Chapter 26
The words hung in the air, thick and suffocating.
Gray's fingers twitched, but he still didn't move.
Cadi's stomach clenched, a sharp, sick feeling lodging itself deep in her ribs. Callum had never told her this.
Callum inhaled shakily, glancing at Gray, then away again.
"After my mother gave birth, there were ...complications. Finn was drinking heavily. One night, he was driving Aisling home from the main house. He stopped the car in the dark, on a quiet road near the estate. She never saw it coming."
Gray's breathing had slowed, but the air in his lungs felt thick, like treacle.
Callum's voice wavered, softer now, almost gentle, though there was a thread of pain in it.
"She was too afraid to tell anyone. She was trapped with nowhere to go. Outside the estate walls, the conflict raged. In those days, the police weren't an option—not when justice depended on which side of the war you belonged to. The wrong accusation could cost a life, and silence was often the only protection. She was a catholic and abortion was illegal. And he was already coming back to her... over and over again."
The words landed like a hammer.
The room held its breath.
Cadi's stomach clenched, a sharp, sick feeling lodging itself deep in her ribs.
The silence was as thick as molasses, the fire crackling softly, oblivious to the destruction unravelling in Gray's mind.
Gray blinked slowly, his hands shaking at his sides.
His entire life had been built on a lie. There had been times when he had hated his mam. He could never forget some of the curses hurled at him by his grandparents. His uncle. His father.. he had never trusted her.
He had always known he wasn't David's son. He had also known Finn and his mother had an affair which had ruined everybody's life. He had ruined his mother's life.
But he had never known this.
Callum's voice was quiet, but it held centuries of guilt, of regret, of loss.
"We left Derry. There was no choice. Life was unbearable. And I blamed you. I hated you, Gray."
Gray's eyes snapped to him.
Callum exhaled, his guilt raw, bare.
"For taking my da away."
The words hit like a physical blow, the weight of them pressing against every breath in Gray's chest.
Callum's face twisted with guilt, his voice thick. "I was a kid. I didn't understand. He was good to me. I thought he was a great man."
His hands clenched.
"I was wrong."
He exhaled shakily.
"Seven years ago, he was dying of lung cancer. He asked to see us."
His fingers dug into his knees.
"There was hardly anything left of him. He spoke to my mother privately. She was—she was devastated afterward."
Callum swallowed, his voice almost a whisper now.
"She told me what he had done. That she had spent all these years hating Aisling, believing she had betrayed her, when in reality..."
His voice faltered, cracking slightly as he met Gray's storm-grey gaze.
"She was just trying to survive."
Gray's breathing was slow, deliberate, as if forcing air into his lungs.
"She was the victim."
Gray closed his eyes, his fingers pressing against his temples.
There were no words.
The fire had burned lower now, the embers glowing a dull red, casting shadows that flickered across the stone walls.
The weight of Callum's last words still hung thick in the air, pressing against the silence between them.
Gray had not spoken.
He stood motionless, his fingers curled into tight fists, his breathing slow and deliberate—too controlled.
Cadi shifted, her hands gripping her knees, her own breath shallow, watching the way Gray's shoulders remained taut, his body as rigid as a coiled wire.
Callum exhaled, as if preparing himself for what came next.
"My mother—" His voice was careful now, softer. "She was... broken by it all. What my father did, what she believed about Aisling for all those years. She couldn't live with it anymore. And she wanted to make things right, even if it was too late."
Gray's eyes snapped up at that, but still, he said nothing.
Callum rubbed a hand over his face, the exhaustion settling deep into his bones.
"She asked me to find you," he admitted. "To tell you the truth."
A sharp breath escaped Gray, but it wasn't relief. It was something darker, sharper, more jagged.
"She wanted to meet with Aisling, to beg for forgiveness." Callum swallowed, shaking his head slightly.
Gray's jaw twitched, and for a moment, Cadi thought he might lash out, might finally say something—but he didn't.
Callum exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
"So I found you," he continued. "I specifically joined your hospital to bring me closer to you. And in spite of what my mother had said, in spite of everything, I didn't believe her."
His voice dropped, almost thoughtful.
"But I was curious."
Gray's head tilted slightly, as if the words didn't make sense to him.
Callum gave a small, hollow laugh, shaking his head.
"You had already left for Australia when I finally tracked you down. And so... I found Cadi instead."
Cadi felt a tightness in her chest, the way Gray's head lifted slightly at the mention of her name.
Callum glanced at her, his eyes full of guilt.
"At first, I thought I could use her. Get close to her. Maybe even seduce her—in my twisted mind ,it would've been a perfect revenge, wouldn't it?"
Gray's entire body locked, his knuckles going white, his shoulders snapping even straighter.
Callum sighed.
"But she was lovely."
He turned his gaze to Cadi now, the flicker of an old, tired regret in his expression.
"I thought she might be different, but I didn't expect how much she loved you."
Gray's eyes flickered—a minuscule movement, but Cadi noticed it.
Callum huffed a quiet, laugh, as if remembering.
"She would talk about no one else." His voice softened slightly. "It was always Gray this, Gray that. I realized, even if I wanted revenge, she wouldn't have seen me. Because all she could see was you."
Cadi looked down at her hands ,knowing it was true.
Callum sighed.
"So, I wormed my way into her life. And into yours."
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, his gaze distant, lost in memory.
"After a while, I told her part of the story. I made her promise not to tell you."
Gray flinched, but only slightly.
"And then your mother got sick."
Cadi glanced at Gray then, her stomach twisting.
Gray had always had a complicated relationship with Aisling. He loved her fiercely, possessively, but there had always been something unspoken between them—a quiet grief that neither of them ever fully addressed. Sometimes, Cadi thought he hated her.
Callum's voice dropped.
"I knew I had to see her before it was too late."
His fingers clenched, his voice thickening.
"My mother came to see her a month before she died. She wanted to say she was sorry. To beg her forgiveness. She was so alone."
A muscle jumped in Gray's jaw.
"And Aisling forgave us."
The words landed heavily, settling between them like a ghost.
For the first time, Gray blinked, really blinked, and Cadi could see the way his fingers curled tighter, like he was trying to keep himself together.
Callum sighed, shaking his head.
"Then Cadi got pregnant." He gave a wry, almost bitter chuckle. "And I wanted to delay telling you the truth a little longer."
Gray's head snapped up, his stare cold, razor-sharp.
Callum shrugged slightly, but his expression was serious.
"And then Tomos was born."
His voice softened.
"And I loved him."
Gray staggered slightly, barely perceptible, but Cadi saw it.
Callum's voice thickened.
"I was worried, Gray."
He let out a slow, shaking breath.
"I was worried you'd hate me."