Ryan's POV The boy was small, maybe five or six, but from my vantage point, I couldn’t see the boy’s face, only the back of his head, a mop of dark hair that looked unsettlingly familiar. A sick feeling settled in my gut. I watched as Emma knelt to the boy, her lips moving in quiet conversation, her hand gently brushing through his hair. She looked tender, motherly—a side of her I had never seen before.A child?Who was this child?Does she have a child? It couldn’t be hers. Could it?My jealousy flared up, a wave of bitterness washing over me.For a brief moment, I wondered if this boy was the child of the man Emma had supposedly moved on with. Was this why she had kept her life so private? Had she started a family without me?My chest tightened as a horrible realization began to dawn on me. The child… could he be mine?No. She wouldn’t have kept that from me. She wouldn’t have hidden something like that for six years. Would she?But there he was, holding her hand, and she hugged
Ryan's POV I didn’t need to ask the question again or wait to hear her reply. I didn’t need a DNA test. The truth was staring me right in the face, as clear as day.Emma had been hiding him from me? But why? How could she?? I staggered back, my mind reeling. I could barely breathe, the shock hitting me like a freight train. The boy—my son—was looking up at me, wide-eyed, innocent, unaware of the storm brewing inside me." Hello, I am James, who are you? " His name. My voice cracked as I said it, almost unconsciously. "James?"The boy blinked, his small face lighting up with excitement. "You know my name?"I couldn’t speak. My throat was tight, my heart thudding painfully against my ribcage. But then, something happened that shattered the last bit of restraint I had left, nothing could have prepared me for it. "James, he is Ryan... He is my... " She was saying but the expression of his cute face changed dramatically, all of a sudden. " Ryan????" He asked as if he was shocked to
Ryan's POV My parents had died in an accident and I was deprived of their love and family environment. My grandpa gave me everything, but he could not give me the love my parents used to. And here this son of mine was craving for my love, thinking that he lost me... I had a son... A son. I was getting very emotional and, at the same time, was getting very furious with Emma for depriving him as well as me of each other. My family was right in front of me." Orphanage?? " I glared at Emma again and she looked away. " Yes!" "But why did they say that you were from an orphanage?" I asked. " They asked me my dad's name, but I didn't know, so they teased me that she got me from there or she was a bad woman who didn't know my dad's name. " He said, a tear flowed from his eyes. I wanted to beat all those guys for hurting my son. But first of all, I wanted to punish Emma for all this... Why didn't she tell me anything? Why was she putting our son through so much pain? " Oh, my dear, you
Ryan's POV Life before this day felt so dull compared to the bright smile on my son's face. Emma had kept all this happiness from me. She had kept him from me. I felt like a raging bull at the moment; I wanted to confront her properly, not in hushed tones, in front of everyone. I turned back to James, my heart heavy with the weight of everything I had just discovered. "Why don’t you go find your teacher for a moment, son?" I said softly, brushing his hair out of his face.He nodded, beaming at the word son, and ran off without hesitation, leaving me and Emma alone. The silence between us was deafening. My blood was roaring in my ears as I stared at her, trying to keep my rage in check, but it was impossible.I turned to her and, holding her arm in my hand, I pulled her aside. "Why?" I finally rasped, my voice low and dangerous. "Why didn’t you tell me?" I really wanted to yell... If it was anyone but her, I would have lost my anger completely. Her eyes filled with shock, and she
Ryan's POV "There was nothing like that... I was too busy to take care of him." Her eyes locked onto mine, filled with guilt, pain, and something else that I could not read.But that wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. How could she look me in the eye now, after all this time, and expect me to just let this go?" Then why did you elope when you were with my child if you could not take care of him?? No, you don't deserve to have him with you. I will make you repent the moment you thought of taking my child away from me. I will make you crave to get even a glance at him. He will live with me now." I yelled at her. “Ryan, you can't do that after everything that happened between us. You don't know how difficult it was for me to do it.” Her voice cracked, barely a whisper as the tears finally spilled over, cascading down her cheeks. She burst into tears. I felt bad for her as I had seen how she had panicked when someone from the school had called her; she drove here at a record-br
Emma stepped into the office, her skin still tingling from the Mediterranean sun, her mind struggling to switch from holiday mode. The ten days she had spent backpacking through Europe with her five-year-old son had been a much-needed escape from the humdrum of her daily life, a break Henry and Hazel had practically forced upon her as she had not met her son since she had put him in a boarding school. Now, she was back, carrying a large bag filled with souvenirs for her colleagues, ready to settle into her usual routine. She had lots of gifts in her car for Henery and Hazel, the couple who were the only couple she cared for now. And who helped her when she was most vulnerable. They gave her a job and helped her raise her son till now. She was extremely lucky to have them and missed them a lot on the vacation But as she walked through the familiar corridors of HW Financial Consultancy, something felt amiss. The office, typically abuzz with activity, was eerily quiet. Her colleagues,
"You ran away without giving me a chance to explain," he countered, his voice hardening again. "Do you think that was fair?" He asked looking into her eyes. Fair? The word echoed in her mind, the memories too painful to revisit. "This isn’t about fairness. It’s about survival. And right now, I don’t want to work here anymore.""I had my reasons," Ryan said, his eyes narrowing. "But we’re not here to relive the past. We’re here to discuss the future of this company."She was going to say that she was not interested in him or his company when her phone started buzzing. She looked at the screen and was stunned to see James calling her. Oh, no! He can't call me at this time. She thought. She could not talk to her son in front of Ryan. She was even scared to think what he might do if he came to know that they had a child together. He would probably kill her... She disconnected the call. She was very tense but could not let him see that. So she took a deep breath, trying to calm the st
Emma's POV Once I got into my small car, I sat for a whole minute, just breathing deeply, What was Ryan doing here? And how on earth did he find out where I was? Does he know about James? No, of course not, or he would have asked me. He must not come to know about him. I shook my head and called James. " Hey, honey! " " Mom, why were you not picking up the call? " " I am sorry, I was in a meeting. " " I am missing you, Mom. I do not want to stay here, please keep me with you. I can study there. " " I am too busy to take care of, my son. But soon, I will do something about it. " I lied to him. I might have thought of getting him back here, but now that Ryan was here and I quit the job, I would have to find a job, or I would not be able to pay his fees. Under no situation could I bring him back here as Ryan would not leave me alone for some time. Trying to steady my trembling hands enough to start the engine. My entire world had just been upended, and the shockwaves were stil