Chained by our past

Chapter 16

For the first time since Lucas Reyes had crashed back into her life, Isla Calloway felt something she hadn’t expected.

His absence.

It had only been three days since they returned from the Hamptons, but the shift between them was impossible to ignore. Lucas was pulling away.

No texts. No unexpected visits. No smug remarks designed to get under her skin.

Nothing.

And she hated that she noticed.

She hated that she found herself checking her phone more often than usual, waiting for a message that never came.

She hated that she lay awake at night, replaying the way he had looked at her on the drive home, the quiet disappointment in his eyes when he told her he wouldn’t fight for something she wasn’t willing to admit she wanted.

But most of all?

She hated that Leo noticed it too.

"Mama?"

Isla glanced up from her laptop, where she had been staring blankly at the same email for fifteen minutes.

Leo stood in the doorway of her office, holding his stuffed dinosaur, his green eyes filled with something she couldn’t quite place.

"Hey, sweetheart." She set her laptop aside, motioning him forward. "Come here."

Leo climbed onto the couch beside her, tucking his legs under himself.

"When is Daddy coming back?"

Her stomach twisted.

Lucas had never gone this long without visiting since finding out about Leo. And clearly, her son had noticed.

She brushed a hand through his curls. "He’s just been busy, baby."

Leo frowned. "He said we’d go to the park this week."

She exhaled. "I know."

Leo hesitated, then—"Did I do something wrong?"

Her heart shattered.

"No, sweetheart." She pulled him into her arms, pressing a kiss to his temple. "You did nothing wrong."

"But he’s not here," Leo murmured.

And neither was her certainty that she was making the right choice.

By the time Isla walked into Lucas’s office at Reyes Innovations later that afternoon, she was angry.

At him. At herself. At the ache in her chest that refused to go away.

His assistant barely had time to announce her before Isla pushed open the door to his office.

Lucas sat behind his desk, staring at a document—but the moment he saw her, his entire body tensed.

"Calloway," he said slowly, setting the file down. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

She hated that his voice was so unreadable.

Like she hadn’t been invading his thoughts every second since their trip.

Like she hadn’t kissed him twice and then run from it.

She crossed her arms. "Leo has been asking about you."

Lucas’s jaw tightened. "I figured."

"Then why haven’t you come to see him?"

Lucas exhaled, leaning back in his chair. "I told you, Isla. I’m not going to push myself into a life where I’m not wanted."

Her pulse jumped. "This isn’t about me. This is about Leo."

"Is it?" Lucas’s green eyes burned into hers. "Because every time he calls me ‘Daddy,’ every time I take another step into his life, you’re standing there, waiting for the moment to pull the rug out from under both of us."

She stiffened. "That’s not true."

"Isn’t it?" Lucas stood, his movements slow, deliberate. "Tell me, Isla. Are you really doing this for Leo? Or are you just terrified of what happens if you let me in?"

She felt her breath hitch.

Because, deep down?

She didn’t have an answer.

Lucas sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "I don’t want to be an outsider in my son’s life."

Isla swallowed hard. "You’re not."

"Aren’t I?" He took a step closer, his voice softer now. "Leo accepts me, Isla. He loves me. But you?"

She clenched her jaw. "What about me?"

"You’re the one keeping me at arm’s length," he murmured. "You’re the one pretending this is temporary when we both know it’s not."

Her pulse raced. "You think you know everything, don’t you?"

Lucas smirked, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "I know you, Calloway."

Her stomach tightened.

Because that was the problem, wasn’t it?

Lucas knew her.

Knew the parts of her she had tried to keep buried. Knew exactly how to make her feel things she had no business feeling.

And she hated him for it.

She exhaled sharply. "I didn’t come here to fight, Lucas."

"Then why did you come?"

Her throat worked.

She didn’t know.

She had spent so much time pushing him away, and yet here she was—standing in his office, demanding answers.

And maybe that meant she already had her answer.

She just wasn’t ready to admit it.