Chapter 10 Father Finds Out
Richard's Shock
Evan knew the moment his father found out that something had gone terribly wrong.
It happened on an ordinary afternoon.
There had been no warning, no dramatic phone call, no argument leading up to it.
Evan was sitting in Nathaniel's study, reviewing work on his laptop while Nathaniel was in a meeting downstairs, when his phone began vibrating repeatedly.
The name on the screen made his stomach tighten.
Dad.
Evan answered.
"Hi, Dad."
There was silence on the other end.
Not the comfortable kind.
The kind that immediately told Evan something was wrong.
"Where are you?" Richard asked.
Evan closed his laptop.
"At Nathaniel's."
Another silence.
Then Richard's voice changed.
"You're at Nathaniel's house?"
Evan's heart sank.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Evan sat back.
"Dad—"
"Why are you living there?"
Evan knew.
Someone had told him.
Or he had discovered something.
Either way, the time for secrecy was over.
"I'm going to explain."
"Are you pregnant?"
Evan closed his eyes.
The question was so direct that for a moment he couldn't speak.
"Yes."
Richard inhaled sharply.
"How long?"
"A few months."
"And the father?"
Evan's throat tightened.
He had imagined this conversation many times.
None of those versions had prepared him for actually having it.
"Nathaniel."
The silence that followed was longer than the first.
Evan could hear his father's breathing.
Then Richard said, "Nathaniel Cross?"
"Yes."
"My Nathaniel?"
Evan flinched at the wording.
"He's not yours."
"I know that."
Richard's voice was suddenly hard.
"He's my oldest friend."
"I know."
"He has known you since you were a child."
Evan looked down.
"I know."
"How long has this been happening?"
Evan hesitated.
That hesitation told Richard everything.
"How long, Evan?"
"Before the pregnancy."
Richard's voice became dangerously quiet.
"You were involved with him before you found out you were pregnant?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Not long."
"That isn't what I asked."
Evan swallowed.
"Several weeks."
Richard cursed under his breath.
Evan closed his eyes.
He had expected anger.
He hadn't expected the pain beneath it.
"Did he pursue you?"
"No."
"Did he pressure you?"
"No."
"Did he use his money?"
"No."
"His position?"
"No."
Richard's questions came quickly.
Evan understood why.
His father wasn't only angry.
He was trying to determine whether his oldest friend had taken advantage of his son.
And despite everything, Evan couldn't fault him for wanting to know.
"Nathaniel didn't force me into anything," Evan said firmly. "I chose him."
"You're twenty-three."
"I know."
"He's forty-one."
"I know."
"He's eighteen years older than you."
"I know."
"He has more money than you could spend in a lifetime."
"I know."
"He has known you since you were a boy."
"I know."
Richard's voice cracked slightly.
"Then how could you do this?"
Evan felt anger rise inside him.
Not because his father was worried.
Because Richard was talking as though Evan had betrayed himself.
"I didn't do anything wrong."
Richard went silent.
Evan continued.
"I'm an adult. I made a decision about my own life."
"You made a decision about your life with a man I trusted."
"That doesn't make the decision yours."
Richard's breathing changed.
"You don't understand what you're saying."
"I understand exactly what I'm saying."
"You think this is just about two adults choosing each other?"
"It is."
"No, Evan."
Richard's voice was heavy with emotion.
"This is about power."
Evan looked down.
"I've thought about that."
"Have you?"
"Yes."
"And you still chose him."
"Yes."
Richard didn't answer.
Evan could imagine him pacing.
His father always paced when angry.
"I trusted Nathaniel," Richard finally said.
Evan's anger softened.
"I know."
"I trusted him around you."
"I know."
"I thought of him as family."
Evan closed his eyes.
There it was.
The real wound.
Richard wasn't simply angry about the age gap.
He felt betrayed by Nathaniel.
He had trusted Nathaniel for years.
He had believed that trust included his son.
Evan understood why the discovery felt like a violation to him, even though Evan didn't believe he had been violated.
"Dad," Evan said quietly, "I understand why you're hurt."
"Do you?"
"Yes."
"But you don't agree."
"No."
Richard exhaled sharply.
"At least you're honest."
"I've never lied to you about wanting my own life."
"You didn't tell me about him."
"Because I knew you would react like this."
Richard's voice softened.
"You should have told me."
"Maybe."
"Not maybe."
Evan looked toward the window.
"I wasn't ready."
"For what?"
"For everyone deciding what I should do."
Richard was silent.
Evan continued.
"I knew you would tell me the age difference was wrong. I knew you'd worry about Nathaniel's money. I knew you'd think he had too much influence over me."
"Because he does."
"He doesn't control me."
"You're living in his house."
"Because I chose to."
"You're carrying his child."
"Because I chose to keep the pregnancy."
"And you're in love with him."
Evan froze.
Richard's voice was quieter now.
"Are you?"
Evan looked down.
He could have avoided the question.
Instead, he answered honestly.
"Yes."
The silence that followed was painful.
Richard finally spoke.
"I don't know what to do with that."
"Neither did I at first."
"You should have come to me."
"I know."
Evan's voice softened.
"But I needed to understand it myself before I could explain it to anyone else."
Richard sighed.
"I still don't understand it."
"You don't have to."
"I think I do."
Evan looked toward the door.
Nathaniel was still downstairs.
Evan wondered whether he had heard anything.
Richard continued.
"He is almost twenty years older than you."
"Eighteen."
"That doesn't make it better."
"I'm not saying it does."
"Then why him?"
Evan thought about the question.
Because he made me feel seen.
Because he listened.
Because he challenged me.
Because he didn't treat me like a child when I demanded to be treated like an adult.
Because somewhere between all the arguments and all the fear, I fell in love with him.
Evan couldn't say all of that.
Not yet.
So he said the simplest truth.
"Because I love him."
Richard's voice became quiet.
"And he loves you?"
Evan hesitated.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because he's shown me."
Richard gave a bitter laugh.
"I don't know whether that makes me feel better or worse."
Evan understood.
"I know."
Richard sighed.
"I need to speak to him."
Evan's stomach tightened.
"Please don't turn this into a fight."
"I can't promise that."
"Dad."
"I'm angry."
"I know."
"I trusted him."
"I know."
Richard's voice broke slightly.
"And I feel like I wasn't protecting you."
Evan closed his eyes.
"You don't have to protect me from a choice I made."
"That's what fathers do."
"Sometimes fathers have to trust their children too."
Richard didn't answer.
Evan continued.
"I know you see me as your son. I know part of you will always think you need to protect me."
"Of course I do."
"But I'm not a child anymore."
"I know."
"I need you to believe that."
Richard was silent for several seconds.
"I don't know if I can today."
Evan's eyes stung.
"Then take time."
"Are you staying with him?"
"Yes."
"You're serious about this?"
"Yes."
"Even knowing how I feel?"
Evan swallowed.
"Yes."
Richard exhaled slowly.
"Then I need to meet you both."
Evan's stomach tightened.
"Okay."
"I'll come tomorrow."
"All right."
Richard ended the call.
Evan lowered the phone.
For several seconds, he sat completely still.
Then he heard footsteps.
Nathaniel appeared in the doorway.
He looked at Evan's face and immediately understood something had happened.
"Your father?"
Evan nodded.
"He knows."
Nathaniel went still.
"Everything?"
"Yes."
Nathaniel walked into the room.
"What did he say?"
"He was angry."
Nathaniel's jaw tightened.
"At you?"
"At both of us."
"I'll speak to him."
Evan stood.
"Not yet."
Nathaniel looked at him.
"He wants to meet us tomorrow."
Nathaniel nodded slowly.
"I'll be there."
Evan reached for his hand.
Nathaniel looked down at their joined fingers.
"I'm not sorry," Evan said.
Nathaniel's eyes lifted.
"I don't mean I'm not sorry that he's hurt."
"I understand."
"I'm not sorry for choosing you."
Nathaniel's expression softened.
"I know."
Evan squeezed his hand.
"But I understand why he's angry."
Nathaniel nodded.
"He trusted me."
"Yes."
Nathaniel looked away.
"I knew this day would come."
Evan stepped closer.
"So did I."
Nathaniel's hand tightened around his.
Neither man knew what Richard would say the next day.
Neither knew whether years of friendship could survive what had happened.
But Evan knew one thing.
He wasn't going to apologize for being an adult who had made a choice.
He could acknowledge his father's pain without surrendering his own agency.
He could understand Richard's fear without accepting that fear as proof that his relationship was wrong.
And he could love Nathaniel without pretending the age difference, the history, and the complicated trust between their families didn't matter.
Those things were real.
So were his feelings.
Evan looked at Nathaniel.
"My father may never forgive you."
Nathaniel's expression remained calm, but Evan could see the worry beneath it.
"I know."
"He may never understand us."
"I know."
Evan moved closer.
"But I'm not going to apologize for loving you."
Nathaniel looked at him for a long moment.
"Neither am I."
Evan rested his head against Nathaniel's shoulder.
For the first time, the secret they had protected was no longer theirs alone.
Richard knew.
Tomorrow, they would have to face the consequences.
And Evan knew the conversation would be painful.
But he also knew he was done allowing other people to decide what his life meant.
He could respect his father's hurt.
He could listen to his fears.
He could acknowledge the history between Richard and Nathaniel.
But he would not apologize for being twenty-three, making his own choices, and loving the man he had chosen.
Not even for his father.
The Accusation
Nathaniel knew Richard would be angry.
What he hadn't expected was how quiet the anger would be.