Chapter One #2
When I walked over, he slowly crouched down in front of me, his eyes locked on mine like he was trying to memorize my face. And for the first time since meeting him… I felt scared.
Because the way he looked at me felt like goodbye.
But I loved him.
God, I loved him.
And no matter what anyone said, he was still my dad.
“Just remember that I love you no matter what happens, okay?” Colt said softly.
I nodded and threw my arms around him instantly, hugging him as tightly as I could. I hated seeing him upset, and the second I wrapped myself around him, a broken sound escaped his throat. A small sob he tried and failed to hold back, and when he pulled away, his bottom lip trembled.
“Thanks, Dad,” I whispered.
Colt gasped like I’d physically winded him.
The next second, he lost his balance completely and dropped onto the floor.
Dee was beside him straight away, while I stood there frozen, panic clawing up my throat. I didn’t understand what was happening, only that everyone looked devastated, and somehow I was in the middle of it.
“That’s the first time you’ve called me Dad,” Colt choked out.
I smiled uncertainly and nodded because… well, he was my dad and I thought calling him that might make him feel better.
Instead, he looked like his heart had shattered right in front of me.
Dee gently rubbed his back while Mum stood near the doorway, looking pale and sick. The entire room felt heavy, thick with tension and grief I couldn’t understand.
How was I supposed to fix something when nobody would even tell me what was broken?
“I’m sorry, Colt,” Mum whispered shakily. “I’ll tell Caleb when we get home.”
My stomach twisted instantly. “Tell me what, Mummy?”
Mum quickly ushered me toward the front door, away from Colt and Dee. “C’mon, baby. Let’s get you home. You’ve had a really big day.”
I looked back over my shoulder at Dad. He sat slumped on the floor beside Dee, looking completely wrecked, and something about it made panic rise inside me.
“Can’t we stay with Dad a little longer?”
At the word ‘Dad,’ Colt buried his face in his hands.
I stopped walking.
My chest tightened painfully.
Was it me?
Had I done something wrong?
I didn’t understand why everyone kept crying every time I spoke.
“No, honey. We need to go,” Mum said quietly, opening the front door.
“Mum, what’s happening?”
Her face crumpled. “Please, Caleb. Let’s go home and talk there.”
I pulled away from her grip, frustration bubbling up through my confusion. “No. Tell me now.”
“Caleb—”
“No!”
I started walking back toward the living room, desperate to get back to Colt…
To my dad.
“Caleb!” Mum rushed after me and grabbed my shoulders, spinning me around to face her. Tears streamed down her face now, and I knew whatever she was about to say was going to hurt.
Badly.
“Okay,” she whispered shakily. “But you’re not going to like this.”
Fear crawled down my spine.
“I just need you to know I love you more than anything.”
I frowned up at her. “Okay…”
She slowly crouched down in front of me. “Mummy made a mistake, Caleb.” The coldness in her voice made my stomach drop. “A really terrible mistake.”
“Well… fix it then,” I said quietly.
A broken little smile crossed her face before disappearing just as fast. “I can’t.”
My chest started pounding harder. “What did you do?”
She took a shaky breath. “You know how I told you Colt was your father?”
The entire world seemed to stop moving.
I nodded slowly.
“Well…” She looked down at the ground like she couldn’t bear to look at me. “I was wrong, baby.” Something inside me cracked. “Your Uncle Hux is your real father.”
The words barely registered at first, and I frowned, staring at her blankly, trying to make sense of what she’d just said.
“So…” My throat tightened painfully. “Colt isn’t my dad?”
She shook her head through tears.
“And Uncle Hux is?”
Another nod.
I felt sick, like all the air had been ripped out of my lungs.
The man I loved.
The man who held me when I was scared.
The man who made me feel safe.
Wasn’t my dad.
Meanwhile, the man who barely knew what to say to me apparently was, and I couldn’t understand how something that huge could be a mistake.
How could someone get something like that so wrong?
My eyes burned, and I couldn’t breathe properly.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head hard. “No.”
Because it was wrong.
It had to be wrong.
Colt was my dad.
I knew he was.
I loved him.
A strangled scream tore from my throat before I even realized it was coming, and I bolted toward the manor. “Dad!”
Mum grabbed me before I reached the front door, but I fought her with everything I had. “Let me go!” I screamed hysterically. “Dad!”
I didn’t care if people heard me.
I didn’t care about anything except getting back to my dad.
He always made things better.
Always.
And now everyone was trying to take him away from me.
“Caleb, stop!” Mum cried, struggling to hold onto me. “You’re going to make yourself sick.”
“I want my Dad!” I kicked and twisted wildly until she lost her grip for half a second, and I took off running again.
“Caleb!”
But my body was too weak.
Halfway to the front door, my legs gave out completely, and I hit the ground hard.
Pain exploded through me.
Mum reached me seconds later, scooping me into her arms while I sobbed so hard I could barely breathe, and I clung to her desperately, my entire body shaking.
Because for the first time since meeting Colter Slade…
I felt completely alone.
I finally had a dad.
The dad of my dreams.
And now he was being ripped away from me before I’d even had the chance to really know him. At my young age, I didn’t know how to survive that kind of pain.
“I wanna see him,” I cried between broken breaths.
Mum tightened her hold around me as she carried me toward the car. “You can’t, baby. He needs time, and so do y-you.” Her voice cracked. “Uncle Hux is your father, Caleb. He’ll take care of us. I promise.”
Her words sliced straight through me.
I didn’t want Uncle Hux.
I wanted Colt.
“I don’t want Uncle Hux!” I screamed so loudly my throat burned. “I want Colt!”
The sound echoed across the massive front yard, and part of me hoped Colt would come running outside, and that he’d scoop me into his arms and tell me everyone was wrong.
That he was still my dad.
“I know, baby boy,” Mum sobbed as she carried me the rest of the way to the car. “I’m so sorry.”
Sorry? That word meant nothing to me anymore.
“I want my daddy,” I whispered brokenly.
“I know, sweetheart. I know.”
By then, I was too exhausted to fight her anymore. My entire body hurt from crying so hard.
Mum buckled me into the back seat before closing the door gently, and I curled onto my side instantly, pressing my face against the seat while tears soaked the fabric beneath my cheek.
The drive back to London felt endless.
I cried almost the entire way.
Sometimes loudly.
Sometimes silently.
But every few minutes, the same words left my mouth like a prayer I hoped someone would answer. “I want Dad, Mummy.”
Mum never responded.
She just reached one hand behind her seat and rubbed my back while she cried quietly in the front of the car. And somewhere during that long drive home, something inside me hardened toward her.
Because she gave me the one thing I’d wanted my entire life…
Then tore it away just as quickly.
I never forgave her for that.
And truthfully?
I never will.