Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 85: Chapter 85

Lane watched her son while he was busy coloring his new book. She couldn’t help but reach out and stroke his hair. When she did, he looked up at her.

"What is it, Mommy?" he asked as their eyes met.

She just shook her head. "Nothing, honey. Just keep doing what you’re doing," she told him.

He flashed a smile before going back to his coloring.

I’m so sorry, Calvin, she apologized to him silently. I’m sorry your Daddy is standing right in front of you and I still haven’t told you who he is.

Lane never expected the two of them to run into each other at the mall. She had no idea Ava would take him there when she asked for permission to take him out for the day. And out of all the places they could have gone, they ended up at the exact same mall where she and Ethan were.

Her head was spinning with a whirlwind of emotions the moment they met. She hadn’t known what to do. She wanted to pull her kid away, but she held back because she knew he’d wonder why. She knew her son. He wouldn’t just let it go without asking a million questions.

She also didn’t see Calvin’s reaction to Ethan’s tears coming. Calvin wasn’t usually like that with strangers.

He didn’t just go around hugging people he didn’t know. But the second he saw Ethan crying, he reached out. She couldn’t help but think there was some kind of biological pull he felt toward Ethan. Maybe he could just feel the connection to his father.

Seeing that felt like a heavy hand was squeezing her heart, making it hard to even breathe.

She felt terrible for denying them the chance to actually know each other.

She’d nearly panicked when Calvin asked Ethan how he knew his name. Before Ethan could get a word out, she jumped in.

Instead of introducing him as his father, she told him Ethan was just an uncle. She caught the flash of pain on Ethan’s face the moment she said it.

Those thoughts were cut short when her doorbell rang. She stood up to see who was outside her condo.

Her eyes went wide when she opened the door to find Ethan, and he wasn’t alone. His friend Adam was with him.

Lane was baffled as to how Ethan even found her place. Then again, she wasn’t that surprised since he’d been acting like a total stalker lately. He probably followed them home earlier. Her confusion turned into a frown when she saw Adam holding up a slumped, stumbling Ethan.

"Is he wasted?" she asked Adam. Her expression stayed cold as she looked at Ethan.

"Yeah," Adam replied, making her scowl deepen.

"Why did you bring him here? Shouldn’t you have taken him back to his place?" she snapped.

She noticed Adam scratching his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Lane. Ethan wouldn’t shut up about being brought here," he explained.

She let out a long, heavy breath. "Take him home, Adam," she insisted.

Adam sighed too. "Look, I—"

He didn’t finish his sentence because Ethan looked up at her. His cheeks were flushed, and he was clearly hammered.

The second he saw her, a grin spread across his face.

"L-lane," Ethan slurred her name. Before she knew it, he let go of Adam and took a shaky step toward her, closing the gap.

He threw his arms around her in a hug. She almost wiped out when he slumped his full weight against her, but she managed to catch her balance just in time.

"Ethan, come on, let’s go," Adam said, trying to pry him off, but Ethan just gripped her tighter.

"No. I’m staying here," he muttered, shrugging off Adam’s hand.

Adam scratched his head again. "He’s all yours now, Lane."

He didn’t even wait for her to argue. He just turned around and bolted.

Lane’s jaw dropped. "Wait!" But Adam acted like he didn’t hear a thing and disappeared.

"Damn it!" she cursed under her breath. She had no choice but to haul Ethan inside the condo.

She was swearing to herself because of how heavy he was.

"Mommy, who’s that?" Calvin asked after a minute. Before she could even answer, Calvin was right there, peeking at her guest.

"Mommy, is that Uncle Ethan?" Calvin was clearly great with faces since he’d only met the guy once but recognized him instantly.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Is he sick, Mommy?"

She nodded. "Kind of."

"Why, Mommy? Does he have a problem?"

"I... I don’t know, baby," she told her son. She eventually managed to get Ethan onto the sofa. When she laid him down, he just groaned, his eyes staying shut.

"Calvin, stay here for a second, okay? Mommy’s going to grab a washcloth and some water," she told him. Since Adam had dumped Ethan on her, she didn’t have much of a choice but to look after him.

Calvin nodded. She felt fine leaving the two of them alone for a second because she knew Ethan wouldn’t hurt him. She also figured Ethan was way too drunk to say anything risky to her son.

Once she got what she needed, she headed back to the living room, but she froze when she saw them talking.

"Why are you so sad, Uncle Ethan?" Calvin asked him. "Is that why you’re drinking?"

"I... I just really miss my son," Ethan told him.

Lane’s heart stopped. Who was he talking about? Was he talking about Tyler?

"Do you have a kid? Where is he, Uncle Ethan?" Calvin asked.

Before Ethan could answer, Lane started toward them. But before she could reach them ,Ethan spoke up. Her eyes went wide at his response.

"You, Calvin. You’re my son."

______________

"Huh?"

Lane heard Calvin question Ethan after hearing what he’d just said. Before Ethan could get another word out, she cut him off.

"Calvin, sweetheart," she called, getting his attention.

"Yes, Mommy?" he asked as their eyes met.

"Go to our room and wait for Mommy there, okay?" Lane said in her gentlest voice.

She bit her lower lip when she saw her son hesitate. He kept looking back at Ethan, and she could see the reluctance in his eyes.

Usually, whenever she gave him an order, he’d agree right away. This was different.

Finally, he shifted his focus back to her.

"Okay, Mommy," he said after a moment.

"Bye-bye, Uncle Ethan." Calvin waved to Ethan before grabbing his coloring book off the coffee table and heading out.

Once Lane was sure he was gone, she turned to Ethan with a heavy frown. "What do you think you’re doing?" she asked sternly.

"Why on earth would you tell Calvin he’s your child?"

Instead of answering, Ethan struggled to sit up. He was so drunk he could barely keep his eyes open, and his head kept drooping against the sofa’s headrest.

"Is... is there something wrong with what I did? He is my kid, isn’t he?" he mumbled, squinting at her.

"You’re going to confuse him, Ethan," she shot back. If she hadn’t walked in right then, there’s no telling what else Ethan would have said.

Calvin would have ended up with a million questions. He’d be wondering why his mom called Ethan Uncle while the man himself was claiming to be Daddy.

"Why are you keeping me from my own son, Lane?" Ethan asked, his eyes nearly closed. His voice was thick and slurred.

She opened and closed her mouth, stunned into silence.

"I love my son so much. I love my family," he continued.

Lane stood there, frozen. She could feel her heart start to race at his words, but she quickly reined her emotions in.

She couldn’t let herself hope. For all she knew, she and Calvin weren’t even the family he was talking about.

She remembered all too well the last time she’d assumed he loved her. She’d convinced herself because of the way he acted, but it had been a lie.

She especially remembered the night he came home wasted and kissed her, only for her to realize his mind was somewhere else entirely, thinking of Olivia.

Lane bit her lip as that familiar ache returned to her chest. She shook her head, trying to clear the memory. Ethan kept mumbling the same words over and over, "I love you," until his voice finally faded into snores.

She walked over to him and set down the basin she was carrying. She took a damp cloth and began to wipe the sweat and grime from Ethan’s face.

She couldn’t believe she was doing this for him again. She found herself staring at him, feeling awkward even though he was fast asleep.

Why is it still you? she wondered silently.

Why do I still love you when it hurts this much?

Her eyes began to well up, but she blinked the tears away. She hurried through the rest, wiping only his face and neck.

She pointedly avoided the rest of his body because she didn’t want to look at him. When she was finished, she grabbed the basin and turned to leave.

She’d only taken two steps when he spoke again.

"I love you so much..."

She kept walking. Even in a drunken sleep, he was still professing his love for Olivia and Tyler. But then she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the next names.

"I love you both so much, you and Calvin, Lane."

She whipped around to look at him, but his eyes were still tightly shut. Her heart was beating erratically. Had she heard that right? Did he really just say he loved her?

She stood there for five minutes, barely breathing, waiting for him to repeat it. But the only sound in the room was his heavy snoring. She took a deep breath and headed into the bedroom.

She found Calvin sitting in the middle of the bed, clearly waiting for her.

She gave him a small smile and sat on the edge of the mattress.

"Mommy?" he called out.

Lane patted the spot next to her. Calvin immediately understood and scrambled over to her. She helped him get settled.

"Yes, baby?"

"Mommy, why did Uncle Ethan say I’m his son?"

Lane was speechless. This was exactly what she’d been dreading. Calvin was smart, and he wasn’t going to let those words go. She had no idea how to explain it to him.

Luckily, her phone started ringing. It was Ava. Lane felt a wave of relief at the timely interruption.

"Calvin, I have to take this. It’s your Auntie," she said. After he nodded, she stepped out of the room.

She had a feeling she knew what Ava was going to say, and she didn’t had a feeling she knew what Ava was going to say, and she didn’t want Calvin overhearing it.

"Hello?" she said, picking up.

"I am so sorry, Lane," Ava blurted out. "I really had no clue you were going to be at the mall."

"It’s okay, Ava," Lane replied. She couldn’t bring herself to blame her friend.

"Maybe it was just time for the father and son to meet."

"Father and son?" Ava joked. "Don’t you mean uncle and nephew? Sounds like Ethan is stuck in the Daddy Zone."

Lane shook her head at the joke. "It was just an impulsive reaction, Ava," she sighed.

She heard Ava take a deep breath on the other end. "Look, Ethan knows his son is with you now. You should probably expect him to be hanging around a lot more."

"I figured as much," Lane replied. She knew Ethan would want to see Calvin, but she never expected things to escalate this fast, especially with him passed out on her sofa right now.

They talked for a bit longer, and once she hung up, she went back to check on her son. She sighed with relief when she saw he had already fallen asleep.

She leaned over, tucked the blanket around him, and gently kissed his forehead.

"I’m so sorry, Calvin," she whispered.

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