Sweetest of Hearts Ch. 05

"I love our daughters, Claire," I stated simply.

"I know you do, Mark. Your life, since the day they were born, has been about raising, nurturing, caring, protecting and loving them. Hannah is a wonderful mother, better than I ever was with her."

"I've seen how you've raised your son, Claire. You dote on your little boy like nobody's business. It's nice to see."

She smiled at that. "I'm correcting mistakes I made." With a sigh, she leaned back against her car. "I was young, foolish and jealous, Mark. I blamed everyone but myself for everything that happened. I could never be happy with what we had. I've talked to the girls about it. Talked to therapists. What I did to you, to us, was the worst though. The affair, then marrying that same man, having his child..."

"At least you have a relationship with our children again."

I noticed the bottom lip quiver when I called them 'our' children. I'd said it from time to time since the reconciliation of the family, but I guess, with what she'd figured out, it meant even more. "Can I have a hug on your birthday?" she whispered.

Gesturing, she stepped forward and hugged me, feeling her head resting against my chest. Before I knew it, our two daughters were hugging us as well. "I'm glad you're happy, girls," Claire stated quietly, "That's all any parent wants. I... Saying I approve is difficult. What I can say is that, in many ways, I understand. Your father is a good man. If I wanted you to end up with anyone for life, I would have always said someone like your father. Don't say anything, you don't have to lie to me. I don't need to hear you confirm it. I don't actually need to know, but I think I've figured it out. What I can assure you is that it'll never be a problem, I'll never voice my theory to anyone else. I owe you three that much, at least."

"I love you, Mum," Katie whispered. That made me smile. But when Hannah echoed those words, that's when Claire burst into tears. I'm fairly sure they'd told each other plenty of times before, but after everything she'd just said, I think it meant even more to her.

Claire let me go and stepped back, glancing from myself to our daughters then back to me. "You're a very lucky man, Mark Wilson. A beautiful wife. Two beautiful daughters. And then... Well, what is Sofia to you?"

"Er, my mistress, I guess," I replied, feeling a little awkward admitting it.

"So three kids with Kelly and two with Sofia?"

"Yeah."

"And then four with Hannah and one with Katie?" I didn't answer that one. Neither did my daughters. They knew not to react. "And then two with me. That's twelve children, Mark. At least we know you're not infertile!"

"Well, I'm shooting blanks now, if you need to know." Claire found the humour in that, thanking me for the information with a hearty chuckle.

Hannah cleared her throat, and I thought was going to say something, but she eventually went with, "At least all the women he's sleeping with otherwise won't be dumping surprise babies on our doorstep."

Claire looked at me in amazement. "I only sleep with Kelly or Sofia, Claire. My wild days are long behind me."

"The sex was good between us, wasn't it?"

I couldn't help grin. "At the start, it was fantastic. I do find myself wondering what you'd be like now, in those moments of quiet contemplation when all the children are out of the house."

"Would you ever..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "No, I couldn't do that to your wife, at the very least." Sighing to herself, I gave her another hug. "I'd better go. Look after your father, children. I'll come around next week, if that's okay?"

"As usual, just give us a call and we'll sort something else," I replied. Taking her hand, I met her eyes, "You're always welcome in our home, Claire. Anytime, okay?"

"Thank you," she whispered, hugging me tightly one last time. I knew she needed that connection with someone. I was happy to fill the gap until she found someone to share her life with again.

How our lives have changed.

After another round of hugs with her daughters, and even Kelly got one, Claire got into her car and she disappeared up the road. Walking back into the house, Hannah told me to sit on the couch and to join them in our bedroom in five minutes. Asking if I should be naked, she looked thoughtful then nodded, suggesting being nude would be best. We wouldn't be wasting time getting me naked.

Checking the time, it was around five minutes, so I walked around the house, making sure everything was locked up, the kids were all in bed, before I walked towards our bedroom door. Taking off my clothes, I walked in to find the room bathed in candlelight, my two daughters, wife and mistress all on their knees, hair up in a ponytail, naked as the day they were born. All had what I would call 'womanly' bodies after carrying our children. Hannah had far larger breasts after four children, as did Kelly after three. Katie had worked her arse off getting her former body back. Sofia was still losing some of her baby weight, not that I thought she needed to slim too much. She looked fantastic.

"Well, I'm not sure what I've done to deserve this. Have big plans for me girls?"

"It's your birthday, Daddy," Hannah replied softly, "You've done so much for us since you were barely an adult yourself. Now the four women in your life want to spend all night showing how much we love you in return."

"Well, not just all night, Daddy," Katie added, "This is just the first night. Now that there won't be more pregnancies nor babies, and all our children are growing, we can re-focus on our individual relationships, but also ensure the four of us enjoy you together from time to time."

"Definitely don't need blue pills with you four in front of me like this."

"Even if you did, it wouldn't bother us, Daddy," Sofia said. Yes, even she called me that name, "Just because your body won't co-operate won't make us feel bad. We know how much you want to be with us." Then she smirked, "Though it seems everything is still in working order."

"Not a bad way to end half a century of living, four beautiful women wishing to please me."

It was another wonderful night to share with my two oldest daughters, my wife and my live-in mistress. Some men are lucky to find just one woman to love during their life. I've been fortunate enough to find four, and all four of them were, and are to this day, absolute sweethearts.

*****

A/N -- Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the series.