Chapter 6: The Unspoken Past
1427 Words
Chapter 6: The Unspoken Past
Cassy stood by her desk, gathering her things into a neat pile. The café downstairs had quieted after the rush of the grand opening, and the lull should have brought her peace. But something gnawed at her—a vague unease that had been present since she stepped back into Riversedge. She paused, her fingers lightly resting on the edge of the papers, her mind drifting to Nathaniel and Nicholas. She needed to get back downstairs to check on them.
The door to her office creaked open.
She turned, startled by the intrusion, and found herself face-to-face with Isaiah Colewood. The breath hitched in her throat. She knew who he was—everyone in Riversedge knew Isaiah Colewood, one of the most powerful billionaires in the city, ruthless in business and enigmatic in his personal life.
But why was he here?
“Mr. Colewood,” Cassy said, struggling to keep her voice steady. “I didn’t realize we had an appointment.”
Isaiah didn’t move from the doorway, his broad shoulders blocking her exit. His dark eyes bore into hers, and for a moment, he said nothing. The intensity of his gaze unnerved her, but what unsettled her more was the flicker of recognition in his eyes. As though he knew her.
But that was impossible.
“I didn’t come for an appointment,” Isaiah said, his voice low and controlled, but there was a sharp edge to it. “I came for answers.”
“Answers?” Cassy’s pulse quickened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He took a step closer, and the air in the room seemed to shift. His presence was overwhelming, and for a second, she felt trapped, unsure of what was about to happen.
“Don’t lie to me,” he said, his tone hardening. “Those boys downstairs—Nathaniel and Nicholas—they’re my sons, aren’t they?”
Cassy froze, her heart slamming against her chest. How did he know? How could he possibly know? She had spent years keeping them hidden, protecting them from the past, and now, here he was, accusing her with a certainty that rattled her to the core.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she managed to say, her voice quieter now.
Isaiah’s jaw tightened, and he took another step toward her. “Don’t play games with me, Cassy.”
At the sound of her name on his lips, something flickered in her memory, a distant echo of a night long ago, but she pushed it away. She couldn’t afford to think about that now.
“Those boys,” Isaiah continued, his voice rising, “they have my eyes. And the birthmark.” His words hung in the air like a heavy weight, and Cassy’s stomach twisted in knots. “There’s no denying it. I am their father, and you’ve kept that from me for seven years.”
Cassy’s anger flared, hot and fast. She straightened her back, refusing to be intimidated by his towering figure. “I don’t owe you anything, Mr. Colewood,” she snapped. “You don’t get to walk in here and demand answers like you have some kind of claim on us.”
Isaiah’s dark eyes flashed with fury, but underneath it, there was something else. Hurt? Guilt? She couldn’t tell, and she didn’t care. Her primary instinct was to protect her children, no matter what.
“You had no right,” he said, his voice shaking with barely restrained anger. “No right to keep my sons from me.”
Cassy’s hands trembled, but she clenched them into fists, willing herself to stay calm. “I had every right,” she said, her voice cold. “You don’t know anything about me, or my life, or what happened. You don’t get to show up out of nowhere and make demands.”
Isaiah’s expression darkened, and for a moment, they stood in tense silence, the weight of unspoken history pressing between them.
He took another step toward her, and this time his voice softened, though the anger still simmered beneath. “I don’t remember everything from that night,” he admitted, his gaze locking with hers. “But I remember you. I’ve spent years trying to find you, trying to make sense of what happened. And now I come here, and I find out I have children—twin boys I didn’t even know existed.” His voice wavered slightly, and Cassy could see the torment in his eyes.
For a brief moment, her resolve wavered. She saw the guilt in him, the pain of discovering something so life-altering, and for a split second, she wanted to explain, to tell him everything. But the thought of how he might use that information, how he might try to take her boys away, solidified her anger once more.
“They’re my sons,” she said firmly. “I raised them. I’ve protected them. You don’t get to just show up and be a part of their lives because you suddenly feel entitled to them.”
Isaiah’s expression hardened again. “You think I don’t have a right to know my own children?”
Cassy’s voice was calm, but underneath, she was shaking. “You weren’t there. You didn’t know. I did what I had to do.”
His eyes narrowed. “And what was that, exactly? Run away and hide? Keep them from me like some secret you didn’t want anyone to find?”
The accusation stung more than she wanted to admit. “I ran because I had no choice,” she bit back. “You don’t know anything about my life. You weren’t there when everything fell apart.”
Isaiah stared at her, his chest rising and falling as his anger clashed with confusion. “Then tell me. Tell me what happened.”
Cassy took a deep breath, her mind racing. She couldn’t tell him the truth, not all of it. Not yet. She had to stay strong, for Nathaniel and Nicholas. But the weight of his presence was suffocating, and the way he looked at her—like he had been searching for her all these years—unsettled her.
“I don’t owe you an explanation,” she said, her voice shaking slightly despite her best efforts. “I’ve built a life for my children. They’re happy. They don’t need you coming in and turning everything upside down.”
Isaiah stepped closer again, his voice lowering as he spoke. “Maybe you don’t need me, but they do. They deserve to know who their father is.”
Cassy clenched her fists, her anger boiling over. “They deserve to have a stable, loving life, and that’s what I’ve given them. You don’t get to swoop in now and act like you care.”
Isaiah’s eyes flashed with frustration. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“Neither do you,” she snapped, her own frustration bubbling to the surface. “I didn’t recognize you, Mr. Colewood. And whatever happened that night…” Her voice faltered, and her heart pounded in her chest. “I didn’t even remember your face.”
His jaw clenched at her words, the tension between them thickening. For a moment, they simply stared at each other, the weight of the past hanging heavily in the air.
“You may not remember me,” Isaiah said quietly, “but I haven’t forgotten you. And now that I know the truth, I’m not going to walk away from this.”
Cassy’s breath caught in her throat. There was something in his voice—something raw and real that shook her. But she couldn’t let him in. She couldn’t let him take control of the life she had worked so hard to build.
“I’m not afraid of you, Isaiah,” she said, her voice hardening.
He stepped even closer, his presence overwhelming, his gaze locked onto hers. “Maybe you should be.” His words were a challenge, but his eyes held a mixture of anger, hurt, and something else she couldn’t quite place.
Cassy refused to back down, but the intensity of the moment left her breathless. She knew that this was only the beginning of a battle she hadn’t anticipated—a battle for her children, her life, and her future. And standing before her, in all his power and cold determination, was a man who wouldn’t give up until he got what he wanted.
And what he wanted was the truth.
- Writer
