Rejected: A love story

Chapter 180: Home

Nathan drove back to the house fast. He didn’t care about the speed limit or the office. His mind was only on one thing: the boy’s birthmark and the driver’s story about the hospital. If the boy was a Keith, and if Fiona had been stolen, then he had been living a nightmare while his family was out there somewhere.

When he reached the house, he parked the car and took a deep breath. He had stopped at a store on the way and bought a big bag of toys and a tub of expensive chocolate ice cream. He wanted to look like a man who was just happy, not a man who was uncovering a giant conspiracy.

He pushed the front door open. The house was quiet, smelling like the ginger bread Viktoria had made earlier. He saw Mateo sitting on the rug in the living room, surrounded by some old papers he had found in a drawer. The boy was trying to fold them into airplanes, his little brow furrowed in concentration.

Nathan felt a lump in his throat. He dropped the bags on the sofa and walked over. He didn’t hesitate this time. He knelt on the floor and pulled Mateo into a big hug. He held the boy close, feeling the small heart beating against his chest. It wasn’t the hug of a stranger or a "kind uncle." It was the hug of a father who had finally realized he was holding his own son.

"Woah, Uncle Nathan!" Mateo laughed, surprised by the sudden squeeze. "You’re crushing my toy!"

Nathan laughed, a real laugh that reached his eyes for the first time in years. He pulled back and ruffled the boy’s hair. "Learning big words already,huh?"

"Well, sorry about that, little man. I’m just having a very good day."

Viktoria walked into the room, wiping her hands on a cloth. She stopped dead when she saw them. She remembered how cold and mean Nathan had been that morning, and seeing him on the floor laughing with her son made her feel confused.

"Nathan?" she asked, her voice cautious. "You’re back early. Is everything okay?"

Nathan stood up, giving her a wide, bright smile. He looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. "Better than okay," he lied smoothly. "That contract I was worried about? It just went through. It’s a huge win for the company. I realized I was being a jerk this morning because I was stressed, and I wanted to come back and make it up to you both."

He grabbed the bags from the sofa. "I bought ice cream. And some new trucks for Mateo."

Mateo’s eyes lit up. "Trucks! Can I see?"

Nathan handed a shiny red fire truck to the boy, and Mateo immediately started running it across the floor with loud "vroom" noises.

Viktoria watched Nathan, her head tilted to the side. "You seem... different," she said.

Nathan walked over to her. He didn’t stop until he was standing right in front of her. He looked down at her face, noticing the tiny details he had ignored before—the way her eyes crinkled when she was curious, the shape of her lips. He knew now that the "Viktoria" face was a mask made by a doctor, but the soul behind it was the one he loved.

"I’m sorry, Viktoria," he said, his voice soft and sincere. "For this morning. For being cold. I was struggling with things I couldn’t explain, but I’m over it now. I want us to have a good evening. No more fighting. No more ’Ice King’."

Viktoria felt her heart flutter. She didn’t know why he had changed so fast, but she liked this Nathan much better than the one who had run into the woods the night before. "I accept your apology," she said, a small smile appearing on her face. "And the ice cream helps."

"Let’s eat it now before it melts," Nathan said.

They went into the kitchen. Nathan played the part of the happy businessman perfectly. He scooped the ice cream into bowls and sat at the table with them. He watched Mateo eat, his heart swelling every time the boy made a mess on his chin. He kept thinking about what the driver said—how she was abandoned at the hospital. He wanted to scream at the world for what they did to her, but he kept his face calm.

"So, the contract is done?" Viktoria asked, taking a bite of her ice cream.

"Signed and sealed," Nathan lied. He reached across the table and briefly touched her hand. "Which means I can spend more time focusing on... other things. Like making sure you and Mateo are comfortable here."

"We are," she said, looking at him intently. "But Nathan, why do I feel like I’ve known you for a long time? Since I arrived, everything feels... familiar."

Nathan’s heart skipped a beat. She was starting to remember. He wanted to tell her everything right then. He wanted to tell her she was Fiona, his wife, and that Mateo was his son. But he remembered Alex’s warning. If he pushed too hard, she might break. And if Nikolai found out she was remembering, she would be in even more danger.

"Maybe we were just meant to meet," Nathan said, his voice low. "Some people are just connected, no matter where they come from."

Viktoria nodded, her eyes searching his. For a second, the kitchen felt very small again. The connection between them was so strong it was almost like a physical string pulling them together.

Mateo finished his ice cream and jumped down from the chair. "Can we play with the trucks now, Uncle Nathan?"

"You bet," Nathan said, standing up. He looked at Viktoria. "I’ll handle the toys. You just relax. You’ve been working hard all day."

As Nathan led Mateo back into the living room, Viktoria stayed at the table, watching them. She felt a strange sense of peace. For the first time since she landed in America, she didn’t feel like a stranger. She felt like she was home.

Nathan spent the next hour on the floor, pushing toy cars around with the boy. He was listening to every word Mateo said, looking for more clues, but mostly he was just enjoying being a father. He knew that the war was coming—he knew Nikolai and Natasha wouldn’t let them go easily but for this one afternoon, he was going to be happy.

He had his son. He had his girlfriend. And now, he only needed a plan to keep them forever.