Chapter 5

NADIA’S POV

I froze the moment I turned and saw him standing there.

For a second, nothing moved, not me, not him, not even the air between us, like everything had paused just long enough for it to settle in properly. Colin stood at the door, looking at us, but not really at me, his focus locked somewhere else.

On him.

My chest tightened instantly. My hand moved without thinking, pulling him closer to me, my body shifting just enough to place myself between them. It wasn’t planned, it wasn’t controlled, it just happened, instinct taking over before I could think it through.

“What are you doing here?”

My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t soften it.

He didn’t answer right away. His gaze didn’t move, like he was still trying to understand what he was seeing, like none of this fit into whatever version of reality he had been holding onto.

I stepped forward slightly, enough to block his view properly this time.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

That got his attention.

His eyes lifted, finally meeting mine, but the confusion didn’t leave them. If anything, it deepened, like every second he stayed here made things worse instead of clearer.

“I didn’t know,” he said.

The words didn’t make sense.

“Know what?”

He didn’t answer directly. His gaze shifted again, just for a second, like he couldn’t help it.

That was enough.

“Don’t,” I said immediately. “Don’t look at him.”

Something in my tone made him pause, but it didn’t last.

“You followed me?” I asked.

“I got your address.”

“From who?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does.”

He didn’t respond, which told me everything I needed to know.

I let out a slow breath, trying to steady myself, but it wasn’t working. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this. Not before I had time to think, to prepare, to decide what he was allowed to know.

“You need to leave.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I need to understand what I’m looking at.”

My grip tightened slightly.

“You’re not looking at anything that concerns you.”

His expression shifted, something sharper moving under the confusion now.

“That’s not true.”

“It is,” I said, holding his gaze. “You walked away from this. You don’t get to come back and start asking questions.”

“I didn’t walk away,” he said. “I just don’t remember—”

“That doesn’t change what you did.”

Silence settled between us, heavier this time.

Behind me, I felt movement, small fingers tightening against my clothes, a quiet shift that reminded me exactly what was at stake. I didn’t look down. I didn’t need to.

“Who is he?” Colin asked.

The question came out more controlled this time, but it carried more weight.

I shook my head once. “That’s not your concern.”

“It is if—”

“It’s not,” I cut in. “You don’t get to stand there and act like you have a right to anything here.”

His jaw tightened.

“I’m not trying to take anything.”

“Then leave.”

“I can’t just ignore this.”

“You’ve ignored worse.”

That landed harder this time. I saw it in his face, in the way his expression shifted like something inside him recognized that truth even if he didn’t remember it.

“I don’t understand,” he said.

“I know.”

“No, you don’t,” he said, stepping forward slightly. “Because if you did, you wouldn’t be pretending this doesn’t matter.”

“Stop.”

He stopped.

Barely, but enough.

“Whatever you think this is,” I continued, keeping my voice steady, “you’re wrong.”

“Then tell me what it is.”

“I don’t owe you that.”

“You owe me the truth.”

A quiet sound came from behind me, small and uncertain, and my focus shifted instantly. I turned slightly, just enough to check, just enough to reassure without saying anything.

“I’m here,” I said softly, not looking away for long.

The tension in his grip eased slightly.

When I looked back at Colin, something had changed in his expression.

He had noticed.

Of course he had.

“You talk to him like…” he started, then stopped.

“Like what?”

He didn’t answer that.

Good.

“Get out,” I said again.

“I’m not leaving.”

“Then I’ll make you.”

“You won’t.”

That almost made me laugh.

“You don’t know me anymore,” I said.

“I’m starting to.”

“No, you’re not.”

His gaze dropped again, just for a second, but this time it stayed longer. He was looking past me, trying to piece something together from what little he could see.

I shifted again, blocking him fully this time.

“That’s enough.”

“I saw him,” he said.

“No, you didn’t.”

“I did.”

“You saw nothing.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is if I say it is.”

Silence, heavy, tight.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

I didn’t answer because that question didn’t deserve one.

“I would have—”

“You wouldn’t have,” I cut in immediately. “You didn’t see me. You didn’t hear me. You didn’t even notice when I stopped trying. Don’t stand there and act like this would have changed anything.”

His expression shifted again, something deeper this time, something closer to realization, but not complete.

Not enough.

“You don’t know that,” he said.

“I do.”

The quiet stretched again.

Behind me, I felt movement, a small shift as he pressed closer, like he could feel the tension without understanding it.

That was enough.

I stepped back slightly.

“Get out,” I said.

“Nadia—”

“Get out.”

He didn’t move, not right away.

His gaze dropped once more, slower this time, more deliberate, like he was trying to hold onto something before I took it away completely.

Then it lifted back to me.

“Tell me one thing,” he said.

I didn’t respond.

His voice didn’t change.

“Is he mine?”