Only His | (Book 1) 18+

eighteen

EMARA
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I was frozen on the sofa while Kade gave the small boy Reese's Puffs cereal, saying something that made him giggle. Once the boy was occupied with eating, Kade walked towards me and stepped behind the couch, rubbing my shoulders. I leaned back with a shaky sigh, feeling him kiss my forehead gently.

"How are you doing?" He asked me quietly, tilting my head up to look at him.

"I don't know," I whispered back. "How the hell am I supposed to react to the news that my ex-boyfriend got another woman pregnant and now that child is in our dining room?"

He sighed. "I don't know, if I'm being honest. Right now, though, we need to focus on the tiny elephant in the room who is eating my cereal."

I smiled, feeling him kiss my lips gently.

"You're strong enough to handle this, baby," he reassured me while moving his hand down to my stomach. "Plus, He's adorable. You can't turn away an adorable child."

I laughed, looking across the room to find him struggling to reach the box of cereal. I stood up and walked towards him, helping him back in his chair and grabbing the cereal.

"There we go," I mumbled and poured him another bowl.

"Thank you," his soft voice responded, making my heart squeeze.

I sat next to him. "So, what's your name?"

He looked up at me with his cheeks full of cereal. I grinned and wiped his lips.

"Hayden," he said, swallowing his food. "You're not going to throw me away, too, are you?"

My heart squeezed even more and I shook my head. "No, I'm not."

This kid was smarter than he appeared because of his age. He obviously had a clear sense of something so serious that was going on.

"How old are you, Hayden?" I asked next, wiping his mouth again.

"Five. Can... can I have some more?"

I glanced at his empty bowl and smiled, grabbing the box and pouring more into his bowl, then adding a bit more milk to it. So, not only did Tristan cheat on me and get another woman pregnant but he cheated on me when I was still in high school and got another woman pregnant while he was "taking classes" in college which was why he was always away.

God, I was naïve.

"You don't have any more family?" I asked after silence surrounded us for a moment.

He shook his head again. "It was me and mum before she..." he trailed off and began to eat his cereal again, making me frown. "She's not coming back?"

I didn't want to lie to the boy. Slowly, I nodded in agreement and Hayden nodded, sniffling and wiping his nose with his arm. When I extended my arms for him, he gladly crawled on my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck, his face buried in the crook of my neck. I could feel the tears staining my skin but he didn't make a sound, tightening his grip on my neck.

We stayed in this position for what felt like hours until I knew for sure that Hayden was sleeping. I picked him up and carried him with one arm, using my free one to grab the empty bowl, putting it in the sink. I made my way through the hall and turned to a guest room, opening the door and putting him in the giant bed. Hayden hugged one of the large pillows and wrapped himself around it, sighing before his body relaxed in his slumber.