Fifty-Nine

ZORA'S POV

Derek had not returned my calls or texts. My voicemail had not been replied to at all. When the twins tried to call him the next day and he had ignored the calls, it was only then that I realized I had been banking a lot of hope on Derek listening to the message and having a change of heart.

I must have hurt him pretty badly for him to act this way. Usually, he was such a softie where the kids were concerned.

When he didn't pick up, I had told them that he was probably still busy. They didn't really find my explanation plausible. I could see it in their eyes. But they had accepted it because on some level they wanted to believe that it was true.

My heart ached for them, for the fact that my choices had hurt them so deeply. I decided that my decision to tell them Derek was their father was not a wise one. How could I not have predicted that this would happen? I should have taken all possible case scenarios into consideration.

The next day, I had told them Derek had assure