The millionaire CEO accidentally saw his ex… with triplets who looked just like him.
Facing the Truth
Scarlet stepped outside first, her movements cautious and careful. Aiden followed, his mind spiraling. The restaurant door shut, muting the warmth inside. Outside, the air felt sharper and heavy.
They stood near the sidewalk, out of view from the windows. Scarlet crossed her arms tightly. Aiden looked at her face, memorizing the eyes he used to know. She looked more grounded, reflecting years of survival.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Scarlet blinked once, slowly.
“Because I was terrified,”
She said.
“Of you, of your world, of how fast everything was moving when I found out.”
He clenched his jaw.
“Terrified of what exactly? That I wouldn’t want them?”
“No,”
She said quickly.
“I knew you would. I knew you’d be there and you’d take responsibility. That’s what scared me the most.”
Aiden was caught off guard.
“So you left because you thought I’d care too much?”
Scarlet exhaled.
“I didn’t know how to survive being consumed by your life. I knew they’d grow up under a microscope. I couldn’t do that to them or to you.”
“You were on the edge of something huge, Aiden. I didn’t want to be the weight that slowed you down.”
He shook his head.
“You would never be a weight. You didn’t even give me the chance to choose.”
“I didn’t want to be your burden,”
She replied.
“I wanted to protect them and myself too.”
“You protected them by keeping them from their father?”
“I protected them from becoming a story,”
She snapped.
“From being used as leverage by people who only care about your company. You don’t think I thought about this every day for three years?”
A long silence followed. Finally, Aiden’s voice softened.
“You don’t have to justify what you did right now. But I need to know one thing.”
She waited.
“Do they know who I am?”
“They know they have a dad,”
She swallowed hard.
“A good man. I wasn’t ready to bring you into their world until they were ready too.”
Aiden nodded with resolve.
“Well, I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Scarlet glanced through the window at the boys. Her voice was barely a whisper.
“I don’t know how to let you in, Aiden.”
“Then let me figure it out with you,”
He said. For the first time, she didn’t run.
The next morning, Aiden couldn’t focus on work. He ignored his assistant and board calls. He had missed their first steps and first words. The thought hollowed him.
He didn’t just want to meet them; he wanted to belong to them. By early afternoon, he was parked near her apartment. He saw her stepping outside with the boys bundled in jackets.
They were holding hands in organized chaos. Scarlet spotted him and walked toward him. The boys followed like ducklings.
“We’re going to the park,”
She said.
“You can walk with us if you want.”
He nodded gratefully. They walked in awkward silence while the boys ran ahead. One of the boys fell, and Aiden was faster than Scarlet to reach him.
“Hey,”
Aiden said softly, brushing off dirt.
“You okay, buddy?”
“I’m not a buddy,”
The boy pouted.
“I’m Liam.”
Aiden froze as Scarlet smiled. She identified Jake in red and Sam as the one who never listens.
“Hi, Liam,”
Aiden said.
“I’m your dad.”
“Really?”
He nodded. Liam wrapped his little arms around Aiden’s neck. It was a child’s instinct that undid him. He stayed crouched there even after Liam ran ahead. Something was beginning again.
