Chapter 10

Amara’s POV:

It had been a week since Zavier's so-called apology. Though he seemed sincerely sorry, I still couldn’t let us become as close as he wanted. He seemed interested in me romantically, and before the whole accusation, I did consider it. Sebastian would have a somewhat normal childhood with both parents. However, after he questioned my integrity, I realized that things would not work out between us. There was supposed to be trust in a relationship, and he couldn’t give me that.

Nicole and Amelia didn’t like that I went back to work for him, but in the end, they let it be. I needed to work, and this was by far the “simplest” job I had that allowed me to have so much time with my son. I noticed Zavier buying Sebastian more and more gifts, almost as if he were trying to make up for doubting he was his child.

We were all currently at the park. This wasn’t a regular park. Most people here seemed to be famous, and the park was quite private. It had to be for the sake of Sebastian’s privacy. The media didn’t know about Zavier’s son, and we wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. I didn’t want him dragged into the press at such a young age.

I licked my cherry-strawberry ice cream, my eyes mainly focused on Sebastian as he ran around with his father. I looked down at the ice cream. It tasted heavenly, but I was still unsure if it was worth three times the normal amount I’d pay at a regular park. I shrugged to myself and looked up to see Zavier returning to me.

“He has officially abandoned me for another child,” he sighed dramatically as he sat down next to me.

“Poor Zavier,” I said sarcastically, looking over to see a mother holding onto her large sun hat as she rushed over to make her daughter spit out the sand she had just put in her mouth. Kids. Sebastian did that once and ended up crying. He hated sand for a short period of his life.

“Is the ice cream good?” Zavier then asked, turning to face me, making me inch away from him. I wouldn’t be able to focus if we sat so close to each other. I could smell his black amber-scented perfume from here. And it wasn't just his intoxicating scent that made it difficult for me—it was also the way he smiled at me, flashing not only his perfectly pearly teeth but also his dimple on one cheek. The way his dark brow slightly arched and the way his intense green eyes were focused on me made me feel like I was the center of his world, but I was over that. At least, I tried to be. I had to be for the sake of my heart and Sebastian. I knew if anything else were to happen, I wouldn’t be able to forgive him, which would lead to destroying Sebastian's bond with his father. I didn’t want that to happen.

I snapped back to reality and saw he was still staring at me with the same smile as before. I cleared my throat and looked over at Sebastian to see him chasing after a girl and a little boy. They were playing catch.

“Amara, I truly want to take you out on a date. I was thinking—” Zavier started to speak even though he heard my sigh, but that wasn’t what stopped him. He was stopped by my phone receiving notifications constantly and his phone starting to ring. Odd. I looked over at him, mirroring the frown on his face.

I looked down to see a bunch of texts from Amelia and Nicole. I opened up Nicole’s and stared at the top to see an article with a horrendous headline: “One of the country’s most eligible bachelors, Zavier Fuentes, has been keeping his adorable son a secret from us, but the real question is: who’s the lucky lady?”

I skimmed through the article and saw they used a photo of my son. All my accounts had been switched to private, so where did they even find this? I scrolled down and saw they had made a potential list of who the mother might be.

“Where did they get all of this? We were as careful as possible,” I texted Nicole and Amelia back and could hear Zavier was on the phone with someone.

“It’s just us, Tessa, Ivan, and Zavier who knew about all of this, and I don’t think any of us did it,” Nicole responded.

“Micah—he knew too, right? Do you think he did this?” Amelia texted back, making me sigh. Of course, it would be him. I threatened him, so he fired back.

~~~

Zavier’s POV:

I looked down at my phone and saw several messages from my family. The latest one was from Tessa saying they knew about Seb. With shaking hands, I answered the phone.

“Mama.”

“Zavier Alejandro Fuentes, tell me it’s a lie,” she demanded. I could tell she was panicking. Her voice was shaky like it was that one time I forgot to tell her I wouldn’t come home straight after school.

“What, Mama?” I asked, letting out a sigh, already knowing where this was headed.

“No eres un idiota. You know what I’m talking about. El niño,” she scolded, making me want to laugh. Her voice turned so high-pitched whenever she did that.

“No, it’s not a lie. I have a son, Mama,” I said truthfully and could feel Amara’s gaze on me.

“How did this happen? Are you even sure?” she then began to ask, and I sighed.

“It’s a long story, Mama.”

“Venido and explain it,” she replied. I could tell she was freaking out by the amount of Spanish she was speaking.

“I’m currently at the park with him and his mother,” I muttered, looking to see Sebastian going down the slide with his new friends.

“Good. Bring them too,” she said coldly, making me end the call and turn to Amara.

“Amara, my mother wants to meet you two,” I said, watching as she bit down on her lower lip and got lost in her head for a moment.

“I-I thought I’d decide when that would happen,” she mumbled, bringing her palms to cover her face.

“I know, but now the secret’s out,” I replied softly, understanding her point, but also hoping she understood where I was standing right now. “If he becomes overwhelmed, I’ll bring you two home immediately,” I promised.

~~~

Amara’s POV:

I didn’t want Zavier's family to meet Sebastian yet. I was scared of their judgments, but now, I couldn’t avoid it anymore. They already knew about him. I gave Zavier a nod and then got up. There was still a bit of my ice cream left, but I didn’t want it anymore. I felt full and sick at the same time. I went to get Sebastian. Of course, he wasn’t happy, but I explained how he had some other family members to meet.

Zavier helped me bring Sebastian to his car seat. When we got into the car ourselves, I noticed he put his phone on silent, probably because it kept getting notifications. Once we started to drive, I finally looked over at him to talk.

“Do you happen to know how this happened?” I asked, though I already had a clue.

“No clue. It’s only Tess who knew from my side. You?” He looked over at me for a moment then focused back on the road.

“Micah. He must’ve done this.” I sighed and leaned back into my seat.

“That asshole,” I heard him mutter under his breath. “Well, it goes without saying, you’ll have to move to a secure location,” he stated, making me frown.

“What’s wrong with my apartment?” Was he questioning my ability to keep Sebastian safe?

“Micah knows the address, and I fear you’ll have paparazzi there,” he explained, and I nodded and calmed down. He had an excellent point, though I felt guilty about leaving Nicole like that with rent and all.

“I can’t just leave Nicole there. I’m responsible for half the rent.” I sighed.

“You can keep paying that.” He shrugged, almost as if it were no big deal for me to pay rent for two places. He saw things differently.

“I know you pay me a lot, but I don’t want to spend my paycheck on rent alone,” I reminded him.

“You’ll stay at my penthouse with Bash,” he replied in an oblivious tone, almost as if I should’ve known that already.

“I don’t feel comfortable moving in with you, Zavier.” I glared at him. Was this yet another move of his to get us together?

“No worries. Just take the penthouse. You'll only be responsible for your groceries. I’ll move into my house.” He stopped at the red light and looked over at me.

“You have a house?” I asked, surprised.

“Mm-hmm. It’s a little further from work and big and empty, which is why I favored the penthouse more, but it’s fine,” he explained, and I just nodded. I always assumed his house was just the penthouse, and the other real estate he owned were just assets.

“Are you sure?” I asked to make sure I wasn’t overstepping or anything.

“Of course. The safety of you and Bash matters to me,” he said in a serious tone, green eyes focused on me. I nodded and turned back to look out the window. We kept passing many luscious, deep green trees as we went up the hill, slowly arriving at his parents' mansion. This now made me curious about what happened with his father.

“Feel free not to answer, but I’m wondering if your father is still around,” I then asked, making me think back to my dad. He was such a sweet man. Sebastian would’ve loved him a lot.

“No. He passed away a few years ago,” he replied coldly.

“Sorry for your loss,” I mumbled.

“What about you? Where are your parents?” Zavier asked, looking over at me.

“You already know my dad passed away during one of his tours, and my mom, well, she kicked me out when she found out I was pregnant. So, I cut all ties with her, and Amelia did so as well years before me, so I truly have no idea if she’s even alive.”

“Oh…” he muttered, probably trying to wrap his head around it all. After the conversation ended, it remained like that for the rest of the ride.

When we arrived, I picked up Sebastian, held him at my hip, and followed Zavier inside. The butler by the door took Zavier's coat and my scarf. By now, Sebastian was already awake and looking around at the unfamiliar scene. I assured him things were okay. I heard footsteps coming down, and saw it was Charlotte and Arlo. Tessa was in front of us and greeted Sebastian, who laughed and waved at her.

“Is this him?” Arlo asked, looking at Sebastian. He hid in my chest as he looked at the two. I gave him a nod and rubbed his back to assure him he was safe.

“Yes. Meet my son, Sebastian Reid,” I said and kissed his forehead.

“He’s adorable,” Charlotte said, awed, taking his little hand in hers and kissing it.

“Thank you.” Sebastian grinned and finally reached out to her.

“How old is he?” Arlo asked, his attention split between my son and me.

“He’ll be three in a few months,” I answered and turned to Sebastian, who was distracted by the teddy in Zavier’s other hand.

“So, uh, are you his chef, or was that just a lie?” he then asked, frowning.

“No, I’m still his chef,” I replied awkwardly. The explanation for this was just as awkward and confusing.

“It’s a long story,” Zavier butted in and took Sebastian from Charlotte, making her pout.

“The short version will do for us.” Charlotte shrugged.

“We met three years ago and spent a night together, and three years later, she sees a job opportunity and takes it. We meet again, and I find out about Seb, and here we are,” he told them while playing with Sebastian, handing him his stuffy.

“So, you never knew about him?” Arlo raised a brow at him.

“He didn’t. He found out about Sebastian himself,” I replied, and the two nodded.

“What a coincidence you two crossed paths again,” Tiffany said as she came down the stairs with Carolyn.

“Couldn’t be much of a coincidence,” the other twin sister said, looking at me from top to bottom. I was once again getting judged by these women.

“She must’ve set this up,” Tiffany concluded. All of us just stared at the two. I could tell by Tessa’s behavior that she, too, didn’t like their tones. The others were harder to read, probably because they were all family.

“How much money has she demanded already?” Carolyn asked, glaring at me, which made me roll my eyes. I had to keep in mind I didn’t want to act out in front of Sebastian. That wouldn’t be me.

“Mother—” Zavier was about to say, but the two weren’t done villainizing me yet.

“Was she the one who leaked it to the press?” his sister asked, finally at the bottom of the stairs and standing right in front of us.

“Is that thing even yours, Zavier?” Tiffany glared at my son, making Sebastian hide in his father’s chest.

I had enough of their disrespect and was about to open my mouth when Zavier beat me to the punch. “I will not have you disrespect them like that.” He looked at them both sternly. That look carried so much power. You could tell he wasn’t playing around.

“I’ll go outside with him.” Tessa reached over for Sebastian. She knew how this conversation could go and wanted to make sure the little boy wouldn’t have to deal with it. “Let’s go see some trees, Bash.”

“Zavier—” Charlotte began to say, but her brother shut her up.

“No. You listen to me. If you plan on staying in my life, I expect you to treat them both with respect. Sebastian is my son,” he said as he looked at them all. I felt bad for having put his family in this situation. I knew it was not my fault, but perhaps things could’ve been handled differently. “And I will not have you two be the reason I can’t be in his life.” He made it clear to his mother and sister.

“How is any of this a coincidence?” Carolyn asked calmly.

“When I applied for the job, his name wasn't on the job listing. In fact, even after I found out who he was, I never asked him for a cent. The only money he gives me is what he owes me for being his chef,” I explained simply. There was nothing I could do about that; it was almost as if fate brought him into his son’s life.

“So what? He’s now supposed to take care of your son?” Carolyn raised her brow at me, arms crossed with the same bratty look as before. I could tell Carolyn and Charlotte apart easily now. One was a total bitch, and the other was a sweetheart.

“Their son, Carolyn. And yes, I’m quite curious about that. I never pictured you being a dad before all of us,” Arlo corrected.

“Sebastian’s my son and a wonderful one at that. I love him and do plan on being in his life. We were still figuring out how I could be in his life a bit more while avoiding the media, but I suppose that won’t be necessary anymore,” Zavier said. God, I loved the way he spoke about our son. It assured me he wasn’t just a burden to him.

“My bad for assuming the worst of you. I guess I always try to protect my children too much,” Tiffany mumbled. “I’d love to meet Sebastian.”

“I hate to ruin this nice moment, but what will be done about Mr. Fischer and the deal you two had?” Arlo asked awkwardly.