His Heir, Her Secret - Chapter 13: Chapter 13
You are reading His Heir, Her Secret, Chapter 13: Chapter 13. Read more chapters of His Heir, Her Secret.
Lucien
I wasn’t expecting her to say yes.
Not after the way I left things years ago—not after the silence, the heartbreak, the pieces I didn’t even try to pick up. So when Isla texted me that afternoon with nothing more than a time and an address, I stared at the screen for nearly five minutes, trying to convince myself it wasn’t a mistake.
But it wasn’t.
She let me come back.
And this time, I wasn’t going to waste it.
I picked up Leo from school. That might sound simple, ordinary, even. But for me, it was seismic. I’d closed billion-dollar deals and spoken at global summits with less anxiety than I had standing outside that red-brick elementary school in Brooklyn, watching a sea of tiny humans pour out of the doors like an overexcited tidal wave.
I scanned for him nervously, palms sweating. Then I saw him—Leo, wearing a green hoodie with a stegosaurus on the front, his backpack bouncing as he ran toward me.
He stopped short about five feet away. “You came,” he said, his voice careful.
I crouched to his level. “I told you I would.”
Leo looked at me for a second, squinting like he was deciding something. Then, without a word, he handed me his backpack.
It was heavier than I expected.
I slung it over my shoulder and took his hand.
The walk home was short, but the weight of it lingered. Leo pointed out his favorite pizza place, a squirrel he named Kevin who lived near a trash can, and which windows belonged to “Ms. Jenkins, who always burns cookies.”
It was ordinary. Uneventful.
And completely life-altering.
By the time we reached Isla’s apartment, Leo had decided I needed to learn the names of all fifty dinosaurs “or else I couldn’t come to his birthday party.”
When Isla opened the door, her eyes went straight to Leo—then to me.
“You picked him up?” she asked, trying—and failing—to hide the edge in her voice.
“He insisted,” I said, handing her his backpack. “And I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
She didn’t respond, just gave Leo a soft smile and brushed his hair back.
I watched her closely, trying to read between the lines of her silence. She hadn’t decided what I was to her. Not yet. But she was letting me in. One fragile thread at a time.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” she said after a pause. “He has reading homework. You want to sit with him while I finish?”
That shouldn’t have hit me like it did. But it did.
It was the first time she’d trusted me with even the smallest part of their routine.
I nodded. “Of course.”
Leo pulled out a book with a dragon on the cover, and we sat on the couch, our knees touching as he read aloud with surprising confidence. He paused on tricky words, but he kept going, glancing at me for approval each time he finished a sentence.
And I gave it freely.
I didn’t realize how tightly I’d been wound until I heard Isla humming in the kitchen—faint, distracted, and utterly normal.
For the first time in years, I felt like I was home.
Not in a penthouse. Not in a boardroom. Here.
With them.
After dinner, Leo begged for one more story. Isla rolled her eyes but smiled.
“Fine. One. Then bath and bed.”
He looked up at me hopefully. “You read it?”
I nodded. “Yeah, kid. Let’s do it.”
Isla watched me tuck him in again. She didn’t say anything. Just lingered in the doorway, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
The moment Leo’s breathing slowed, I stood. She didn’t move. Not even when I stepped closer.
“Thanks for today,” I said quietly.
She didn’t respond.
“I know I don’t deserve any of this yet. But I’m trying.”
Her voice was low. “You should’ve tried four years ago.”
I nodded. “I know. And I’ll regret that for the rest of my life. But I’m here now.”
Isla looked up at me, and for a split second, I saw the storm behind her eyes—pain, anger, fear… and something else. Something warmer. Something I didn’t dare name.
“I’m not doing this again, Lucien,” she said. “If you break his heart, I won’t let you back in. Ever.”
My chest ached with the weight of her words. “I won’t.”
“You say that now.”
“I’ll say it every day if I have to.”
She held my gaze for a long, quiet moment.
Then she stepped aside, letting me pass.
I left, but I didn’t feel dismissed.
I felt… grounded.
Like I was building something again.
Not an empire.
A family.
And this time, I wasn’t going to let it crumble.
I wasn’t expecting her to say yes.
Not after the way I left things years ago—not after the silence, the heartbreak, the pieces I didn’t even try to pick up. So when Isla texted me that afternoon with nothing more than a time and an address, I stared at the screen for nearly five minutes, trying to convince myself it wasn’t a mistake.
But it wasn’t.
She let me come back.
And this time, I wasn’t going to waste it.
I picked up Leo from school. That might sound simple, ordinary, even. But for me, it was seismic. I’d closed billion-dollar deals and spoken at global summits with less anxiety than I had standing outside that red-brick elementary school in Brooklyn, watching a sea of tiny humans pour out of the doors like an overexcited tidal wave.
I scanned for him nervously, palms sweating. Then I saw him—Leo, wearing a green hoodie with a stegosaurus on the front, his backpack bouncing as he ran toward me.
He stopped short about five feet away. “You came,” he said, his voice careful.
I crouched to his level. “I told you I would.”
Leo looked at me for a second, squinting like he was deciding something. Then, without a word, he handed me his backpack.
It was heavier than I expected.
I slung it over my shoulder and took his hand.
The walk home was short, but the weight of it lingered. Leo pointed out his favorite pizza place, a squirrel he named Kevin who lived near a trash can, and which windows belonged to “Ms. Jenkins, who always burns cookies.”
It was ordinary. Uneventful.
And completely life-altering.
By the time we reached Isla’s apartment, Leo had decided I needed to learn the names of all fifty dinosaurs “or else I couldn’t come to his birthday party.”
When Isla opened the door, her eyes went straight to Leo—then to me.
“You picked him up?” she asked, trying—and failing—to hide the edge in her voice.
“He insisted,” I said, handing her his backpack. “And I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
She didn’t respond, just gave Leo a soft smile and brushed his hair back.
I watched her closely, trying to read between the lines of her silence. She hadn’t decided what I was to her. Not yet. But she was letting me in. One fragile thread at a time.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” she said after a pause. “He has reading homework. You want to sit with him while I finish?”
That shouldn’t have hit me like it did. But it did.
It was the first time she’d trusted me with even the smallest part of their routine.
I nodded. “Of course.”
Leo pulled out a book with a dragon on the cover, and we sat on the couch, our knees touching as he read aloud with surprising confidence. He paused on tricky words, but he kept going, glancing at me for approval each time he finished a sentence.
And I gave it freely.
I didn’t realize how tightly I’d been wound until I heard Isla humming in the kitchen—faint, distracted, and utterly normal.
For the first time in years, I felt like I was home.
Not in a penthouse. Not in a boardroom. Here.
With them.
After dinner, Leo begged for one more story. Isla rolled her eyes but smiled.
“Fine. One. Then bath and bed.”
He looked up at me hopefully. “You read it?”
I nodded. “Yeah, kid. Let’s do it.”
Isla watched me tuck him in again. She didn’t say anything. Just lingered in the doorway, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
The moment Leo’s breathing slowed, I stood. She didn’t move. Not even when I stepped closer.
“Thanks for today,” I said quietly.
She didn’t respond.
“I know I don’t deserve any of this yet. But I’m trying.”
Her voice was low. “You should’ve tried four years ago.”
I nodded. “I know. And I’ll regret that for the rest of my life. But I’m here now.”
Isla looked up at me, and for a split second, I saw the storm behind her eyes—pain, anger, fear… and something else. Something warmer. Something I didn’t dare name.
“I’m not doing this again, Lucien,” she said. “If you break his heart, I won’t let you back in. Ever.”
My chest ached with the weight of her words. “I won’t.”
“You say that now.”
“I’ll say it every day if I have to.”
She held my gaze for a long, quiet moment.
Then she stepped aside, letting me pass.
I left, but I didn’t feel dismissed.
I felt… grounded.
Like I was building something again.
Not an empire.
A family.
And this time, I wasn’t going to let it crumble.
End of His Heir, Her Secret Chapter 13. Continue reading Chapter 14 or return to His Heir, Her Secret book page.