Ivy stood frozen, her heart thundering in her chest as Aiden's words echoed in the quiet of the café.
"Who is he?"
Leo. Her son. His son. A truth she'd guarded with every fiber of her being.
She tried to find her voice, but it had lodged somewhere between her throat and her spine. Her fingers trembled where they clutched the edge of the counter.
"I asked you a question, Ivy." Aiden's voice was low, sharp with restraint. His eyes burned into her. "Who is that boy?"
"He's—" Her mouth was dry. "He's mine."
Aiden's jaw clenched, and something flashed in his eyes—betrayal, confusion, fury. "Yours," he repeated, voice hollow. "And?"
She couldn't say it. Not here. Not with Leo just a few feet away, humming while he colored inside the lines like the world hadn't just cracked wide open.
"Please," she said quietly. "Not here."
Aiden's expression darkened further, but he nodded once, curtly. "Then take me somewhere we can talk. Alone."
Ivy glanced toward Leo. "I can't just leave him—"
"I'm not leaving without answers."
"I'll call Maddie to watch him. Give me a minute."
She turned away quickly, fumbling for her phone. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She felt like she was about to detonate and Aiden had already lit the fuse.
The upstairs storage room wasn't ideal, but it was private, and quiet, and more importantly—out of Leo's sight.
Aiden paced the room like a caged animal while Ivy shut the door behind her, pressing her back to the wood for strength she didn't have.
"Talk," he demanded.
She looked up at him, this man who had haunted her dreams for years. He wasn't just the stranger from that one night anymore. He was powerful, imposing, and standing just feet away from the secret she'd tried to bury.
"I found out a few weeks after that night," she said softly. "I tried to find you. I didn't even know your real name."
"I told you my name," Aiden snapped. "You didn't try hard enough."
"I did!" Her voice cracked. "You told me your name, but no one knew who you were. No phone number. No contact. You disappeared."
Aiden stared at her like he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Then his gaze flickered, and for a second—just a second—he seemed unsure. "I looked for you too," he muttered, more to himself than her. "But maybe not hard enough."
"I had no choice," she went on, voice trembling. "I had no money, no leads, no idea who you really were. And by the time I found out your real identity, it was too late."
"Too late?" His laugh was bitter. "It's my son, Ivy. You kept my son from me."
The words sliced through her, each one a wound.
"I did what I thought was best," she whispered. "You don't know what my life looked like back then. I was barely surviving. I was terrified."
"Of me?" His voice lowered, but the danger in it only grew.
"No," she said. "Of the world. Of failing him. Of dragging him into a life where he'd be used as a pawn if anyone knew who his father was."
Aiden stepped forward. "And yet here I am. Five years later. A father without knowing I had a son."
He was shaking now, and she realized then—it wasn't just anger. It was something else. Grief. Guilt. Pain.
She swallowed. "I'm sorry."
"That doesn't fix it."
"I know."
Silence fell. He turned away from her, one hand gripping the back of a metal chair so tightly his knuckles went white.
"I missed his first steps," he said. "His first words. I didn't even know his name."
Ivy's breath hitched.
"You don't get to decide whether I'm ready to be a father," he continued, voice harsh. "You stole that from me."
She blinked rapidly to fight the tears building in her eyes. "You're right."
Aiden looked at her, and something shifted in his gaze. It was still angry, but also weary.
"I want a DNA test," he said. "If he's mine, I'm not walking away."
Ivy opened her mouth to respond, but the weight of his words hung like chains around her. Of course he wouldn't walk away. Aiden Thorne never walked away from anything—especially not something that belonged to him.
Downstairs, Ivy watched Leo through the café's glass wall, her heart a mess of threads tangled beyond recognition.
She knew Aiden would come back with demands. Maybe even try to take Leo.
He had every right to be angry. But she also knew what kind of man he was. Sharp. Dangerous. A business shark with a cold reputation. What place did a man like that have in a child's soft, safe world?
For a fleeting second, Ivy imagined Leo being dragged into a world of private jets, headlines, and ruthless boardrooms—a place where she'd never be allowed to follow.
Maddie glanced at her from behind the counter. "Everything okay?"
Ivy nodded mutely, but she wasn't sure she'd ever be okay again.
That night, Ivy sat beside Leo's bed, brushing a hand over his curls. He slept like an angel, completely unaware that his world had already shifted.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number:
Tomorrow. 10 a.m. My office. Don't be late.
She didn't need a name to know who it was.
Ivy exhaled shakily and typed one word:
Okay.