Antonio dropped Ethan off at his car, and looked at the time, making sure he wouldn't be late to see his daughters leave with their new boyfriends, who were also taking them to the dance. Ethan had been quiet since they left Melissa's, and wanted to be sure that he would be OK if he left him alone.

"My life is just fucked."

"Don't think like that. Things will get better, just remember that she was the one cheating on you. We still need to order a DNA test, and if it comes out that she is in fact yours, just remember that you hold the future, and can still make up for lost time. Yes, I know it will hurt that you missed out on the beginning years of her life, but you have to move on, and enjoy what you can with her now."

"Think about it, if she is in fact mine, I lost four years, four years Antonio, you know damn well I would have been there for her." he sighed, and groaned, wanting to punch something "I really need to get my shit together. I can't keep doing this anymore. I possibly have a child out there, and a woman who I care deeply about, the one who keeps pushing me away, for some damn reason, the one who tells me one thing, and then does another... and then I have a girl that is interested in me, who I like a lot, and we have a lot in common, but the thing of it is... I have been trying to sort out my feelings between the two. I know where my heart is, and where it's been. But my heart keeps getting shattered, every time I try to do something. I've tried doing what you've asked me to do, and I feel like I'm cheating on them both."

Antonio ran his hands though his hair, and looked at Ethan "Only you can decide that for yourself, I keep giving you advice, and you aren't taking it. Maybe take a break, and do what you have been doing the last four years and just be yourself, that way, you're not stringing them both along. By what you're doing now you'll end up in the psychiatric ward, from making yourself go nuts." Antonio laughed.

"Cuckoo." Ethan chuckled.

"I'd love to sit and talk with you more, but I need to get home, the girls have a dance to attend to, and they are being picked up by their new boyfriends. I'm not missing out on this one."

Ethan shook his head "Did I just hear you right?" Ethan asked in shock.

Antonio nodded his head, and started scratching his cheek.

"In that case, I'm going to be there too. There will be no boy getting past me, until I meet who are taking out my nieces." Ethan smiled.

"Exactly, I'm not missing this moment for anything."

Antonio hurried to get home, not wanting to miss his daughters dressed up, and the boys who will be taking them to the dance. Sadie was doing the girls hair, and heard the front door close "Oh... I think I hear your dad." Sadie smiled.

"I hope he doesn't embarrass us in front of our dates." Gabriella sighed, covering her face. Sadie removed Gabriella's hands away from her face, and looked at her with a smile "This is a big thing for him, I don't think he will, but don't be surprised if he asks them any questions." she giggled.

"Oh God." Gabriella said, embarrassed.

Antonio found them in the bathroom, and his heart felt heavy seeing them get all dressed up. He couldn't believe his oldest daughters were going out on dates, and wasn't ready for this. But knew he never would be prepared for this day, he knew he had to be strong, and let them do what fifteen-year old's do. He knew he couldn't keep them confined, or they would resent him later.

"When you're done with them, I would like to have a talk with them." He then looked at his daughters, and winked. He leaned himself against the doorframe, and watched Sadie with them, he knew that if Harlow were still alive, that she would be doing the same thing with them, and appreciated everything that Sadie has done for them over the years.

Antonio then mentioned to Sadie what he, and Ethan had been doing all afternoon, and how Melissa reacted. Sadie looked away from the girls, and over to him in shock, she was surprised they went over to Melissa's, and confronted her so quick "What, she did?" Sadie asked surprised, after hearing what Antonio said about Melissa.

"I told her we would see her in court after she kept denying everything. Ethan also told her that he would fight her for custody, if she didn't come clean. I do give him credit, under the circumstances he remained calm. He also got his ring back from her."

"That's good... how's he handling it?"

"Not too well, bummed he missed out on her growing up the last four years, amongst some other things, that are bothering him. He's upset, and says he doesn't understand what he's done wrong in life for all this to be happening to him."

Antonio walked over to his girls, giving them each a kiss on their cheeks. "You both look really beautiful." he tells them while Sadie finished with their hair, and makeup "Could have gone without the makeup though." he smirked, earning a smack on his arm from Sadie.

"You just behave, and leave so I can finish with them." Sadie giggled.

"Fine, I'll let you be." Antonio walked down the stairs, and into his office. It was a week away that he would be surprising Sadie on where he will be taking her for a week, and wanted to make sure he had everything in order.

The girls put their dresses on carefully, not wanting to wreck their hair, and makeup, and started feeling nervous, yet excited. They felt beautiful with their hair done up, the makeup, and both felt like celebrities. They excitedly walked down the stairs to show their dad what they looked like.

They heard him in his office and knocked before entering, Isabella opened the door, and both stood in the doorway smiling, waiting for him to look at them. Antonio looked up from the paperwork he was going through, and had to take a double look at them "Both of you come here, and sit down." he smiled, he couldn't believe how lovely they looked. All he saw was Harlow in them as they walked towards him, and had to take a deep breath. He stood up, and walked around the desk to talk to them. He leaned against the desk, and looked down, trying to find the right words to say.

"First off, I want to say you both look stunning, your mom did good with your hair, makeup, and with your dresses. As much as I hate that you're at that dating age, I want both of you to know that I want you to have fun. If you feel something isn't going right, you can call us, and we'll pick you up. Don't ever let any boy make you do something that you don't want to do... sometimes in life you will find one that will make you do things that you don't want to do. Be smart, and keep your ears, and eyes open. Boys will be boys; some are better than others and some are just plain bad. I've raised you girls to know what is right, and what is wrong, just have fun, and enjoy yourselves."

"Don't worry, we know. Mom had a talk with us when she was helping us get ready." Isabella says smiling. Antonio felt relieved that Sadie also talked with them, and figured Harlow explained some things in her letters to them. "Mom also wrote us in her letters about the boys too, so now we've gotten three lectures about them." Isabella giggled.

"I'm sure everything will be fine; we're just being parents. You can also warn the boys that I have a handgun, and a shotgun if they try to hurt you." he laughed.

"Oh Dad, knock it off." Gabriella laughed, as she stood up to give him a hug.

"Just a little warning, Ethan is on his way too." he smiled, while Isabella stood up, giving him a hug.

"Great... I wonder what he'll say to them too." Isabella giggled.

Sadie just got done giving all the younger kids their dinner, when Ethan walked in. "Save any dinner for me?" he asked Brandon, while he was taking a bite of his ravioli.

"Do you want me to share it with you?" Brandon asked, with his mouth full of food.

Ethan chuckled, and rubbed his head, before kissing the top of his head. "No thanks, I'm good. I was only teasing."

Ilona came up from downstairs, and walked over to Ethan with a smile. "What are you up to?"

"I came to see the girls with their dates."

"Ohh. Yeah, that's a big deal." she smiled.

Ethan found the girls in their room, and had a talk with them. He let them know how beautiful they looked, and how much they looked like their mother. "Your mother would be proud to see how beautiful you two became." he tells them. He then had the big talk with them, causing them turn red in the face "Just remember, the closer your bodies are together, they make babies, it's almost like a special hug, and it's dirty." he grinned.

"Oh my God Uncle Ethan..." Gabrielle sighed "We already know about the birds, and the bees."

"Well good, cause your Uncle Ethan doesn't want to go out there, and beat the living shit out of a couple young boys, that would help land me into the hoosegow." he chuckled "I've been there before, over a couple stupid reasons, and it wasn't fun either time."

"What did you do?" Isabella asked with a smile.

"Well, you know my mouth... I was young, and a young guy had been picking on your mom, and wouldn't stop touching her in areas that he shouldn't have been. I had a few choice words with him, and you could say that I threatened him. I didn't know it, but he called the cops saying that I was threatening him. I was in the middle of doing some yard work around the house for my parents, and two guys had walked up to me." Ethan paused, and laughed when he saw the looks on the girls faces. They were looking at him, and giving him the look that Harlow always used to give him, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Anyway, there were two guys dressed in uniform, and to be funny I happened to ask if they were gay because they were wearing the same outfit. Needless to say, they handcuffed and arrested me, then threw me in the pokey for the night."

"So, you deserved it." Gabriella laughed.

"It was worth it, for sticking up for my sister, but not for insulting the cops." Ethan chuckled "But I don't want to ever go back there, especially for a couple young punks that can't keep their hands off my beautiful nieces."

"What else did you do?" Gabriella asked.

Ethan laughed, unsure if he should tell them the other stupid thing he did, he lowered his head, and shook it "Well, I was with my friends and we were drunk, horsing around, and after stopping at a couple fast food places, I was dared to run inside naked. I took them up on their dare, and ran inside naked yelling I have the meat!" he laughed, and couldn't believe he told them that, but got a chuckle from them laughing at him. "Yep, I never said I was a smart teenager, I did some stupid things growing up, but I thank your mom, and Antonio for getting me out of those childish ways."

Ethan gave them each a hug, and walked down the stairs with them, whistling at them from the behind. The girls dates finally arrived, and Ethan happened to be the one answering the door. "Hi, we're here to pick up Isabella, and Gabriella." The boy stuttered, as he looked at Ethan, thinking he was the girls father.

"License, and registration please?" Ethan asked, with seriousness in his tone, and holding out his hand.

"What?" The boys asked confused.

"Are you two twins?" Ethan asked, chuckling when they asked at the same time. They shook their heads no, making Ethan laugh again "I was only asking if you have a license, and registration to be taking my nieces out?" he smiled.

"Um."

"Knock it off Ethan, and let them in." Sadie said walking fast over to the door. "Sorry about their Uncle, he thinks he's a comedian." Sadie smiled as she pushed Ethan away.

"You two don't happen to have a van with a bed in it, do you?" Ethan asked raising an eyebrow. Isabella, and Gabriella both covered their faces, embarrassed.

"No, why?"

"I was going to say if you did, I'll borrow you my car for the night." Ethan grinned, when he saw both boys faces turning a different shade of red. Feeling embarrassed, the boys hoped they would be leaving soon, wanting to get away from Ethan, and to have a fun time with the girls.

Antonio walked up to the boys, shaking their hands, introducing himself. The boys looked nervous, and kept looking over at the girls, giving them both a nervous smile. Before the kids headed out, Sadie grabbed her phone, and took pictures of them.

Ethan decided he wanted in on the photo shoot, and had Sadie take a picture of him with each of their dates. He held them with his arms wrapped around each one of them, making the girls turn red in the face. Antonio couldn't help but laugh, and had to walk away, not wanting to show the girls that he was laughing.

"Mom can we go now?" Isabella asked, embarrassed.

"What? So soon?" Ethan asked "I'm just getting to know them." he smirked.

"You're embarrassing us." Gabriella sighed.

Antonio walked over to Ethan, pulling him to the side, and telling him he has to quit embarrassing them, worried they would never bring a guy over to the house again.

"Fine, I was only having some fun." Ethan smiled "They liked it; I saw the boys trying to hide their laugh." Ethan walked back over to the girls, and told them to go have fun, giving them hugs.

"Just remember, if you make them cry, I'll make you cry." Ethan said to the boys, winking.

"They'll be OK with us; we'll have them home after the dance." Andrew, Gabrielle's date said to Antonio before leaving.

Antonio sighed as they walked out the door, then smacked Ethan in the back of the head "Ouch, what was that for?"

"For being you." Antonio laughed "I was feeling bad for the girls there for a little bit, they were extremely red in the face."

"I wouldn't be surprised, if the girls didn't talk to you for a little while." Ilona smirked, as she stood next to Ethan.

"Me? They love their Uncle. They know how I am, and I'm sure they knew I was going to be making an ass of myself."

"I think the girls will be just fine, they looked like some well-behaved kids, they seemed respectful enough, and they handled Ethan like a boss." Antonio said, leaning against the breakfast bar.

Throughout the night Antonio kept looking at the time, and kept pacing around the house. Ilona came downstairs after checking on the kids, and sat down on the couch next to Ethan.

"Is he going to be OK? He's been pacing around the house all night." Ilona asked quietly. Ethan turned his head, and watched him. As he watched Antonio pacing around, he grinned, and turned to Ilona "Maybe I need to get him a drink."

Ethan walked downstairs and over to the bar, he grabbed a glass, placed a couple cubes into the glass, and poured him some bourbon "Ah what the hell, maybe I'll have one with him." he mumbled, as he poured himself a glass.

Grabbing the glasses, he turned around and nearly ran into Ilona "JESUS." Ethan said loudly, almost dropping the drinks.

"Sorry." Ilona smiled. She grabbed the drinks from his hands, and set them onto the bar, then wrapped her arms around him, and looked into his eyes. "Are you staying the night tonight?"

"No, not tonight."

Ilona pulled him in for a kiss, keeping it short, and pulled back "Can I change your mind?"

"Maybe another night, I need to get home, and go through some things. I-" Ethan stopped talking, and turned his head, not wanting to hurt her feelings again "I just had a very long, and disturbing day."

Ilona cupped the side of his face, and turned his face towards her "I can help make you feel relaxed."

He smiled "Oh I'm sure you could, but this has something to do with my family, and I need to deal with this one alone. I mean... I need to think about what happened today, and to be able to think with nobody in my ear. I hope you understand."

She shrugged her shoulders, and hoped he wasn't pushing her away again "OK."

"Besides someone farted, let's get out of here." he smirked "Hey... come here." he said, after noticing she had a bummed look on her face. She walked back over to him, he cupped the back of her head, and gave her a kiss "I'll fill you in about it later. I'm still trying to process it all."

She shook her head, hoping he was telling her the truth. Ethan grinned, then smacked her on the ass "Alright, we better get back up there, Antonio is going to need this to calm his nerves."

Ethan walked over to Antonio with the drink in his hand, and handed the drink to him. "Perfezionare." he smiled, slamming it all in one gulp.

Ethan looked at him surprised, and wanted to laugh "Damn... would you like another?"

"Keep them coming... better yet, bring me the damn bottle."

(perfezionare= perfect)

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Oh boy.. the girls are growing up!❤❤🕺💃🕺💃

Is Faith Ethan's child? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

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