His Heir, Her Secret - Chapter 26: Chapter 26
You are reading His Heir, Her Secret, Chapter 26: Chapter 26. Read more chapters of His Heir, Her Secret.
Isla
The city buzzed louder than usual tonight.
Not with traffic or nightlife—but with our names.
Lucien Vale. Isla Hart. And Leo.
It was all over the news. The internet. The whispers between women in cafés and doormen glancing up from their posts.
Everywhere I turned, I felt the weight of being seen. The eyes we’d spent years hiding from now belonged to a world watching us like a slow-burning scandal.
I stared out the penthouse window, the skyline a glittering blur beneath the soft hum of Leo’s nighttime lullaby playing from his room.
He was asleep—finally. After an hour of questions that tore at me and yet made me proud.
“Why did Daddy say I’m his favorite?”
“Will I be on TV again?”
“Do I need to wear a tie now?”
My heart swelled and cracked all at once.
I wasn’t afraid of people knowing who Leo was. I was afraid of how cruel they could be when they did.
And yet… when Lucien stood on that stage, unwavering, unshakable, and proud—it did something to me.
It shook the walls I’d built around my own heart.
I didn’t hear him approach, but I felt him behind me—his presence like a gravitational pull.
Lucien wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his lips to the curve of my shoulder.
“Can’t sleep?” he murmured.
“No,” I said, resting my hands over his. “Neither can the rest of the world, apparently.”
He chuckled against my skin. “You don’t regret it… do you?”
I turned slowly in his arms, meeting the eyes I used to dream about but never trusted again until now.
“I don’t know if I regret it,” I admitted. “But I know it scared me. Still does.”
He nodded, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “It scared me too.”
I tilted my head, surprised. “You didn’t look scared.”
“That’s because I was thinking about you. And Leo. And how much worse it would feel if I didn’t do it.”
I leaned my forehead against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable—it was heavy with things unspoken.
“I always imagined what it would be like,” I whispered. “Telling the world he was yours. I thought maybe one day, when it was safe. Or when I wasn’t so angry.”
“Are you still angry?”
I thought about it. About the nights I held Leo and cried in silence, wondering how Lucien could walk away so easily. About the emails I drafted and deleted. About the moments I almost gave up on love completely.
“No,” I said. “I think I used to carry it like armor. But it got too heavy. And Leo… he’s light. He saved me from staying bitter.”
Lucien’s hands tightened gently around me. “He saved me too. I just didn’t know it until I saw him.”
“You didn’t even flinch when you claimed him,” I said, voice cracking. “You said his name like it was your heartbeat.”
He looked down at me, and his expression was raw. “Because it is.”
I closed my eyes, letting the moment wrap around me like warmth.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?” I asked quietly. “With all of this?”
“I think he’ll be more than okay,” Lucien said. “Because he has you. And now… he has me, too. No more shadows.”
I reached up and traced the edge of his jaw with my fingertips. He looked tired but sure. He always did when he was holding onto something that mattered.
“This is the part where we start over, isn’t it?” I whispered.
He nodded. “Only if you want to.”
“I don’t know how to start over, Lucien. I’ve only ever known how to protect Leo. Everything else just… faded into the background.”
“Then let me be in the foreground,” he said. “Let me learn with you. Let me protect both of you now.”
A tear slid down my cheek. “I’m scared of letting you all the way in. What if this is just another storm we survive only to fall apart again?”
“Then let it be a storm,” he said. “But this time, we stand in it together.”
I kissed him—soft, trembling, honest.
It wasn’t the fiery kind of kiss that came from anger or years of passion repressed. It was something quieter. More reverent. Like a promise made without words.
When we finally pulled apart, he held me against his chest.
“Do you want to come to bed?” he asked, not as a lover, but as a man offering comfort, warmth, and presence.
I nodded. “Yeah. But only if you read Leo’s favorite book with me first.”
He smiled—truly smiled—and brushed a kiss over my temple.
“I’ve been dying to meet that dinosaur named Max.”
We padded softly down the hall together. The door to Leo’s room creaked slightly as we stepped in. He stirred in his sleep but didn’t wake.
Lucien sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the colorful, dog-eared book.
“I think I’m ready,” he whispered, opening to the first page. “Max the Mighty Triceratops, right?”
I sat beside him, leaning into his shoulder as he began to read aloud.
It was messy. It was surreal. It was everything I never thought I’d have.
And for the first time, the future didn’t feel so terrifying.
It felt like home.
The city buzzed louder than usual tonight.
Not with traffic or nightlife—but with our names.
Lucien Vale. Isla Hart. And Leo.
It was all over the news. The internet. The whispers between women in cafés and doormen glancing up from their posts.
Everywhere I turned, I felt the weight of being seen. The eyes we’d spent years hiding from now belonged to a world watching us like a slow-burning scandal.
I stared out the penthouse window, the skyline a glittering blur beneath the soft hum of Leo’s nighttime lullaby playing from his room.
He was asleep—finally. After an hour of questions that tore at me and yet made me proud.
“Why did Daddy say I’m his favorite?”
“Will I be on TV again?”
“Do I need to wear a tie now?”
My heart swelled and cracked all at once.
I wasn’t afraid of people knowing who Leo was. I was afraid of how cruel they could be when they did.
And yet… when Lucien stood on that stage, unwavering, unshakable, and proud—it did something to me.
It shook the walls I’d built around my own heart.
I didn’t hear him approach, but I felt him behind me—his presence like a gravitational pull.
Lucien wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his lips to the curve of my shoulder.
“Can’t sleep?” he murmured.
“No,” I said, resting my hands over his. “Neither can the rest of the world, apparently.”
He chuckled against my skin. “You don’t regret it… do you?”
I turned slowly in his arms, meeting the eyes I used to dream about but never trusted again until now.
“I don’t know if I regret it,” I admitted. “But I know it scared me. Still does.”
He nodded, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “It scared me too.”
I tilted my head, surprised. “You didn’t look scared.”
“That’s because I was thinking about you. And Leo. And how much worse it would feel if I didn’t do it.”
I leaned my forehead against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable—it was heavy with things unspoken.
“I always imagined what it would be like,” I whispered. “Telling the world he was yours. I thought maybe one day, when it was safe. Or when I wasn’t so angry.”
“Are you still angry?”
I thought about it. About the nights I held Leo and cried in silence, wondering how Lucien could walk away so easily. About the emails I drafted and deleted. About the moments I almost gave up on love completely.
“No,” I said. “I think I used to carry it like armor. But it got too heavy. And Leo… he’s light. He saved me from staying bitter.”
Lucien’s hands tightened gently around me. “He saved me too. I just didn’t know it until I saw him.”
“You didn’t even flinch when you claimed him,” I said, voice cracking. “You said his name like it was your heartbeat.”
He looked down at me, and his expression was raw. “Because it is.”
I closed my eyes, letting the moment wrap around me like warmth.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?” I asked quietly. “With all of this?”
“I think he’ll be more than okay,” Lucien said. “Because he has you. And now… he has me, too. No more shadows.”
I reached up and traced the edge of his jaw with my fingertips. He looked tired but sure. He always did when he was holding onto something that mattered.
“This is the part where we start over, isn’t it?” I whispered.
He nodded. “Only if you want to.”
“I don’t know how to start over, Lucien. I’ve only ever known how to protect Leo. Everything else just… faded into the background.”
“Then let me be in the foreground,” he said. “Let me learn with you. Let me protect both of you now.”
A tear slid down my cheek. “I’m scared of letting you all the way in. What if this is just another storm we survive only to fall apart again?”
“Then let it be a storm,” he said. “But this time, we stand in it together.”
I kissed him—soft, trembling, honest.
It wasn’t the fiery kind of kiss that came from anger or years of passion repressed. It was something quieter. More reverent. Like a promise made without words.
When we finally pulled apart, he held me against his chest.
“Do you want to come to bed?” he asked, not as a lover, but as a man offering comfort, warmth, and presence.
I nodded. “Yeah. But only if you read Leo’s favorite book with me first.”
He smiled—truly smiled—and brushed a kiss over my temple.
“I’ve been dying to meet that dinosaur named Max.”
We padded softly down the hall together. The door to Leo’s room creaked slightly as we stepped in. He stirred in his sleep but didn’t wake.
Lucien sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the colorful, dog-eared book.
“I think I’m ready,” he whispered, opening to the first page. “Max the Mighty Triceratops, right?”
I sat beside him, leaning into his shoulder as he began to read aloud.
It was messy. It was surreal. It was everything I never thought I’d have.
And for the first time, the future didn’t feel so terrifying.
It felt like home.
End of His Heir, Her Secret Chapter 26. Continue reading Chapter 27 or return to His Heir, Her Secret book page.