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Page 26 of Single Mom’s Secret Diary (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection)

Ezra

G od, I knew it. The moment I saw Charlie, I knew. The boy looks just like me when I was a kid.

My jaw clenches in acknowledgement and frustration. And part of me is so, so angry at Avery for not saying anything. Especially after she accused me of lying to her. Which, granted, I did. But this is so much bigger than having a girlfriend back home whom I planned to break up with.

And she held that against me for so, so long.

If she had just talked to me that morning instead of running away, we might have been able to stay in touch. I could have been there for her pregnancy, for Charlie’s birth, for the last nine years of his life.

Fuck. I have a son. With Avery.

It’s something I’ve dreamed about for the last decade.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” It’s the only question I can ask. How could she still not trust me after the last month?

No wonder she never shows off pictures of him around the office like every other mother I’ve met. I can’t believe it never even dawned on me that she could be hiding this.

“How was I supposed to?”

I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling, trying to rein in the anger that’s settled low in my chest. She should have found a way.

“I don’t know. Seems pretty simple to me.

‘Hey, Ezra. Remember when we had that whirlwind romance ten years ago? Well, I got pregnant and had your son. Want to meet him?’”

When I finally look at her again, tears are swimming in her eyes. It takes too much effort to keep from trying to comfort her. Right now is not the time for that. Not when I’ve had to force her to admit that Charlie is mine.

He’s mine . The thought catches on a myriad of emotions that I can’t quite decipher yet.

“I didn’t want to blow up your life.” Avery almost sounds like she believes it.

Her tone lets me latch back onto that righteous anger at her selfishness. “No. You didn’t want to blow up yours.”

“His,” she counters, her arms tightening around herself like she’s barely holding it together. When was the last time I’d seen her on the brink of falling apart like this?

Never. I’ve never seen her like this.

That hits me square in the chest. I know she is a protective mother. Was this all to protect him instead of herself? Could I fault her for that?

I imagine all of the things my mother did for me as a single mom.

How she escaped Vietnam when she was pregnant to come to America and give me a good life.

How hard she worked. How she refused to tell me stories about my dad when I asked about him.

When I threw fits and wouldn’t talk to her for days because she wouldn’t answer my questions about him.

When I grew up and did my own research at college, I didn’t like what I found.

My father, whose name I’d only heard in passing once, was a Communist general known for abusing the local poor women.

Like my mom. And she’d been trying to save me from knowing.

To let me grow into myself instead of thinking I might be like him.

I’m not my dad, and it makes me wonder what Avery told Charlie about me all these years or if she simply refused to talk about me at all.

Is it selfish of me to be angry with her over this? Over protecting her son in the best way she knew how? That as much trust as we’ve built, she still wasn’t going to tell me?

Am I weak for wanting to forget about the secret and just be with them both?

Avery closes her eyes, and a tear falls. I can’t resist brushing it away, cupping her face, kissing her forehead.

“Were you ever planning to tell me?”

“Eventually.”

God, I hate how defeated she sounds, like I’m going to tear her down right this second and leave her to put all the pieces back together on her own.

A soft laugh escapes, surprising me and her, but I pull her into me, wrapping myself around her to show her what I truly want. The family I never knew I had. The love of my life. Our child.

As devastated as I am, I’m more overjoyed that I finally have a chance at it.

“I want to be a part of his life. Just as badly as I want to be a part of yours.” I say it into her hair, and her arms finally unravel from around herself to close around me instead.

I forgive her as she hugs me back.

We stand like that for a while, and I rock her on her feet until her trembling stops.

Somehow, I feel more complete than I have in years. In my entire life.

A nurse is carting Charlie back into his room when Avery finally pulls away. Dominick returns with a few snacks and a nod as if to say, Good, I see you’ve made up .

The nurse waves us away as she gets Charlie settled, and a doctor follows with a file in his hands, a middle-aged man in good shape, his hair thinning on top.

“Are you the parents?”

“Yes,” Avery says, and a new pang of longing and belonging hits my heart.

The doctor simply nods. He doesn’t know the life-changing few moments I’ve just had. The world has shifted, and I’m a father. A parent. I’m responsible for the boy in that hospital room.

“His X-rays look good. It was a clean fracture, and the medics on site did a good job setting it. Honestly, I couldn’t have done much better, and their quick thinking is going to save him a lot of pain.”

She sighs and nods. “Good. That’s good.”

The doctor’s smile is warm. “We’ve got him in a more permanent cast. You’ll want to take him to his regular physician in six weeks to see if it’s ready to come off, which it should be. I suggest paying them a visit in the next week if you can afford it. Just to check in.”

“We can do that,” I say, as if I know who his regular physician is. Either way, I will ensure he has anything he needs. The reaction is so strong that it surprises me again.

“He’ll have to take the stay off the ice for the rest of the season, but he should be just fine. I’ll start the paperwork to release him. Just let the nurse know where to have his prescriptions sent, and we’ll get you on your way home. To rest.” He points at us as if to ensure we’ve heard him.

We nod, and Avery turns to offer her dad a small smile.

Dominick sits and sips his coffee. I imagine he would usually be right behind her, ready to insist he needs to check on his grandson, but he’s letting me take that role, take his spot.

I shake my head at how surreal this is.

As the doctor wanders off, the nurse comes out to let us into Charlie’s room. He’s smiling and holding up the cast on his arm—covering him from wrist to elbow on the left. He looks so small on that bed.

“Look at that. And it’s orange. Everyone’s going to see you coming a mile away.”

Charlie grins wider. “I know, right? Jenny’s going to have to watch out. This thing is hard. I wonder if it will hurt if I whack her with it.”

Avery laughs and brushes his hair from his face. “I think it will hurt you more than it will hurt your cousin. So, no whacking.”

He pouts, but only mildly.

Avery settles herself on the side of his bed and reaches out for me, pulling me further into the room.

“Baby. I want you to meet someone.” That soft, motherly tone is back, and I’m in awe of how easily she’s able to slip into it after the turmoil I witnessed her go through just minutes ago.

“But I met him at the game.”

“No, honey… That’s not what I mean.”

Charlie looks at me for a long moment. It’s the same kind of scrutiny he gave me before, the same kind of analysis I’d done when I first saw him and had that familiar tug in the back of my mind before I saw the resemblance.

I watch as the understanding dawns on him. His eyes go wide, glittering with something new.

Charlie turns back to his mom. “He looks like me. Is he my dad?”

Her hand smooths out his hair again, and she nods. “He is.”