“Mom,” I whispered, my voice choked with tears. “Dad.”
My mother let out a sob and pulled me into her arms. I hugged her back tightly, feeling like I was home again.
“Oh, Caitlin,” she cried. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Mom,” I said, my own tears falling.
My father stepped forward and wrapped his arms around both of us. “We’re so glad you’re here,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
I pulled back and wiped my eyes. “There’s someone I want you to meet,” I said, taking Thomas’s hand and pulling him forward. “This is Thomas.”
Thomas gave my parents a shy smile. “Hi. I’m Thomas.”
My mother dropped to her knees and pulled Thomas into a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you, Thomas,” she said. She pulled back and looked him over. “You’re even more handsome than your mother said you were.”
Thomas blushed and looked down at his feet. My mother stood up and turned her attention to Zachary.
“And you must be Zachary,” she said, holding out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Zachary shook her hand. “You, too, Mrs. Moore.”
My father clapped Zachary on the shoulder. “Please, call us Mark and Sarah.”
Zachary smiled. “Then you should call me Zachary.”
My mother smiled. “Why don’t you all come inside? We can catch up in the living room.”
We followed my parents into the house, and Thomas’s eyes widened as he looked around. “Wow, your house is really big,” he said.
My mother laughed. “Well, it’s not that big,” she said. “But we like it.”
We made our way into the living room and sat down. My parents bombarded us with questions, wanting to know everything about how we’d met and what we’d been up to for the past few years.
As we talked and laughed, I couldn’t help but think about how much had changed. Four years ago, I had been so scared and alone. But now, I had a beautiful family, and I was exactly where I was meant to be.
I glanced over at Zachary and smiled. He smiled back, taking my hand in his and giving it a squeeze.
Yeah, I thought to myself. This is exactly where I’m meant to be.
I stared down at the article in the newspaper, my heart racing.
“CEO’s Secret Love Child,” the headline read.
My mind was reeling as I read through the article. It was all there – how Zachary and I had met, how we had hidden the fact that Thomas was Zachary’s son from him for four years. And the worst part was, there were pictures. Pictures of Zachary and me at the restaurant the night we’d told him the truth, pictures of Thomas.
How did they get these? I wondered. Did someone follow us?
I felt sick as I read the article over and over again, the words blurring together on the page. This was a disaster. I couldn’t believe it.
I looked over at Thomas, who was sitting at the table, coloring. He looked up at me and smiled, oblivious to what was going on.
“Hey, Mama,” he said. “Look what I’m coloring.”
I forced a smile. “It looks great, baby,” I said. I walked over and knelt down beside him, taking the picture from his hand. “Who is this?” I asked.
Thomas pointed to the figure with yellow hair. “That’s you,” he said. Then he pointed to the figure next to it. “And that’s Daddy.”
I smiled, feeling tears prick the corners of my eyes as I looked at the picture of our little family.
“Mama, why are you crying?” Thomas asked, putting his crayon down and putting his arms around me.
I hugged him back tightly. “I’m just really happy,” I said.
Thomas pulled back and looked at me skeptically. “Happy tears?” he asked.
I nodded, wiping my eyes. “Yeah, happy tears.”
Thomas smiled. “I like it when you’re happy, Mama.”
“I like it when I’m happy, too,” I said, pulling him in for another hug.
We stayed that way for a long moment. Finally, I pulled back and stood up.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” I asked Thomas.
Thomas nodded excitedly. “Yeah!”
I smiled and scooped him up in my arms, tickling him as we made our way into the living room. He squealed with laughter, and I couldn’t help but laugh, too.
I set him down on the couch and grabbed the remote, scrolling through our options. Finally, I stopped on one of Thomas’s favorite movies.
“Is this okay?” I asked him.
Thomas nodded enthusiastically. “Can we watch it right now?”
I laughed. “Sure, we can watch it right now.”
I started the movie and sat down on the couch next to Thomas. He immediately curled up against me, and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close.
As I watched the movie, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. Someone had sold our story to the press. But who? And how had they gotten those pictures?
I thought back to the night at the restaurant. We had been seated in the back, and it had been pretty quiet. But it was still a public place.
Then I thought about the park. We had gone there a lot over the past few weeks. It was always pretty crowded.
But still, it didn’t explain how they had gotten pictures of Thomas. The park was one thing, but they wouldn’t have had any reason to take pictures of him.
Unless someone was following us.
I felt a chill run down my spine at the thought. Was someone following my son? The thought made me feel sick.
I looked down at Thomas, who had fallen asleep in my arms. I ran my fingers through his hair, feeling a surge of protectiveness.
I would do anything to keep him safe, I thought to myself. Anything.
The next day, Zachary took me out for lunch again. But this time, the paparazzi found us.