“Why won’t you tell me who Lila’s father is, Finn?”

Finn paused and turned around to look at his younger brother. Finn had been enjoying walking around the grocery store with his daughter on his hip and his beta brother, Simon, pushing the shopping cart. However, as soon as those words left his brother’s lips, a sinking feeling filled his gut.

Who is Lila’s father, Finn?

Finn remembered people constantly asking him that question after Lila had been born. He’d never given them an answer. Eventually they’d stopped asking. Until now.

“Don’t you think we deserve to know?” Simon’s face crumpled as they stood in the middle of the cereal aisle, “Lila will eventually want to know who her father is.”

Finn grimaced and turned his body away from his brother. Pressing a kiss to his daughter’s forehead, he mumbled, “Simon, we’ve spoken about this several times. Let it go.”

“Why won’t you tell me? You know that I won’t judge you!” Simon cried.

Finn glanced around, catching the eye of a woman further down the aisle. He really didn’t want to be having this conversation in public, especially in a town as small as his.

“I already told you…I don’t…I don’t know who he is,” Finn whispered.

His brother began to tear up.

“I know you’re lying Finn. You’re a hopeless romantic. There’s no way you’d let that happen. You have–” Simon’s voice broke, “t-to know who he is.”

Finn was conscious of the woman in the aisle with them, leaning in closer to eavesdrop.

“Simon, stop it,” Finn whispered.

“He left you with his baby and he didn’t bother to mark you!”

“Drop it!” Finn said, his voice louder now.

Simon frowned at his brother before grabbing the cart and pushing it down the aisle.

“Fine.”

The rest of the shopping trip was completed in silence, with Simon walking on ahead and ignoring Finn’s attempts at conversation.

After the grocery items were scanned and bagged, they headed over to their rusty, old car and unloaded the bags, before climbing in and driving towards their home.

A two-storey house with peeling paint, topped with a roof that had been patched multiple times came into view. There was just about enough space for Finn, his brother, his parents and Lila to move around without living on top of each other.

Pulling into the driveway, they were greeted by their father, Ben. Finn’s dad stood against the garage door, arms crossed worriedly.

Finn took in his father’s figure, his heart swelling with affection. His father mostly looked the same as he did when Finn was a child with a few minor changes, such as the grey hairs mixed with brown and the line of wrinkles on his face. Last year had been hard on his whole family and had left everyone feeling worse for wear.

Finn swallowed down the lump in his throat as Simon parked the car. He still remembered returning to his small hometown, unemployed, unmarked and pregnant and how his family all stood by him, in light of the scandal of his pregnancy.

“Hey dad. What are you doing out here? You should be inside, resting,” Finn fussed as he climbed out of the car and hurried towards his father.

Ben sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Honestly. I’ve told you guys several times that I’m okay. Besides, I wanted to help you unpack the groceries and,” Ben paused to look intently at Finn, “Your mom’s waiting for you in the living room. You’ve got a visitor.”

Visitor?

Finn pondered on the mystery identity of the guest. He had no idea who it could be. After all, he could count the number of friends he had on one hand. He paused, struggling to recall if a friend had mentioned that they would be dropping by.

Simon shut the car door, and walked up to Finn and their father, with Lila cradled in the car seat hanging off his arm.

“Go ahead, Finn. Dad and I will look after Lila and sort out the groceries,” Simon suggested, already turning away to open the garage doors.

Finn nodded and headed inside. The hallway was quiet and softly lit. As he got closer to the living room door, he could hear the sound of his mother’s delighted laughter and a male voice with a low timbre.

Pushing open the door, the first thing he saw was his mother perched on the edge of the sofa with a massive smile on her face. As he fully entered the room, he was confronted with a face he had hoped never to see again.

Theo. Theo Phillips. His ex-boss…and the love of his life.

To see Theo sitting in his small living room, was a painful shock to his system. It was taking all of Finn’s courage not to turn around and leave his mother to deal with the alpha.

“Finn.”

Finn managed to walk to the sofa and sat down next to his mother. Theo was sat across from them, in an old-fashioned, upholstered armchair.

Theo still looked as handsome as ever with his chiselled jawline and wavy midnight-black hair that constantly fell into his eyes. His piercing, icy-blue eyes roamed up and down the length of Finn’s body, taking in the subtle changes to the omega’s body since they’d last seen each other.

“Theo,” Finn sucked in a lungful of air, “What are you doing here?”

Theo’s full lips curled into a condescending smirk, “Finn, I’m shocked... I haven’t heard from you in over a year and now that I am here to see you, you don’t seem very pleased to see me.”

Finn swallowed. Pressing his nails into his palms, he forced himself to relax. There was no need to force his mother to have to clean up spilt blood from her living room carpet.

“Finn! Don’t be so rude! Your boss came all this way to see you. He’s come to offer you a job–” Finn’s mother’s voice broke, “–and Lord knows we could do with the money.”

An ugly, red blush filled Finn’s face as he lowered his head in embarrassment. It was obvious to an outside eye that his family was not exactly rich, but to have his mother blatantly state it in front of Theo was downright mortifying.

Finn huffed and whispered, “Fine. Go ahead, Theo.”

His mother clapped her hands and jumped off the sofa. “Splendid! I’ll leave you two alone and go help your dad and brother with the groceries.” His mother walked across the room and paused at the door, throwing a beaming smile at them, before softly shutting the door behind her.

Hiding his trembling hands in his lap, Finn turned to look at Theo.

“Let’s cut to the chase. You don’t have to pretend now that my mom’s no longer in the room.”

Theo chuckled.

“Oh Finn,” He sighed, “I’ve missed your spirit.”

Finn rolled his eyes.

“Why are you here?” Finn bit out, “I don’t owe you anything. I’m no longer your personal assistant. If you’ve come all this way to make me go back–”

“That’s not why I’m here,” Theo cut in, “I have an interesting proposition for you. It’s good to see you again,” His voice lowered, “But first, tell me what you’ve been up to since you left me.”

Since you left me. Like he had any choice in leaving. Finn internally scoffed.

Finn was struck by how attracted he still was to Theo, in spite of the way things had ended between them. Even though over a year had passed, the alpha still looked handsome and full of life, dressed in a tailored navy suit. On the other hand, Finn looked tired. His mousy-brown hair was messily pushed back from his face. He’d given up on styling his hair every morning, as Lila liked to pull and play with his hair. No longer being able to afford the luxury of contacts, he was forced to wear plain, tortoiseshell, round-framed glasses. He was plainly dressed in a faded, grey T-shirt and khaki shorts. His main attempt at a daily beauty routine was to take a quick shower every morning and moisturise.

Finn made a point of looking around the room. “Well as you can see,” Finn gestured wildly with his hands, “I moved back in with my parents. I’ve been trying to find a job ever since.”

Theo blinked at him.

“What about your parents? And your brother?”

“My brother graduated from high school last month. He’s trying to find a job in town. My dad,” Finn sighed, “had a heart attack at work a couple of months ago so he’s been stuck at home ever since. My mom’s picked up a few shifts at the drugstore to help us out. We’re surviving.”

Theo frowned at him.

“What about you? Is there anyone special in your life right now?” Theo asked.

Finn thought of Lila and his heart squeezed. Theo must not find out about her existence. With all the money that the alpha possessed, all it would take was one call to his lawyers for Finn to lose custody of his daughter.

“Quite frankly, Theo, it’s none of your business.”

The very thought of Finn having the inclination, or time, to date was quite laughable.

“I’m just surprised that you’re living in such conditions. You had so much potential when I first met you...” Theo’s voice trailed off.

Finn straightened his back and glared at him.

“My family and I are doing just fine,” Finn replied, with as much dignity as he could muster.

He needed a new job and a place of his own. He was tired of being a burden to his family and wished for days where he wouldn’t have to wonder what he was going to eat or if he could afford new diapers for Lila. He’d tried looking for jobs as soon as he came back, but there were few jobs on offer in such a small town.

“You still haven’t given me a reason as to why you are here, Theo,” Finn reminded him, “Are you planning on acquiring property nearby?”

Theo shook his head and sighed.

“I’m here because my father is retiring,” Theo’s lips squeezed into a grimace, “I came to see you because I have no other option.”

As Theo was talking, Finn could hear the sound of a baby’s cry in the distance and a feeling of anxiety slowly began to creep over his body.

“What are you trying to say?” Finn asked.

Theo narrowed his eyes and scowled, “Do you want me to spell it out?”

Finn’s heart clenched. His world was about to end. Theo had come to take his child. Somehow, he had found out about Lila’s existence and he was here to take her away. Even though Theo always said he never wanted kids, even though he’d always made sure to use protection to ensure he’d never bear the burden of children, he had found out and now he was here. To take Lila away out of a sense of duty.

“Leave now,” Finn’s voice trembled, as his body began to shake in fear, “I’m not interested in what you have to say.”

Theo shook his head in refusal, “I’m not leaving just yet.”

“Why?” Finn cried, “How did you find out– Just tell me what you want from me!”

“You,” Theo replied quietly, “I want you back.”