His Heir, Her Secret - Chapter 12: Chapter 12
You are reading His Heir, Her Secret, Chapter 12: Chapter 12. Read more chapters of His Heir, Her Secret.
Isla’s POV
Leo’s laughter echoed down the hallway as he raced his toy car across the floor, his socks sliding against the polished hardwood. For a moment, everything felt… normal. As if the storm brewing in my chest didn’t exist. As if Lucien Wolfe hadn’t shattered my carefully constructed walls just by showing up and daring to care.
I stood in the kitchen doorway, arms folded, watching them. Leo and Lucien. My son and his father. They were sitting on the floor, completely unaware of the chaos they were creating inside me.
Lucien was trying—really trying. And Leo, the sweet boy he was, had already begun letting him in.
“He said I’m fast,” Leo said proudly when he caught me watching. “Faster than his car.”
Lucien smiled and raised an eyebrow at me. “He’s not wrong. Kid’s got reflexes.”
I gave a small, forced smile and walked to the kitchen counter, mostly to hide how shaken I still was. My emotions were tied in a thousand knots, and Lucien—being here, being him—was pulling on every one of them.
“Dinner will be ready in twenty,” I said, avoiding his eyes. “Leo, can you wash your hands?”
Leo dropped his car and bolted toward the bathroom without hesitation. That left me alone with the man I once swore I’d never see again.
“You’re mad I stayed,” Lucien said quietly.
“No.” I turned and met his gaze. “I’m mad that it’s this easy for you. To just… slide back in. Like we’re not standing on top of everything you broke.”
His jaw tightened. “You think this is easy for me?”
“You’re good at pretending things are fine. Always were.”
Lucien stepped closer, voice low and controlled. “I’m not pretending, Isla. I’m holding back. Because if I say everything I want to say, I won’t stop. And I think you’d rather I stay silent than tell you how badly I wanted to find you—for years.”
My throat tightened, but I didn’t give in. I couldn’t.
“You had your world, Lucien. I was never part of it.”
He took another step. “Then let me change that.”
Lucien’s POV
Dinner was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Leo kept the conversation flowing with stories about school, his favorite dinosaur, and a very serious ranking of cookie flavors. Isla was quiet. Guarded. But her eyes softened whenever Leo looked at her, and that gave me something to hold on to.
When Leo yawned halfway through his story about a fire drill, Isla stood.
“Time for bed,” she said, smiling at him. “Let’s get you into pajamas.”
Leo groaned dramatically, but he went. As Isla walked away with him, she glanced over her shoulder at me. “I’ll be back.”
The wait was long enough to remind me that this wasn’t my home. I had no right to be here. No claim. No guarantee.
But I wasn’t walking away again.
Isla returned after twenty minutes, her footsteps soft. She didn’t sit—just leaned against the wall across from me, arms folded.
“He asked me if you’d be here tomorrow.”
I stood. “Will I?”
“I told him I didn’t know,” she said. “Because I don’t.”
Her honesty stung, but it was fair.
“I want to be,” I said. “But I’m not going to force anything.”
Isla looked up, and I saw it—that flicker of uncertainty in her. The war between past pain and present hope. I wanted to touch her. To close the space between us and make her see that I wasn’t the same man. But she needed more than promises.
“You’re here now,” she said. “But that’s not the same as staying.”
Isla’s POV
I didn’t know why I let him in.
I’d told myself that if Lucien ever found us, I’d slam the door in his face. But now he was sitting in my living room, making my son laugh, making me remember things I’d spent years trying to forget.
And worse—he wasn’t the cold, ruthless man I remembered.
He was patient.
Soft, even.
He read Leo’s bedtime story tonight like he’d been doing it for years.
“You want to know what scares me?” I asked, folding my arms tighter. “Not that you’ll leave. But that you’ll stay long enough for Leo to love you. And then… you’ll disappear anyway.”
Lucien walked closer, carefully. “Then I’ll stay long enough to prove you wrong.”
I didn’t answer.
Because if I spoke, I’d cry. And I couldn’t cry in front of him—not again.
Lucien’s POV
I stayed that night—not overnight, but long enough to tuck Leo in and kiss his forehead. It felt foreign, that tiny moment. But right. As if something in me had found its missing piece.
When I left, Isla stood in the doorway. The wind caught her hair, and for a second, she looked exactly like the woman I used to dream about. The one who vanished before I could fix what I broke.
“Tomorrow?” I asked.
She hesitated.
Then: “We’ll see.”
It wasn’t a yes. But it wasn’t a no.
And for now, that was enough.
Isla’s POV
After he left, I sat on the edge of Leo’s bed and listened to his soft, even breathing.
“You really like him, don’t you?” I whispered.
Leo turned in his sleep, his hand still clutching the stuffed tiger Lucien bought him.
“I think I do too,” I admitted softly, brushing a curl from my son’s forehead. “That’s what scares me.”
Because letting Lucien back in didn’t just risk my heart.
It risked both of ours.
Leo’s laughter echoed down the hallway as he raced his toy car across the floor, his socks sliding against the polished hardwood. For a moment, everything felt… normal. As if the storm brewing in my chest didn’t exist. As if Lucien Wolfe hadn’t shattered my carefully constructed walls just by showing up and daring to care.
I stood in the kitchen doorway, arms folded, watching them. Leo and Lucien. My son and his father. They were sitting on the floor, completely unaware of the chaos they were creating inside me.
Lucien was trying—really trying. And Leo, the sweet boy he was, had already begun letting him in.
“He said I’m fast,” Leo said proudly when he caught me watching. “Faster than his car.”
Lucien smiled and raised an eyebrow at me. “He’s not wrong. Kid’s got reflexes.”
I gave a small, forced smile and walked to the kitchen counter, mostly to hide how shaken I still was. My emotions were tied in a thousand knots, and Lucien—being here, being him—was pulling on every one of them.
“Dinner will be ready in twenty,” I said, avoiding his eyes. “Leo, can you wash your hands?”
Leo dropped his car and bolted toward the bathroom without hesitation. That left me alone with the man I once swore I’d never see again.
“You’re mad I stayed,” Lucien said quietly.
“No.” I turned and met his gaze. “I’m mad that it’s this easy for you. To just… slide back in. Like we’re not standing on top of everything you broke.”
His jaw tightened. “You think this is easy for me?”
“You’re good at pretending things are fine. Always were.”
Lucien stepped closer, voice low and controlled. “I’m not pretending, Isla. I’m holding back. Because if I say everything I want to say, I won’t stop. And I think you’d rather I stay silent than tell you how badly I wanted to find you—for years.”
My throat tightened, but I didn’t give in. I couldn’t.
“You had your world, Lucien. I was never part of it.”
He took another step. “Then let me change that.”
Lucien’s POV
Dinner was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Leo kept the conversation flowing with stories about school, his favorite dinosaur, and a very serious ranking of cookie flavors. Isla was quiet. Guarded. But her eyes softened whenever Leo looked at her, and that gave me something to hold on to.
When Leo yawned halfway through his story about a fire drill, Isla stood.
“Time for bed,” she said, smiling at him. “Let’s get you into pajamas.”
Leo groaned dramatically, but he went. As Isla walked away with him, she glanced over her shoulder at me. “I’ll be back.”
The wait was long enough to remind me that this wasn’t my home. I had no right to be here. No claim. No guarantee.
But I wasn’t walking away again.
Isla returned after twenty minutes, her footsteps soft. She didn’t sit—just leaned against the wall across from me, arms folded.
“He asked me if you’d be here tomorrow.”
I stood. “Will I?”
“I told him I didn’t know,” she said. “Because I don’t.”
Her honesty stung, but it was fair.
“I want to be,” I said. “But I’m not going to force anything.”
Isla looked up, and I saw it—that flicker of uncertainty in her. The war between past pain and present hope. I wanted to touch her. To close the space between us and make her see that I wasn’t the same man. But she needed more than promises.
“You’re here now,” she said. “But that’s not the same as staying.”
Isla’s POV
I didn’t know why I let him in.
I’d told myself that if Lucien ever found us, I’d slam the door in his face. But now he was sitting in my living room, making my son laugh, making me remember things I’d spent years trying to forget.
And worse—he wasn’t the cold, ruthless man I remembered.
He was patient.
Soft, even.
He read Leo’s bedtime story tonight like he’d been doing it for years.
“You want to know what scares me?” I asked, folding my arms tighter. “Not that you’ll leave. But that you’ll stay long enough for Leo to love you. And then… you’ll disappear anyway.”
Lucien walked closer, carefully. “Then I’ll stay long enough to prove you wrong.”
I didn’t answer.
Because if I spoke, I’d cry. And I couldn’t cry in front of him—not again.
Lucien’s POV
I stayed that night—not overnight, but long enough to tuck Leo in and kiss his forehead. It felt foreign, that tiny moment. But right. As if something in me had found its missing piece.
When I left, Isla stood in the doorway. The wind caught her hair, and for a second, she looked exactly like the woman I used to dream about. The one who vanished before I could fix what I broke.
“Tomorrow?” I asked.
She hesitated.
Then: “We’ll see.”
It wasn’t a yes. But it wasn’t a no.
And for now, that was enough.
Isla’s POV
After he left, I sat on the edge of Leo’s bed and listened to his soft, even breathing.
“You really like him, don’t you?” I whispered.
Leo turned in his sleep, his hand still clutching the stuffed tiger Lucien bought him.
“I think I do too,” I admitted softly, brushing a curl from my son’s forehead. “That’s what scares me.”
Because letting Lucien back in didn’t just risk my heart.
It risked both of ours.
End of His Heir, Her Secret Chapter 12. Continue reading Chapter 13 or return to His Heir, Her Secret book page.