CHASED BY MY REJECTED MATE

CHAPTER EIGHT

KATHRINE

I looked at Tyler, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. He stood in front of me, holding his chest in pain but still trying so hard to look strong.

He was stubborn like that, always acting like he could carry the world on his shoulders even when he was clearly breaking down.

I sighed and looked away before I got pulled back into the past again.

I remembered the question my son, Rex, had asked me not too long ago. “Mom, is it true that my Dad abandoned us?” That question still echoed in my head like a cruel reminder of everything I tried to bury. I clenched my fists and faced Tyler again.

“You really want to be part of Rex’s life?” I asked him again, but my voice carried all the hurt I’d been holding for four years.

Tyler nodded in acceptance.

“Then there’s something you should know,” I told him.

Tyler looked at me curiously but said nothing. So I continued.

“Rex has been mocked… ridiculed… bullied,” I said, my voice shaking. “At school, they all think his father abandoned him. They laugh at him. They call him names. They treat him like he’s not good enough because his Dad isn’t around.”

Tyler’s face twisted in pain. I could see the guilt all over him. He opened his mouth, but I wasn’t done.

“He cried in my arms, Tyler,” I said bitterly. “He kept asking why his Daddy didn’t want him and why we weren’t a real family like the other kids in his class at school. Do you know how that made me feel? Do you know how that affected him emotionally?”

I saw the sad look on Tyler’s face turn into something deeper. Regret. Real, painful regret.

He lowered his head for a moment. “I… I didn’t know, Kat,” he whispered. “I swear, I didn’t know.”

“I know you didn’t,” I said, my voice softer now. “But that’s the point, Tyler. You weren’t there. And now you just want to walk back into his life like nothing happened?”

He looked up at me again, his eyes filled with sorrow. “No, I know I messed up. I know I don’t deserve to just come back and act like a father now. But please…” He took a deep breath. “I want to make it right. I want to be part of his life.”

I blinked fast, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. I wasn’t going to cry in front of him.

“I’m not going to stop you from seeing him,” I said slowly. “I won’t keep him away from you. But you have to give me time to explain things to him. You can’t just show up and say, ‘Hey, I’m your Dad.’ It doesn’t work that way.”

Tyler nodded. “I understand,” he said quietly. “At least for now… I’ll act like a friend. I won’t force anything. You don’t have to tell him I’m his father yet.”

I studied him for a moment. His eyes told me that he was serious and I took a deep breath.

“Then there’s something I need you to do,” I said firmly. “To make sure you’re not going to take my son away from me… you’ll have to sign a contract.”

“A contract?” he asked, looking surprised.

“Yes,” I nodded. “I need to be sure you’re not going to try to claim full custody or anything like that. Rex is my life. I’ve protected and suffered to take care of him all these years.”

Tyler shook his head and gave me a small, sad smile. “I don’t need to sign the contract, Kat.”

I raised a brow. “Why not?”

He looked at me with eyes that seemed more alive than I’d seen them in years. “Because we’re going to be a family again,” he said simply.

Before I could respond, Julian stepped closer.

“What do you mean by that?” Julian asked, clearly not impressed. “Didn’t Kat tell you we’re engaged?”

I turned to look at Tyler, expecting him to back off or say something polite, but instead, he stood up straighter, with a kind of strength I hadn’t seen in him. The pain in his chest didn’t stop him.

“I don’t care,” Tyler said calmly but with deep determination in his voice. “Kat is my mate. We belong to each other. And I’m not going to give up on her.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and exhaled slowly.

This man… when he sets his mind on something, he doesn’t back down. I knew him too well. And that scared me.

Because no matter how much I tried to convince myself that I’d moved on, part of me still cared. Part of me still loved him. But I wasn’t sure I could trust him again.

And more than that… I wasn’t sure I could trust myself.

If he stayed around… if he kept trying… would I be able to resist him? Or would I fall all over again? I could bet my life that I was going to do the latter.

That’s when I knew. I had to do what was necessary and as much as I was unsure if I was making the right decision and I was going to regret it in the future, I had to do it.