Luca couldn't breathe. The weight of the emotions pressing down on his chest was too brutal. From disbelief to joy to betrayal, they all crashed on him like an avalanche, leaving him breathless.His tie was definitely not helping him with the suffocation so he grabbed at it and furiously tugged to loosen it. And for what seemed like an eternity, he just stared ahead of him at nothing in particular, focusing on breathing and clearing his disconcerted mind.He had a son. With Skylar. They had a son. He had a two-and-a-half-year old baby he hadn't even seen before.He suspected it from the start when he found out about Austin. And yet despite the suspicion that had always been in his gut, nothing could've prepared him for this brutal truth because it came with the realization that Skylar had not just deliberately kept his son away from him for three years, she'd also lied to him every time a chance arrived for her to tell him.But it also came with the brutal realization of how grave his
“This again?” Skylar scowled at him, her face a mask of frustration. Deceptive frustration. “What the hell is wrong with you, Luca? Look, I don't know whatever your mum told you, but you've got to get it out of your head. Austin is not your son!”“Oh, do tell me, Skylar. Just what could my mum have told me?” He tipped his head sarcastically, his chest constricting at the lies she was still continuing to tell.“You know what? I can't deal with this. Leave me the hell alone, Luca.” She screamed and immediately turned to get back inside.But of course he wasn't going to allow her to do that. He grabbed her by arm, keeping her in place as the lid over his rage threatened to flip off.“I fucking know he's my son, Skylar. I have a paternity test to prove it!”That got her. Spinning around, she jerked her arm from his hold, her eyes widening. “What the hell are you talking about?”“This." Luca hissed through gritted teeth, reaching into the inner pocket of his tuxedo and pulling the envelope
Hello guys.So I've seen some complaints about me updating only once a day and I just want to clarify something.I write very long chapters. Some of my chapters can go up to 2800 words. And while other authors would rather divide that word count into two, I chose to publish it at once because of the cost of chapters on the app nowadays.When I divide the chapters into two like other authors do and publish 1400 words for each chapter, the app charges 35 coins for each, making it 70 coins. But when I publish the 2800 words in one chapter, the app only charges a maximum of 50 coins. I've been doing this to help you guys cut down on the cost of chapters but it seems like the complaints about me publishing only once a day is becoming too much. I can do what most authors do if that is what you guys prefer.And no, I don't plan to keep this book going on for too long. I'll be ending this soon. I just don't want to rush things though. I'm very grateful for the love and patience you guys have b
Several minutes after Luca had left, silence was still reigning in the room, the air thick with tension and unuttered thoughts. Skylar slowly made her way away from the door and sunk into one of the couches.For several minutes, she did nothing but stare at the floor, just where Luca had crumbled and broken down, her mind racing with all kinds of emotions, more conflicted than she'd ever felt in her life.“Wow!" It was Nicole who broke the tense silence.Skylar looked up to find her sister's mouth opened in wonder, and she was stunned to see tears shimmering in the eyes of her normally nonchalant little sister. “I don't... I don't think I've ever seen a man cry so hard.” She added with a wince.Skylar looked away and shut her eyes, willing the memory to recede from her mind, but like a malevolent parasite, it refused to go away. God, she'd never seen Luca so gutted and shattered.His sobs had been so gut-wrenching that it'd sent goosebumps scattering everywhere along her skin with the
Skylar didn't sleep a wink that night. She only forced herself out of bed when her mother knocked on her door to check up on her. After brushing her teeth, she went downstairs to put something in her stomach like her mother insisted on.They were still having breakfast when the doorbell rang. Skylar got up to go see who it was, needing an excuse to get away from her mother's stern insistence that she eat when she didn't have any fucking appetite.Her heart threatened to leap out of her chest when she opened the door to find Luca and Cornelia. While the woman looked somewhat neutral, her son had nothing but coldness in his eyes.She focused on Cornelia, expecting an outburst, for the older woman to rip into her for cruelly hiding her grandson, but Cornelia surprised her with a small smile.“Hello, Skylar. How are you doing?”Skylar blinked. “I'm fine.”An awkward pause, before Cornelia spoke again. “We came to see my grandson.”Skylar nodded, having already expected that. “Please come i
Cornelia ripped into Luca the moment the door closed behind them.“Luca Mathews, that was no way to speak to Skylar. You shouldn't have spoken to her like that!”Luca whirled around, glaring at her. “Oh yeah? How else was I supposed to speak to her? Fall at her feet and thank her for keeping my son away from me for three fucking years?”“You hurt her first, Luca.” His mum began to say.“That's beside the point mum. I've apologized for everything I did to her and I'm still trying hard to make up for it!” He scoffed as his chest ached anew. “What about her? Not a word, mum. Not a sorry. After keeping such a big thing from me, she hasn't even offered me a single apology!”“So your problem is that she hasn't yet apologized?” She jammed her hand on her hip. “Tell me, Luca. How long did it take you to apologize for everything you've done to her?”“I apologized the moment I found out the truth!” He bit out, glaring at her. “And she forgave you." His mother pointed out.“Well that's quite so
Alex knew something was wrong almost immediately Skylar opened the door to him. First was the fake smile she plastered on her face, and second, was her lukewarm response to his kiss which hadn't been so in a while.“You look radiant.” He complimented, hoping for a more tangible reaction.“Thanks.” She answered simply as she ushered him, and his unease shot up immediately.He told himself he was just overreacting as he followed her inside, but the response of everyone else as soon as he said hi was very telling.“Hi.” All three–Skylar's mum, her sister and Laura– said back.He was more surprised by Emily's reaction because normally she would say more than that and try to engage him in an animated conversation that would almost make him forget about Skylar's presence.Turning to Skylar, he asked quietly, “Is everything alright, babe?”Instead of answering, she looked towards her family in a wordless request, and without a word, they all began making their way out of the living room.Aft
The blaring sound of her alarm jolted Skylar awake. Not ready to get out of bed, she reached out and slapped it to shut it up. The alarm usually rang again after a thirty minute silence but it felt like only a minute before she was being jolted awake.Glaring at the offending device, she finally forced herself to sit up on the bed before she could be tempted to disobey its wake-up call. It was six o'clock now. She had to get ready for breakfast and work. Groaning, she carried herself out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a shower. Afterwards, she changed into casual clothes and headed out of the bedroom.Laura was already up so they prepared breakfast together. Just as they finished setting up the table, the doorbell rang. It was still early in the morning and that made Skylar grimace as she went to get it.Her heart leaped when she found Luca on her porch looking devilishly handsome in a body-fitting grey suit, a new, fitting haircut, and a well-trimmed lig