Ghost POV (it was overdue) 

"Will that be all, prez?" Blaze asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, call for church tomorrow evening 'round 8. After, we'll have a proper send off for Hawk and his recon group."

"On it, boss. How's it going with the daughter of yours? You gonna introduce her to her Uncle Blaze?"

I roll my eyes as Blaze cackles. I want to properly introduce her to the entire club, but that leaves it open to her finding out about us.

I'm not ashamed of who I am, who we are. I don't want her to fear me. I don't want her to push me away after finding out what we do. I just learned about her, I hardly know her. I'll be damned if I lose a chance to know my unknown daughter.

It's still strange to think that I have a kid of my own. I've helped plenty of young men find their way and make it into my club, but never a child of my own. My wife, Denise, has tried to persuade me to have kids for over a decade, but it never felt right. I always give her the excuse of my line of work being too dangerous, but I know it's not the truth. Plenty of brothers and their old ladies have families.

I guess I don't like the idea of having kids with someone I was never fully intending on marrying...

It might be my biased opinion, but she's perfect. She's a balanced blend of her mother and I and I can't for the life of me begin to understand why Chrystal did this to me. To us.

Chrystal was, or I guess is, the one that got away.

~~~~~~

Growing up in the club was a different, but fun childhood for me. My dad was president before me and his lifelong friend was his vice president. They decided when Denise, the veeps daughter, and I were still in diapers they'd do everything to bring us together. Growing up she'd always been a close friend and someone always there, but I never really thought of her in any romantic way. According to our friends, she was always smitten by me and hoping for my returned affections.

I didn't care much about any type of romance or 'love' so I didn't care when people would tell me Denise was in love with me. I couldn't reciprocate and even she knew it. I guess she settled for friends over nothing at all while secretly waiting for the day I'd feel something. We continued to remain close friends till the end of high school when Chrystal came into my life.

It was an unrequited infatuation on my end. It was like a full force punch to the gut almost and I was head over heels for this little beauty that just transferred to our school. I first denied it being anything beyond lust, but everyone knew better. I could have been labeled a stalker with the amount of following and watching over her I did. She was an enigma. I had never seen something so pristine and graceful. Someone so naturally beautiful inside and out that I knew no one in this world truly deserved her. Like an idiot, I still pursued.

I knew she had little regard for me at first. I'd grown up with a strict military father who now had his own biker club, so to her I probably seemed like an angry douchebag. She deserved a real prince charming and I could easily be the villain in her story with my shitty attitude and the need to vent my anger through fighting.

Even though she was practically polar opposites to everyone in my friend group, she ended up friends with a couple of girls whose dad's were part of the club. That's how I was able to get close to her. She got to see there's more than meets the eye and I got to bask in her presence.

I felt like a little bitch with the need to make myself a better person for her. I almost felt bad about myself when she learned who I was and what I was apart of. I felt ashamed of who I was and I didn't know why. Especially because she finally accepted me for who I am. Something deep inside me still didn't feel good enough.

Maybe she saw that insecurity in me. Maybe it's part of why she left.

We were romantically involved for a few years and everything seemed blissful. My dad made me take college courses in business and had me take on more responsibility within the club. During this time Chrystal was also going to school and slowly being integrated into the club. She was seen as my old lady long before we were official and beared each other's brand.

The day she officially became my wife and my old lady was probably the best day of my life. It was when my own worries about us were gone and I knew she loved and accepted every single part of me.

At least, that's what I thought...

A little over a year into our marriage, there were some small changes in Chrystal. She broke out of her shell quickly after being around us, but seemed to crawl back in at this point. She was quiet, shy with most, and on edge a lot of the time. When I'd confront her about it, she would just brush it off as stress from school and her new responsibilities as an adult. I trusted her and her word.

Shortly after that, Chrystal was distancing herself from almost everyone she was once close to. That included me as well. Still using school and life as an excuse, she started spending time away from me. It was hard and I almost wanted to breakdown and cry or even follow her. My father told me I needed to trust her. That a strong relationship is based on a solid foundation of trust. Being young and naive, I took his word and chose to trust her and everything she was telling me.

That was the biggest mistake of my life.

After a short run down south to New Mexico to help a small club out, I came back to an empty home. Chrystal disappeared without a trace. She took all her possessions, including my heart. Her leaving without word or any explanation made me turn into a void. I only existed and nothing more, going through the motions but not really living at all.

Three more months went by with everyone searching for her and all of us slowly losing hope, along with me losing my grip on reality. The only thing that kept me sane was bringing pain to others, whether they deserved it or not. I was living with constant heartache and worry and it was the only way I knew how to vent.

One day a piece of mail directed to me came from an unknown sender. Every little shred of hope I had in our relationship died once I opened it.

She was filing for divorce.

She already signed and left marks where mine were needed. The only other remnant of her other than her signature was a sticky note that said:

I'm sorry.

C.

I was lost and broken after receiving this. I was left with even more questions and no answers. Still am to this day.

With my heart completely gone and my trust in people shattered, I went to a dark place for the next year and a half. I don't remember much, thanks to alcohol and drugs being my only companion. My parents, my sister, my closest friends couldn't get through to me. It wasn't till I wrecked my bike and was arrested with a dui that I had any sort of wakeup call.

I was sentenced to county jail for four months, and even though it didn't seem like a long time, the withdrawals made it feel unbearably longer. My family, being fed up with my antics, didn't visit me. No one did, except for Denise. She was there twice a week to give me updates on everything going on in the town the club, and just being there for me.

I felt I owed it to her to give her whatever she wanted in return. Sadly, she wanted my love.

Knowing she couldn't have that she made a deal with me. Marriage. She wanted to be more than just the former vice presidents daughter in the club and felt she deserved more respect.

I know it was a terrible idea and I shouldn't marry without love, but I didn't know what else I was doing. I knew I would never love again and she just wanted a title. Plus, it made our father's happy and stopped them from assuming I'm still in a dark place. I saw it as an easy way out.

This was probably the second biggest mistake.

Especially now with my unknown child finding me and me avoiding Denise. I know she's probably already heard the news and the fact that I didn't tell her directly is going to bring tension.

Knowing Fleur is the result of the love Chrystal and I shared is going to be the biggest stressor. Denise never cared much for Chrystal, but was never up front about it to her face. She only talked about her dislike with very few people, probably because everyone loved Chrystal. Since it was only petty shit talking and nothing threatening, I kept my cool. I knew Denise was probably just a bit salty about us never being together.

Right now, I'm unsure how to approach her. Technically she has nothing to be upset about. She knows our relationship is only for a title and sometimes to ease the loneliness. I still feel like she's waiting for me to finally love her back. She still doesn't understand that type of love was given away and I never got it back.

The only love I have left to give is now reserved for my little flower.

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This is kind of a filler to give more backstory for Fleur's father. Thanks for reading ❤️

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