Chapter 150

Lucian’s POV

“It’s not possible,” I said.

Mom pressed her lips hard together before asking me slowly, “Are you sure? The boy especially looks just like you.”

“A coincidence,” I said. It had to be.

Because if it wasn’t, that meant that the night of pleasure I had shared with Aria a few months before the divorce hadn’t been a dream. And if that was true, that meant that the deadbeat father I’d been accusing of neglecting his children, all this time, had been me.

That night…

Sheila had been making impossible demands and I was so tired of them, I needed a release.

I had never been a big drinker, only drinking socially and never in excess. But that night had been different. The drinks went down smooth, one after the other, and the more I forgot Sheila and the other stressors in my life, the more I remembered – and lusted for – my wife.

Everything had seemed so simple in those drunken moments. I’d gone home, went straight to Aria’s room, and climbed into bed with her.

I remembered the noises she made, the soft moans and coos. She had been putty under my hands and mouth, pliant in a way that I’d never experienced before. In the past, our sex had been somewhat awkward, more a necessity than a desire.

But this time had been different. I opened my heart to her and gave her everything. And in return, she had given everything right back.

We’d made passionate love all night until we both were spent. Then, when she was fast asleep, sated beside me, I had slipped out of bed and returned to my own room.

In the morning, I recalled the night before as a pleasant dream. Aria hadn’t said a word about it. She didn’t act differently at all, so neither had I. Any doubts I had about it being a dream vanished when she continued to treat me the same, almost blending into the background of my life back then.

So much time had passed, that I had nearly forgotten it.

“Do you have a calendar?” I asked Mom.

“In the kitchen,” she said.

I moved there, with her following me, and found the calendar pinned to the refrigerator with a thick magnet.

The days of the week were different but the dates would have been the same from six years ago. I flipped forward, then counted the weeks.

Everything lined up perfectly.

The night of what I thought was a dream, discovering Dr. A was pregnant, the kids’ birthday…

Everything matched a specific timeline.

Aria could have been having an affair, I supposed, but that line of thinking never truly felt accurate. She was angry with me, rightfully so, but even on her most furious day, I could not truly imagine her cheating. Especially after reading all she had written in that diary.

I felt like such a fool now, and a treacherous one at that, for ever thinking her capable of being unfaithful, no matter how much I might have deserved it.

Aria had been so dedicated to me. I cringed now, remembering that morning after our night of passion, when I had treated her like nothing had happened. No wonder she had done the same! She likely had been waiting to follow my lead, as I was the one who had went to her.

My self-loathing continued to stir within me. I felt truly awful, the worst kind of cad.

I had thought her a cheater. I hadn’t known she was Dr. A.

I had inadvertently abandoned my kids, my family, by letting her slip away.

My stomach twisted so fiercely, I felt as if I might be sick.

“Lucian?” Mom asked. Her hand was back on my shoulder. I leaned into her motherly touch, needing it now. A mother’s love was unconditional. That was my only saving grace in this moment when I felt like such a colossal screw up.

“Those are my kids,” I said.

“I believe they are, yes,” she said.

“Did Aria tell you?”

“Not in so many words,” Mom said. “But she does bring the kids over as much as she can, and she didn’t stop me from giving them some family keepsakes. She doesn’t have to say, truly. A grandmother knows her grandkids.”

“I’m sorry, Mom… If I had any idea…” I rubbed my forehead. “I must be the world’s biggest oaf.”

“No,” Mom said, quickly coming to my defense. “Aria was more careful with you than she was with the rest of us. She didn’t want you to know, more than anyone. But now you do know. You can’t handle the way things were in the past, but you can decide what to do with your future.”

I sat with her words, let them sink down inside of me. I could choose my future… What kind of future would that be?

“You didn’t know you were the father of those kids,” Mom said. “But now you do. So, knowing that. What do you do?”

“I go to Aria,” I said, almost on instinct. “I find out the truth, and I go from there.”

“Be kind to her,” Mom said. “She had her reasons for not telling you.”

I appreciated Mom coming to Aria’s defense, but truly I wasn’t angry. I knew how terrible I had been back then, how unattached and cold. I could not blame her for expecting I might treat the children the same.

I also felt some measure of relief. All this time I had been angry at some unknown, wanting to tear apart the whole world to find the person who had wronged Aria and those kids.

Now, I knew who it was. I didn’t have to travel the world.

It was me.

I stayed with Mom and Dad a bit longer, but I was clearly distracted.

“Go,” Mom said, smiling. “We’ll be here another day.”

With her assurance, I ran out of the house, entered my car, and drove straight over to Cathy’s.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived there, or if they’d even be home. Though, with how it was almost evening, I suspected they would be. It had to be nearing the kids’ bedtime.

Parking out front of the house, I took a moment to breathe deeply and collect myself. The revelations were almost too much to handle. I still found myself doubting them in a way, because I didn’t think I could be so lucky.

Aria was already my heart and soul, whether she returned those feelings or not. Knowing that her kids might also be my kids… It felt like a dream come true, too fantastical to be real.

I wasn’t worthy of good things like that.

I had to go to the source to find out the truth.

Exiting my car, I walked up the sidewalk to the front door and pressed the doorbell. I could hear it chime from within, just as I heard a pair of footsteps approach.

Aria herself opened the door, then startled when she saw me. “Lucian? What are you doing here?”

In my mind, I handled this situation with poise and grace befitting an Alpha.

In reality, I just asked bluntly and quickly, unable to contain the words anymore, “Aria, am I the father of those kids?”