One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- - Chapter 176: Chapter 176
You are reading One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband ---, Chapter 176: Chapter 176. Read more chapters of One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband ---.
It started small—missed curfews, skipped chores, eye rolls that turned into full-on glares. But to Damien, the signs were neon.
Zane—the youngest, the unexpected, the shadow trailing behind his seven older siblings—was changing.
And not subtly.
He was rebelling.
The first time it felt serious was when Damien got a call from the school. Zane had walked out of class, mid-lecture, when a teacher refused to let him change his science fair topic from clean energy to graffiti as urban resistance.
“He said it’s still science,” the principal explained.
Damien drove to school in silence.
Zane sat in the waiting office, hood up, earbuds in, scowl like armor.
Damien didn’t speak until they were halfway home.
“You think I don’t see what you’re doing?”
Zane shrugged.
“You’re not invisible.”
“I don’t want to be seen,” Zane muttered. “I want to be heard.”
That night, Damien vented to Arielle.
“He’s spiraling. And if I don’t stop it now—”
Arielle touched his hand. “You mean control it.”
Damien stiffened.
“Damien... what are you afraid of?”
He didn’t answer. Not right away.
Then: “I’m afraid I won’t know how to love him if he keeps pulling away.”
Arielle’s eyes softened. “Then maybe love isn’t about pulling him back. Maybe it’s about walking beside him as he pulls away.”
Days passed.
Zane’s rebellion grew stranger, louder. His TikToks went viral for political satire. He snuck out to attend a mural painting protest in the city.
Damien found out from the news.
Arielle watched him pace. “You can’t parent a ghost from your own past,” she said.
Damien turned to her, eyes wild. “What if he ends up like I almost did?”
“Then he won’t,” she said. “Because you didn’t. And you’re here. And he has us.”
That night, Damien went to Zane’s room.
The walls were covered in street art posters. Protest flyers. Lyrics scribbled in marker.
“You going to yell at me?” Zane asked without looking up.
“No,” Damien said. “I came to listen.”
Zane blinked.
“I saw your video. The one about rewriting the city. That... was powerful.”
Zane bit his lip. “It got over a million views.”
Damien smiled. “I watched it three times.”
A beat passed.
“I’m scared too, you know,” Damien said. “That I’ll lose you. That I won’t understand you. But maybe I don’t have to.”
Zane’s eyes shimmered.
“Then what do you have to do?”
“Love you anyway.”
They sat in silence for a while.
Zane showed him his sketches for a mural. It was about legacy and noise, color and silence.
“Will you help me paint it?” he asked.
Damien nodded. “Only if you let me mess it up.”
Zane grinned. “Deal.”
The next day, they painted the wall of the community center together.
Father and son.
No rules. Just rhythm.
And for the first time in weeks, Damien didn’t see rebellion.
He saw brilliance.
Uncontrolled.
And finally—
Understood.
Zane—the youngest, the unexpected, the shadow trailing behind his seven older siblings—was changing.
And not subtly.
He was rebelling.
The first time it felt serious was when Damien got a call from the school. Zane had walked out of class, mid-lecture, when a teacher refused to let him change his science fair topic from clean energy to graffiti as urban resistance.
“He said it’s still science,” the principal explained.
Damien drove to school in silence.
Zane sat in the waiting office, hood up, earbuds in, scowl like armor.
Damien didn’t speak until they were halfway home.
“You think I don’t see what you’re doing?”
Zane shrugged.
“You’re not invisible.”
“I don’t want to be seen,” Zane muttered. “I want to be heard.”
That night, Damien vented to Arielle.
“He’s spiraling. And if I don’t stop it now—”
Arielle touched his hand. “You mean control it.”
Damien stiffened.
“Damien... what are you afraid of?”
He didn’t answer. Not right away.
Then: “I’m afraid I won’t know how to love him if he keeps pulling away.”
Arielle’s eyes softened. “Then maybe love isn’t about pulling him back. Maybe it’s about walking beside him as he pulls away.”
Days passed.
Zane’s rebellion grew stranger, louder. His TikToks went viral for political satire. He snuck out to attend a mural painting protest in the city.
Damien found out from the news.
Arielle watched him pace. “You can’t parent a ghost from your own past,” she said.
Damien turned to her, eyes wild. “What if he ends up like I almost did?”
“Then he won’t,” she said. “Because you didn’t. And you’re here. And he has us.”
That night, Damien went to Zane’s room.
The walls were covered in street art posters. Protest flyers. Lyrics scribbled in marker.
“You going to yell at me?” Zane asked without looking up.
“No,” Damien said. “I came to listen.”
Zane blinked.
“I saw your video. The one about rewriting the city. That... was powerful.”
Zane bit his lip. “It got over a million views.”
Damien smiled. “I watched it three times.”
A beat passed.
“I’m scared too, you know,” Damien said. “That I’ll lose you. That I won’t understand you. But maybe I don’t have to.”
Zane’s eyes shimmered.
“Then what do you have to do?”
“Love you anyway.”
They sat in silence for a while.
Zane showed him his sketches for a mural. It was about legacy and noise, color and silence.
“Will you help me paint it?” he asked.
Damien nodded. “Only if you let me mess it up.”
Zane grinned. “Deal.”
The next day, they painted the wall of the community center together.
Father and son.
No rules. Just rhythm.
And for the first time in weeks, Damien didn’t see rebellion.
He saw brilliance.
Uncontrolled.
And finally—
Understood.
End of One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- Chapter 176. Continue reading Chapter 177 or return to One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- book page.