Chapter 26
AURELIA
Julian tells me about the meeting that night over dinner.
Supervised visits. The estate. Me present. Two hours twice a week. First visit is Saturday afternoon.
“Did he agree?” I ask.
“He didn’t have a choice.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Julian sets down his fork. “He agreed. But he’s not happy about it.”
“When is he ever happy?”
“Aurelia—”
“I’m serious. He’s been angry since he found out about them. Angry at me, angry at the situation, angry that he can’t just take what he wants. When does that end?”
“When he sees them. When he understands what being their father actually means.”
I look at Nadia across the table. “You really think this will work?”
“I think it’s your best option. Let him meet them properly. Let them see he’s not a monster. Build from there.”
“And if they hate him?”
“They won’t hate him. There’re five. They’re curious and open, and they want to know their father. You just have to give them the chance.”
The next morning, I sit down with the twins in the playroom.
They’re building something with blocks, arguing about whether the tower will fall over. Standard Saturday morning chaos.
“Boys, I need to talk to you about something important.”
They both look up.
“Your father is coming to visit tomorrow.”
Finn’s face lights up immediately. “Da is coming here?”
“Yes.”
Liam sets down the block he’s holding. “He’s the man from the school, isn’t he?”
I look at him in shock. “What do you mean?”
“He was with the men who grabbed us. I remember him. From Ireland. We played by the boats.”
My chest tightens. They remember that day. Of course they do.
“Yes, baby. That’s him. But he didn’t mean to scare you. He just wanted to get to know you, to meet you and spend time with you.”
Liam frowns. “Then why didn’t he come see us after? In Ireland? Why did we have to leave?”
“Because things were…hard. He didn’t know back then, that you were his sons. But things are better now. He wants to be with you now.”
Finn is already moving on, excited. “Can we show him our room? And the fort outside? Does he like football?”
“You can ask him tomorrow.”
Liam stays quiet, picking at his shirt.
I kneel beside him. “What’s wrong?”
“Those men at school were scary.”
There it is. The fear I’ve been waiting for.
“They were. But he’s not like them. I promise. He won’t hurt you.”
“But how do you know?”
“Because your father loves you. Your father isn’t bad. He just wants to play with you and talk to you.”
“But what if—”
“I’ll be right here the whole time. Uncle Julian and Aunt Nadia will be here too. You’re safe.”
Finn tugs on my sleeve. “Can we ask him about Ireland? About the boats?”
“Of course.”
“And can we ask why he didn’t come before?”
The question I’ve been dreading. “You can ask him anything.”
“Will he be sad?”
“Maybe a little. But he’ll tell you the truth.”
Liam speaks again. “What do we call him?”
“What do you want to call him?”
“I don’t know. Da? Or his real name?”
“He’s your father. You can call him Da if you want.”
They both go quiet.
Then Finn grins. “I’m going to ask him if he can teach us to build stuff. Real stuff.”
“And I want to ask if we can go back to Ireland,” Liam adds, warming up now. “I miss the beach.”
Relief washes through me. “So you both want to meet him?”
“Yes!” Finn shouts.
Liam nods, slower but real. “Yeah. I want to meet him.”
“Good. Because he’s very excited to meet you too.”
They go back to their blocks, already planning what they’ll show their father tomorrow.
I watch them and try not to think about all the ways this could go wrong.
Saturday morning arrives too fast.
The twins are more nervous than usual. Finn keeps asking what time Da is coming. Liam stays close to me, following me from room to room like he’s afraid to let me out of his sight.
At two thirty, Julian and Nadia arrive.
“How are they?” Nadia asks.
“Nervous. Finn is excited. Liam is terrified.”
“And you?”
“Same as Liam.”
She squeezes my hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
At two forty-five, we gather in the main sitting room.
The twins are on the couch, both in clean clothes I made them change into twice. Finn’s hair is sticking up despite my attempts to smooth it down. Liam is holding a stuffed bear he hasn’t touched in weeks.
Julian stands by the fireplace. Nadia sits in the armchair by the window.
I’m on the couch between the boys.
At exactly three, the doorbell rings.
Finn jumps. Liam grabs my hand.
“It’s okay,” I tell them. “That’s just your father. Remember what we talked about.”
Julian goes to answer the door. I hear low voices in the foyer, then footsteps, then Cassian walks into the room.
He’s dressed casually. Jeans and a dark sweater. No suit, no weapons visible. He’s carrying a bag I recognize from a toy store in Manhattan.
The twins stare at him.
He stops just inside the doorway and looks at them. Really looks at them. I watch his face change. The anger that’s been there for weeks softens into something else. Longing. Love. Fear.
“Hi,” he says quietly.
Finn doesn’t answer.
Liam presses closer to me.
Cassian glances at me, then back to the boys. “I’m Cassian. Your mam probably told you I was coming.”
“You’re our da,” Finn says.
“I am.”
“You tried to take us at school.”
“I did. And I’m very sorry for that. I scared you and that was wrong.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Because I was angry and I wasn’t thinking clearly. But that’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Are you still angry?”
“No. Not anymore.”
Finn considers this. “Are you going to try again?”
“No. I promise.”
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?”
Cassian’s mouth curves slightly. “You don’t. You’ll just have to trust me. And I’ll have to prove it to you.”
Finn seems satisfied with that answer.
Liam hasn’t said anything. Just watches Cassian with those serious eyes.
Cassian moves slowly, like he’s approaching a frightened animal. He sits on the floor in front of the coffee table, putting himself lower than the twins. Less threatening.
“I brought you something,” he says, setting the bag on the table. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I just guessed.”
“What is it?” Finn asks.
“Why don’t you look?”
Finn slides off the couch and approaches cautiously. He opens the bag and pulls out a construction set. Snap-together blocks and gears, the kind that makes complicated machines.
“Liam, look!” He holds it up. “It’s like the ones we saw on TV!”
Liam doesn’t move.
Cassian pulls out a second box. A model car kit. Not for young children, but something they could build with help. “I thought maybe we could build it together,” he says. “If you want.”
Finn is already opening the construction set. “Can we build it now?”
“If your mam says it’s okay.”
Finn and Cassian look at me with nearly identical eager expressions.
I nod.
Finn sits on the floor across from Cassian and starts pulling out pieces. Cassian helps him sort them, explaining what each piece does.
Liam stays on the couch, watching.
“Liam,” Cassian says gently. “You don’t have to join if you don’t want to. But you’re welcome to.”
“I’m okay here.”
“Alright.” Cassian doesn’t push. Just turns his attention back to Finn and the construction set.
They work in silence for a few minutes. Finn chatters constantly, asking questions about how things fit together. Cassian answers patiently, shows him how to connect gears, lets him figure things out on his own when he can.
I watch them together and my chest tightens. This is what they should have had all along.
After twenty minutes, Liam slides off the couch and sits beside Finn. “Can I help?” he asks quietly.
Cassian’s face lights up. “Of course.”
He explains the project again for Liam’s benefit. Shows him the instructions. Lets both boys handle the pieces and make decisions about what goes where.
Julian catches my eye from across the room. Nods once. This is working.
An hour passes.
The construction set is half-built. Finn is sprawled on his stomach, completely absorbed. Liam is sitting cross-legged next to Cassian, asking careful questions about how gears work.
“You’re good at building things,” Liam says.
“I like building things. My da taught me when I was about your age.”
“Where is your da now?”
“He died a long time ago.”
“Oh.” Liam’s quiet for a moment. “That’s sad.”
“It was. But I still remember everything he taught me.”
“Like what?”
“How to build. How to fix things when they break. How to be patient when something doesn’t work the first time.”
“Are you patient?”
Cassian smiles. “I’m trying to be.”
Liam nods. Goes back to the construction set.
At five, Nadia clears her throat gently. Time’s up.
Cassian glances at his watch, then looks at the boys. “I have to go now.”
Finn’s face falls. “Already?”
“Yeah. But I’ll come back soon. If you want me to.”
“Can we finish building this?”
“Next time. I promise.”
Finn looks at the half-built construction set, then at Cassian. “Okay.”
Liam doesn’t say anything.
Cassian stands slowly. “Thank you for letting me visit. I had a really good time.”
“Me too,” Finn says.
Liam nods.
Cassian looks at me. “When can I come back?”
Julian answers before I can. “We’ll be in touch.”
“I’d like to hear it from her.”
Julian’s jaw tightens but he doesn’t argue.
I stand up. “Soon. A few days.”
“How many days?”
“You can come back on Wednesday. Same time.”
“Thank you.” He leaves without pushing for more.
Julian walks him out. Nadia follows. I’m left alone with the twins, both staring at the construction set on the coffee table.
“He’s nice,” Finn says.
“You think so?”
“Yeah. He knows a lot about building.”
“He does.”
“I like him.”
Liam picks up one of the gears and turns it over in his hands. “Me too.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. He’s not scary anymore.”
Relief floods through me.
“When is Da coming back?” Finn asks.
“Wednesday.”
“That’s so far away.”
“It’s only a few days.”
“Can we keep building this while we wait?”
“Of course.”
They dive back into the construction set, talking over each other about what pieces go where.
Nadia comes back into the room and sits beside me on the couch. “That went better than expected,” she says quietly.
“It did.”
“He was good with them.”
“I know.”
“You okay?”
I watch Cassian’s sons playing with the toys their father brought them, and I don’t know how to answer that question.
“I don’t know,” I say finally. “I really don’t know.”