Chapter 22 Caleb
CALEB
“Hey, you free tonight?” Nyah asked over the phone one afternoon.
It had started in September, when Lucas insisted I come for dinner after work. Since then, the invitations came every so often—me staying for dinner and spending time long after Lucas had been tucked into bed.
When I had learned Lucas was her son, not her boyfriend, a weight lifted from my chest. I still couldn’t understand how I had missed something that big.
Then again, she rarely spoke about him. There were no photos of Lucas in her apartment or at the office, and even my father had never mentioned him.
It felt like a part of her life had been carefully folded away—and realizing that only made me want to know her more.
After dinner, we often sat talking. “Work is non-stop,” I told her one evening, cutting into the grilled chicken. “I’m using the same strategy there that I used at the hotel.” I glanced at her. “What you suggested—shadowing the staff.”
She listened with genuine interest, smiling in that quiet way she had. Every time she did, I felt oddly proud of myself. Not because I needed praise, but because her approval mattered. Somewhere along the way, she had become my benchmark.
The truth was, I enjoyed being with her and Lucas more than anything else in my life.
Going to church with them had felt unfamiliar but comforting. Walking into her old apartment had stirred questions about her past—how much she had endured, how much she still carried quietly. And every answer only seemed to lead to another question.
Although I was now working mostly at headquarters with my siblings, I still found reasons to stop by the hotel. At first, I told myself it was to check on operations. I didn’t fool myself for long.
I went to see her.
And the more time I spent with Nyah, the more I realized how different she was from anyone I had dated before. Being around her didn’t just make me feel good—it made me feel better about the man I was becoming.
I hadn’t dated seriously in years. My last relationship had ended five years earlier with Caroline, and even that had felt more like a family-approved arrangement than something real. We partied, we spent money, we moved through the same circles—but I had never felt anchored.
With Nyah, it was the opposite. I felt grounded.
The simple knowledge that she was single changed something fundamental inside me. Suddenly, the idea of asking her out—on a real date—felt both thrilling and terrifying.
I wanted to kiss her.
I wanted to hold her.
I wanted to touch her skin.
But more than anything, I wanted to know if she wanted that too.
Those thoughts followed me into my parents’ home at dinner one night.
“You know, you’ve mentioned Nyah’s name every time you’ve come over,” Cat teased, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Not just once, but like every time!”
“It’s true,” Sandra, Simon’s wife, agreed. “You loathed her when you first started working at the hotel.” She bit into a piece of bread and used the crust to point at me. “Now you’re singing her praises. What’s going on?”
“I think someone has a crush,” Sophia teased in a sing-song voice.
“No, it’s not like that.” My cheeks grew warm. “I just… admire her, that’s all.”
“That’s some admiration,” my father said, suppressing a smile. “It has heralded a new work ethic, less frivolous spending, and better relationships with family. Our household staff have even been asking about the change. Now I can tell them—it’s admiration.”
“A lot has changed in the past few months,” my mother said matter-of-factly, “and most of it for the better. Wherever Caleb finds his inspiration, we can all just be thankful that he is finding his way in life.”
“Thank you, Mother... I think,” I said, unsure how to take the lukewarm praise. “Nyah has inspired me to be a better person. And if I talk more about her, I’m sure that’s the reason why.”
My mother’s lips pressed into a thin line.
“Well,” Bruce, Sophia’s husband, added to the conversation. “The Pope inspires us all to be better, but you don’t hear us going on about him at every meal.”
They all laughed as heat spread to my ears and neck.
Everyone else quickly moved on, but my mother squinted at me while she silently picked at her food.
She clearly disapproved of Nyah—even as a topic of conversation, much less as a romantic interest. I couldn’t imagine why, as they hadn’t even met.
If I was going to ask her out, then perhaps I should introduce them.
.. but first, I needed to know whether she felt the same way about me.
In the months I had spent getting to know her, I had learned one thing very clearly—Nyah was guarded. Her walls were always up. She revealed almost nothing about herself unless it concerned Lucas. Everything else stayed carefully locked away.
I had never waited to tell someone how I felt, never overthought, never questioned my own emotions like this. The uncertainty was new and strangely exhilarating. I knew I felt something for her… something far beyond simple attraction.
Our relationship had taken a dramatic turn from the rocky beginning we had shared. The presence of Lucas had only deepened everything. My feelings had grown deeper, heavier, more rooted.
I wanted more.
I wanted to take us to the next level—but only when the moment was right.
But before any of that, I had to take the first step.
And for once in my life, I knew I would regret it far more if I did nothing at all.