They didn’t get very far before Roth was suddenly standing in front of Kayden’s car, a frown on his face. 

Eric knew there was no hope when he heard Kayden sigh heavily before turning the car off. 

“I’m so sorry about all this, Eric. My dad is really the only reason why I haven’t left yet.” Kayden said in a tired voice. 

Eric didn’t know what to say so he remained silent. 

Without another word, Kayden opened his door and stepped outside to face his dad, Eric hurrying to also get out of the car. 

Roth’s kind eyes were filled with sadness. “What are you doing, son?”

“Apartment hunting.” Kayden replied but it sounded like more of a question.

“Is it because of Eric?” There was no anger in his dad’s voice.

“It’s not just because of Eric, Dad.” Kayden forced out. It had been so long since he had felt this angry. “Did you know Mom has tried to arrange a marriage for me? The woman is the daughter of her boss at her company and she’s currently inside right now.”

Eric was surprised to see the old man’s shoulders sag in what looked like...defeat? He didn’t know the man well enough to read his body language. And he was a bit surprised that neither was yelling even though they clearly were having an argument. 

“I’m so sorry, Kayden. I told her many times to not go through with it. Your life isn’t for us to control. But,” Roth let out a heavy sigh and ran a tired hand through his silver hair. “I just returned from the orphanage and finalized Eric’s adoption. He isn’t on trial. I understand that his circumstances are not the same as yours. I also don’t want to tear this family apart because Susan is still afraid.” 

Kayden glanced at Eric and wasn’t surprised to see that he looked shocked at what his dad said. Kayden knew Susan had her reasons for being cautious, but that wasn’t any excuse to take it out on someone being adopted...a sudden lightbulb went off as understanding filled his eyes.

“Mom never wanted a teenager as an adopted son, did she?” Kayden couldn’t stop the now unfamiliar pain of being unwanted from gripping his heart. 

Roth sighed heavily. “She eventually accepted it.”

Kayden understood more than what his dad was saying. Eric would never be accepted as part of the family by Susan. But now that his dad had finalized the adoption process, it suddenly brought all of Kayden’s unspoken plans of moving out to a crashing halt. 

He had seriously been contemplating on moving out soon. After another glance at Eric, he decided he’d wait until Eric turned eighteen before offering to move out together. 

“I see.” Kayden’s voice was laced with bitterness. “Can you talk to Mom for me? I don’t want to deal with her right now.”

Roth gave a tired sigh. “You’re an adult, son. You need to talk to her yourself. But I’ll make sure she understands that she has no say in who you choose to get married to.”

Eric was surprised when he met Kayden’s eyes and even more surprised when he spoke. “I’d ask for you to wait upstairs but that wouldn’t be fair to you. What’s a better introduction to the family than free drama?” Kayden chuckled humorlessly as he finished. 

Eric tried to smile at the joke but all that came out was a grimace. He was still confused as to what was going on and doing his best to hide the panic attack he could feel forming just below the surface. His hands were already shaking. 

Roth gestured that they head back inside and Eric did so rather reluctantly. He had been stupid to allow a spark of hope to build when he saw the old man. He was still unwanted...still unloved. 

It helped a little that Kayden was here but his idiotic idolized view of him had been squashed when they first met. His caring eyes could no longer bring him the calm it once did when he was having nightmares. 

He frowned when he saw they were headed back to the living room. He just wanted to go back to sleep. 

“Roth!” Susan’s voice rang out. “Tell our son he’s marrying this beautiful young lady.”

“Susan,” there was a sudden sharpness in his voice. “Our son is twenty-six years old and perfectly capable of choosing a partner for himself. Besides, it’d be such an unhappy marriage since Kayden likes men.” 

Susan’s eyes rounded in surprise. “How long have you known? I just found out this morning!”

“I’m his father, Susan. There are just some things you know without needing to be told.” Roth spoke in a quieter voice but it still had a bit of sharpness to it. 

A sour look filled Susan’s face. 

Before she could say anything, the woman spoke up. “It’s okay, Susan. I can see now that it was pointless to press the issue.” Her voice was full of elegance and her sea green eyes met Kayden’s. “When you finally realize that liking men is just a phase, come find me.”

Eric’s mouth popped open in shock and anger. The injustice! He felt Kayden nudge his shoulder and forced himself not to say anything.

Kayden’s eyes hardened as he spoke, “Even if I liked women, you aren’t close to anything that I’m looking for. I’m not attracted to rude behavior. You can leave now.” 

Without another word, the woman gracefully left the house though Roth had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last his family saw of her. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face his wife. “What were you thinking, Susan? We’ve talked about this countless times. I thought we agreed to drop it.”

Susan shook her head a little before saying, “Kayden is the closest I have to a real son. I just want what’s best for him.” 

Shock coursed through Roth’s body as he registered what his wife just said. “Kayden is our son. What do you think we did when we adopted him all those years ago?” 

“When you adopted him!” Susan exploded. 

Both Eric and Kayden jumped at the sudden noise. 

“Is that what this is about?” Roth practically shouted. “That you weren’t there to choose?”

“I told you before we adopted that I wanted to be there! I didn’t want to take some stranger!” Susan shouted. 

Anger flashed in Roth’s eyes but he forced himself to calm down. “Let me make something quite clear, Susan, if our son hasn’t done that over the past ten years already. Children are not objects. You can’t return a child and not expect there to be lasting consequences. When I met Kayden for the first time, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted him for a son. 

“I have never viewed him as anything less. And I thought you felt the same way instead of harboring all this bitterness inside.” Roth felt as if he aged twenty more years. “How do you feel about our daughters?”

Susan frowned at his question. “I chose them. They’re mine. I’m not going to send my daughters back.” 

The tension that filled the air almost became unbearable when Kayden spoke. “Susan,” the name sounded unfamiliar on his tongue. 

“Yes?” Susan snapped. 

“Nothing.” Kayden shook his head. “Eric and I will be using the kitchen today.”

“Very well.” Susan replied before storming out of the living room. 

Eric had watched everything unfold with wide eyes. What was happening?

He was startled when he felt sturdy hands land on his shoulders. He looked up to meet Roth’s kind brown eyes. 

“I feel like history is repeating itself,” Roth let out a humorless laugh. “I had no idea my wife was this resentful. However, that doesn’t excuse her behavior. This is your home now and I will make sure you always feel welcomed. I doubt we’ll have a repeat of this in the future if Kayden has his way.”

Kayden snorted, masking the pain he felt. “My world flipped upside down in seconds, Dad. You might still be eligible for adoption but...Susan...isn’t. Eric is the last.” He ignored the sour taste in his mouth. 

Roth sighed. “I suppose it’s too late to tell you we’ve been unhappy with each other for a while now.”

Kayden shook his head. “I’ve known for a while which is why I was hesitant to allow you to adopt again.” 

“This isn’t for you to worry about, Kayden.” Roth’s eyes met Eric’s once more as he dropped his hands. “You will always have a home here, Eric. You aren’t going back to the orphanage.” 

Something squeezed his chest in a warm way as Eric allowed himself the smallest hint of hope. 

He knew families had their issues. He guessed he’d be dealing with those issues as part of the family now...

Nope! That idea was still too weird to think about as he smiled up at Roth.