Page 33

“Will you tell her to take me to the rollercoaster?” he queried, busying himself with the strap of my watch.

I let out a low chuckle. I can see this kid growing up to be a terrific negotiator. “Yes, I will.”

He was swift with his reply.

“The horses.”

I had barely taken a step in the direction of the games section of the park when a familiar voice reached my ears.

“Noah!”

I lifted my gaze to find Mira staring at me with wide eyes. She rushed to us, snatching the kid from my hands, panic etched on her face.

“Hey baby, are you okay? Why did you run off?”

She fired question after question at Noah. If the shock I was feeling wasn’t so crippling, I would’ve scoffed when she spun him around and started inspecting him for signs of harm.

“Mommy, this is Uncle Griffin,” the kid said, beaming at me. Mira stiffened like she had just been reminded of my presence.

Her eyes narrowed to slits.

“Are you following me?”

“You have a son?” I queried, still reeling from the shock and wondering how Michael missed such an important detail.

“First, you turn up to a gala and almost ruin my reputation in front of potential investors, then you corner me in a bathroom, effectively ruining my date.”

I couldn’t hold back the eyeroll this time. What she had with Victor barely qualified as a date, but I let her go off.

“..... and now you’re going after my son? I can tolerate a mild business squabble, but my family is out of bounds, and if—”

I cut through her string of accusations, not having the patience to listen to all of them and returned to what was more important. There was something about the boy that beckoned to me, and I wondered if it was a result of him being born by my mate or something else.

“Who’s his father?”

The question caught her attention as she leveled me with a murderous look.

“Excuse me?”

“Is he mine?”

It was obviously an audacious question, as Michael had informed me that Adrian and Mira met almost as soon as Mira left, and theboy’s age was quite in tandem with the timing. But a hollow feeling I couldn’t place suddenly settled inside me, and I found myself grasping for something to fill it with. I had never felt so drawn to a kid.

A part of me also hated the idea of her sharing a son with another man. I’d rather she ran away with mine. A son with him would remain a constant reminder of his presence in her life, and she would always be tied to him. The mere thought of that made me want to punch a hole into the nearest wall.

The bitter taste in my mouth wouldn’t go away. Finding out she had gotten married shortly after she left was one thing. A son with her late husband was another. I was enraged. She belonged to me in a way she would never belong to anyone, and if there was a kid in her arms, it should be mine. Not Adrain’s—not anyone’s.

“Are you accusing me of infidelity, Mr. Thorne?”

Her voice was ice cold, and her eyes were as hard as metal. I immediately saw the folly of my actions. I should’ve approached the question in a more sensitive manner, but before I could make up for it, Noah’s chirpy voice interrupted.

“Mommy, Uncle Griffin said you would take me to the rollercoaster.”

A closer look at him standing next to her enhanced how much they looked alike. He had dark brown hair, unlike her black curls. He must’ve gotten that from his father.

“I told you no roller coasters until you’re a big boy,” she replied, not taking her razor-sharp eyes off me.

“But Uncle Griffin said I was a big guy.”