nervously in his seat, but then he straightened up and looked Tato in his eyes, just like Grim would have wanted.

“He lied about being your father, Tato. He lied for me. I’m your real daddy.”

Silence stretched between them. Marcellus felt Cassydie squeeze his thigh as she rubbed Tato’s back reassuringly.

The silence killed Marcellus second by second, but he didn’t have the words to follow up with that impactful statement. Instead, he allowed Tato time to process the bomb that had just been dropped on him.

“Daddy always told me that sometimes kids have two mommies and two daddies and that only meant they had more love. Do I have more love?” Tato asked, tears swimming in his eyes.

The question broke Marcellus’s heart. He pulled Tato in for a hug by the back of his head and held him tightly. A tear of his own slid down his cheek. Tato seemed to ask the question out of fear that nobody loved him, and Marcellus wouldn’t allow him to question that for another second.

“You’re loved more than anyone in the world. You know why?”

“Why?” Tato cried into Marcellus’s chest.

“Because you had the love of Grim, and you have all of my love, and guess who else you have?”

Marcellus felt Tato’s head shift so he looked at Cassydie. “My sister?”

“Cassydie,” Marcellus corrected. “You have all her love too.”

Tato went silent again for a long time. Cassydie did her best to comfort them both in this moment, and Marcellus knew when they had a moment alone, he would need to give her space to feel all her feelings surrounding this moment as well.

He was glad she was strong for him right now because he needed her that way.

Not the sensitive gangsta shit she normally portrayed.

“You’re not my sister anymore, are you?” Tato finally asked Cassydie as he pulled away from Marcellus.

Cassydie ran a hand over Tato’s cheek. “No, buddy, I’m not, but I will always be in your life. I’m not going anywhere.”

Tato dove into Cassydie’s arms, and another round of tears ensued.

Marcellus allowed them to have their moment.

He was happy to watch because it filled him with a sense of pride.

He knew Grim watched down on him right now and cheered him on.

This moment was one his OG wanted from the beginning, and he had finally done it.

Marcellus knew that down the line Tato would have questions. How he would address the questions about Cambria, specifically, he didn’t know. What he did know was that Cassydie would be there to handle it all with him.

Everything he needed was right there in this room, and he was thankful for the chance to step into the shoes of the man he was meant to be.