~HUNTER-
I stood outside Celine’s door for what felt like hours after she had stopped responding to me.
The silence on the other side was deafening, broken only by the sound of Caesar’s quiet chatter as he yed with his toys.
My chest felt tight like I couldn’t get enough air.
The look on Caesar’s face when I had snapped at him kept reying in my mind….the way his little shoulders had slumped, how quickly the light had gone out of his eyes.
I would never forgive myself for that.
But I couldn’t stay here torturing myself. Not when Mother was probably downstairs gloating over the disaster she had orchestrated.
I found her in the drawing room with Mia, both of them sipping tea like they hadn’t just destroyed my world
thirty minutes ago.
“Hunter, dear,” Mother said without looking up. “I was just telling Mia about the lovely gardens. Perhaps you could show her around before dinner?”
Mia smiled at me, all perfectly white teeth and calcted charm. “I would love that. Though I have to say, the… atmosphere here is quite interesting. Such passionate staff you have.”
Her tone was light, but I caught the underlying judgment. The way she said ‘staff‘ like it left a bad taste in
her mouth.
“Inappropriate is what it is,” Mother added, finally setting down her teacup. “That woman has no sense of boundaries. Getting upset over a simple conversation with her child, making a scene in front of guests…”
“She wasn’t making a scene,” I said, my voiceing out sharper than intended. “She was protecting her
son.”
Mother’s eyebrow arched delicately. “From what, exactly? A civil conversation? Hunter, surely you can see how this looks. The boy needs proper guidance, not this… emotional outburst at every turn.”
“What he needs is his mother. And what I need is for you to leave them alone.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Mia nced between us<b>, </b>clearly <b>sensing </b><b>the </b>
tension.
“Perhaps I should….<i>” </i>she started, but Mother cut her off.
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“Nonsense, dear. Stay. Hunter and I are simply having a discussion about household management.” She turned those cold blue eyes on me.
“This is exactly why Caesar needs stability. Structure. Not whatever chaos that woman considers child- rearing.”
Something inside me snapped.
“Don’t.” The word came out low and dangerous. “Don’t you dare criticize her parenting? She’s raised an incredible little boy, no thanks to any help from his father or his father’s family.”
Mother’s face went pale, then flushed red. “How dare you speak to me that way. I am trying to help you,
Hunter. That child…”
his world. A “That child has a name. Caesar. And he has a mother who loves him more than anyth mother you just humiliated in front of a stranger for no reason other than your twistede of superiority.”
I was standing now, though I didn’t remember getting up. My hands were clenched into fists at my sides.
“And another thing….why haven’t you told her?” Mother’s voice was sharp, cutting. “Why haven’t you told Celine that you know Caesar is your son? What are you waiting for, Hunter?”
The question hit me like a punch to the gut. “That’s none of your concern.”
“Like hell, it isn’t. I’m watching my son dance around the truth like a coward while that woman….”
“While that woman what?” I stepped closer, my voice deadly quiet. “While she works her ass off to provide for our son? While she protects him from people who want to use him? While she loves him unconditionally, which is more than I can say for some grandmothers?”
Mother’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Behind her, Mia looked like she wanted to disappear into the furniture.
“You know what?” I continued the words pouring out of me like poison. “You’re right about one thing. Caesar does need stability. He needs protection from people who would manipte him, who would use him as a pawn in their games. People like you.”
“Hunter Reid, you will not…”
“I will. And here’s something else I will do. You’re going to start preparing to leave. You’ve overstayed your wee, Mother. Way overstayed.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Mother’s face cycled through several shades <b>of </b><b>red before </b>settling <b>on </b>an icy white.
“Fine,” she said finally, her voice sharp as ss. “But mark my words, Hunter. This <b>isn’t </b><b>over</b><b>. </b><b>That </b><b>boy </b>deserves better than whatever game you’re ying, and if you <b>won’t </b><b>step </b><b>up </b><b>and </b><b>be </b><b>his </b><b>father </b><b>properly</b><b>, </b><b>I’lIL </b>
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find other ways to ensure his welfare.”
The threat was clear. Social services. Lawyers. Whatever weapons she thought she had in her arsenal.
“Try it,” I said simply. “Just try it, Mother. And see what happens.”
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Mia cleared her throat delicately. “Perhaps I should head back to the city. This seems like a family matter that needs privacy.”
Thank God for small mercies.
“Vincent will drive you to the station,” I said without taking my eyes off Mother. “I’ll have someone collect
your things.”
After Mia left with muttered pleasantries and barely hidden relief, Mother and I stood
two soldiers on a battlefield.
“You’re making a mistake,” she said finally.
“The only mistake I made was letting you stay here this long.”
She left without another word, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor.
each other like
I slumped into the nearest chair, suddenly exhausted. My phone buzzed…..a text from Vincent.
‘Delivered the ice queen to the station. She didn’t say much but she looked shaken. Whatever you said to your mother must have been good. Drinks tonight? You look like you need them.‘
I stared at the message for a long moment, then typed back: ‘Yes. Desperately.’
20
The bar Vincent chose was one of our old haunts from college….dark, loud enough that we couldn’t be overheard, and with bartenders who knew how to pour a proper drink.
“So,” Vincent said after we had both knocked back our first round, “want to tell me what the hell happened today? You look like someone ran over your dog.” <fn0bea> Checktest chapters at Find[F]ovel</fn0bea>
I signaled for another drink. “Mother happened. And Mia ckwood. And I fucked up with Caesar.”
“The kid? What did you do?”
The whiskey burned going down, but it was nothingpared to the burning in my chest when I thought about Caesar’s face.
“I snapped at him. He was just being curious, asking innocent questions, and I took my frustration out on a three–year–old.”
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Vincent winced. “Ouch. That’s not like you.”
“Isn’t it?” Iughed, but there was no humor in it. “Maybe it’s exactly like me. Maybe Mother’s right…maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
“Bullshit.” Vincent’s voice was firm. “You‘
scared, not unfit. There’s a difference.”
“Is there? Because I hurt him today, Vince. I made my son cry, and then I stood there while my mother held
him against his will when all he wanted was to go to his mama.”
Vincent was quiet for a moment, swirling his drink. “You said ‘my son.”
“What?”
“You called him your son. Not ‘the kid‘ or ‘Caesar.‘ Your son.”
I hadn’t even realized I had said it. But now that he had pointed it out, I could hear how right it sounded.
How natural.
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “He is my son.”
“And Celine? How do you feel about her?”
The question I had been avoiding, even in my own head. But sitting here in the dim light of the bar, with liquid courage flowing through my veins, the truth came easier than expected.
“I love her, Vince. More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
“More than Sophia?”
The name of my ex–fiancée didn’t even sting anymore. “More than I ever loved Sophia. More than I thought I was capable of loving anyone.”
e
Vincent grinned, the first real smile I’d seen from him all evening. “Well, it’s about damn time you admitted
it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Dude, you’ve been walking around like a lovesick teenager for weeks. It’s been painful to watch. Every time Ie over, you light up when she’s in the room, then spend the rest of the time brooding when she’s not.”
Had I been that obvious?
“And her?” Vincent continued. “Man, she’s got it bad for you too. I’ve seen the way she looks at you when she thinks <i>no </i>one’s watching. She’s hooked, probably worse than you are.”
Hope fluttered in my chest like a caged bird. “You think so?”
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“I know so. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know.” I dragged my hands through my hair. “She won’t even talk to me right now. She thinks I’m some kind of monster who would hurt Caesar.”
“Then prove her wrong.”
“How?”
Vincent leaned forward, his expression serious for once. “You love her?”
“Yes.”
“You love that kid?”
“With everything I have.”
“Then go get your woman, you idiot. Stop overthinking every damn thing and just… be honest. Tell her how you feel. Tell her you know Caesar is your son. Tell her you want to be a family.”
It sounded so simple when he put it like that. But the fear was still there, cold and persistent.
“What if she doesn’t want that? What if she thinks I’m just trying to take Caesar away from her?”
“What if she does want it? What if she’s sitting in that room right now, crying because she thinks you’re going to marry some socialite and forget about her and Caesar?”
The image hit me like a physical blow. Celine, alone and scared, thinking I would abandon them. Thinking I
didn’t care.
“Shit,” I breathed.
“Yeah, shit. Look, Hunter, I’ve watched you with both of them. You’re different around them….softer, happier. More like the guy I used to know before your dad turned you into this workaholic robot. Don’t let fear fuck this up for you.”
I finished my drink and stood up, a decision crystallizing in my mind.
“Where are you going?” Vincent asked.
“Home. To fix this.”
“Now? It’s almost midnight.”
“Now. Before I lose my nerve. Before Mother does something else to mess this up. Before Celine convinces herself that leaving is the only option.”
Vincent grinned and raised his ss. “That’s my boy. Just… don’t be a shit and hurt her, okay? She’s been
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through enough.”
“I know. I won’t. I can’t.”
As I walked out of the bar, Vincent’s words echoed in my head. ‘Go get your woman‘
It was time to stop being a coward. Time to fight for what I wanted….for what we all deserved.
Celine, Caesar, and me. A family.
The drive home felt endless, but with each mile, my resolve grew stronger. Tomorrow, I will tell Celine
everything. About knowing Caesar was my son.
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About how I felt about her. About the future I wanted us to build together. Tonight, I wou figure out how to
convince her to give us a chance.
Because losing them wasn’t an option. Not anymore.
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