TANGLED HEARTS
- FATHER AND SON.
BONUS chapter sponsored by Vee Aviwe❤️
The room goes silent with both Amerie and Chase staring at each other like both of them are seeing a ghost. This is not what she had in mind when she imagined meeting Shane’s son. There’s got to be a mistake, right? There is absolutely no way that the guy who broke her heart is the son of the man who picked it up and started to mend it so perfectly. No way… Oh God.
“Amy, what are you doing here?” Chase asks her. Hoping that he will get an explanation that will not leave him hating his father on their very first meeting. When she doesn’t respond and looks at Shane instead, he gets his confirmation and it feels like a ton of bricks have just been released on top of him. Is this the reason why she refused to give him another chance? This isn’t even what he came here for, but still, is his father the reason why Amerie refuses to go back with him?
Shane pats the space next to him for Amerie to sit “Come, love,” She does just that, it’s better than standing and having Chase stare at her like she stole something from him or like she has just grown two horns on both sides of her head. Still trying to wrap her head around the mess that’s in this very room,she tells herself that she will relax and focus on what has brought these guests here today but of course, Shane wouldn’t leave things hanging. “Do you two know each other?” her man proceeds to ask her. He’s not dumb, of course he has started to piece together the pieces but he wants to hear it from her, she has to confirm what he’s thinking.
Amerie tries hard to relax even though they are so many eyes on her, Gail is staring daggers at her too and they don’t even know each other like that. For a woman who supposedly hid a child for over twenty-five years, she sure does have a judgemental stare. Amerie has never wished to disappear from a room the way that she does right now. She should have never offered to be here, but then again,Shane is her man and she wanted to support him, she still does. It’s just that things have now become a bit tricky.
“Yes, uhm…he’s my ex, the one from that time…” She struggles to finish the sentence but Shane is quick to guess which ex she’s talking about. She has never mentioned any of her other exes so it can only be him. The same ex who led her straight into his arms because had it not been for him getting caught, Shane might have never met her… Or he would have because he strongly believe that they both were meant to cross paths at some point.
“What is going on here, Chase? Are the two of you together? ” Gail impatiently asks.
“We were, she left me some time last year,” Chase lowly says and leaves the story there.
“Oh, is that so?” Gail eyes Amerie, already disliking the girl, she moved from father to son?
“Yes, I left him last year after catching him in bed with another girl,” Amerie chooses to give the full explanation seeing that Chase isn’t willing to and she’s not about to be the person who preserves their exes image by keeping quiet or not telling their side of the story. If Chase is going to explain then he must explain in full, not halves or quarters that make her look like she just woke up one day and decided to leave without any reason. Surprisingly, saying the words no longer does anything to her, it’s like she’s narrating an ancient story, that’s how happy she is now and she can only hope that nothing is coming to snatch her happiness away.
” Oh, oh my… Chase, “Gail looks at her son with so much disbelief and the guy is beyond embarrassed, but there’s another emotion lingering there as he watches Shane and Amerie. He was hoping Amerie would let things be and not go into detail about what happened.
” It’s okay. It’s in the past and I’ve since moved on. I also believe that this is not why we have gathered today,”Amerie says, trying to channel the mood back to the matter at hand because she does not like having this attention all to herself, she will talk to Shane later about it, when it’s just the two of them.
“But we can’t just continue like it’s nothing,”Gail argues and Amerie doesn’t understand why. She’s not here for her.
” Would it be better if I excused myself? “Amerie asks Shane but Gail is the one to respond.
” I thinks so-”
” That will not be necessary, I want you to be here. Surely we can all be adults about this and focus on the main matter at hand, everything else can be discussed as time passes if there is a need, “Shane says and his word is final. Amerie nods and gets comfortable next to him. She won’t lie, a part of her, just a little part is overjoyed at how dumbstruck Chase looks right now but of course, she will never loudly admit it but yes, at this point she is enjoying the look on his face.
Amerie crosses one leg over the other and Shane instinctively places his hand on her knee, a silent reassurance that he wants her to be here and she’s safe, no matter what, he’s got her. Chase watches this and jealously starts to burn him from the inside. This is torture for him. It’s bad enough to see the girl who loved him so much finally move on, it’s even worse to learn that she has moved on with a man he recently learned is his father. Is his sin on this earth too great that he deserves to be punished brutally like this?
Shane cuts off his mental rant when he starts talking “Chase?”
“Yes?”
“I’m glad you could make it. I asked to meet with you after your mother found me and told me about your existence… How old are you?” he doesn’t know what else to ask.
“I’m twenty-five, just like your girlfriend over there,” What the hell was Amerie even thinking? This guy is the same age as his mother, yes they had him when they were teenagers but still, he is way older than her and she deserves better than that. She should know that.
Shane nods, ignoring the additional remark, he’s well aware of Amerie’s age. “As you can imagine, this is quite a shock. I knew your mother when we were still young, barely adults and when she disappeared I thought it was the last I had seen of her. Which is why it’s taking this long for what she told me to register in my head but I also don’t want to ignore the fact that she may be telling the truth. I think it’s only fair if we go through the proper channels and get tests done, I understand that you also mentioned to her that it’s something you require before moving forward,”
“Yes, I think it’s only fair that we have all cards laid out and the truth out there for all of us to see. Even though I learned at a young age that the man who raised me isn’t my biological father and recently learned from my mother that you are, I only think it’s fair that we both cover our doubts, then we can move on. I mean no disrespect to you, mom, “he says to his mother and she has no choice but to nod. If it were up to her they would skip all this and start building their relationship as father and son. Shane has so much more to offer Chase as a father.
” I understand, this is a delicate matter and I don’t want either of you to have doubts about this, ” She says calmly.
“Okay, I’ve already booked an appointment for tomorrow. We can meet and go get it done, then we can decide on how to move forward once Gail’s words have been confirmed,”
“And after the results are out, how do we then address the other issue?” Gail asks.
“What other issue?” Shane asks her.
“You know, you and her… She’s your son’s ex,”
“And none of us knew about this possibility when we first met because you decided to not be forthcoming about this. You sat with this information for years, Gail,” he harshly reminds her of the damage she has done and Amerie moves closer to him in an attempt to get him to calm down, which he does. “Whatever the results prove, I don’t see anything changing between myself and Amerie, nor will we be made to feel guilty about our relationship. I have every intention to learn how to be a father even though you’re now a grown man, Chase. However, I hope you don’t expect me to make an unreasonable sacrifice in an attempt to build a relationship with you, because that will not be happening. I also will not succumb to ultimatum. As much as I want to be in your life should the tests prove that you’re mine, I will not try to bribe my way into your heart and you will have the option to shut me out if you wish to.” he does not mince his words and they dig at Chase but he keeps a calm face.
“I understand, let’s just deal with one thing at a time,” Chase says and they both agree.
“Would anyone like anything to drink?” Amerie says, already getting up and wanting to get some air.
“I’m still okay, love. Thanks,” Shane says and looks at their guests.
“I’d like some water, please,” Gail says.
“Can you show me where the restroom is?”Chase asks her.
” Yeah, follow me, “She says and leads the way. She leads him to the bathroom downstairs and she stops next to the door”Here you are, you’ll be able to find your way back, right?”
“Yes,” He says and she’s about to walk away when he stops her “Is this some kind of sick revenge, Amy?” he asks with a hushed voice.
“What?”
“Is this revenge for what I did to you?”
“Chase, did you know that there is a possibility that Shane might be your father?”
“No,”
“Did you ever tell me about him?”
“No, I didn’t,”
“I’ve only ever known David as your father, so how could I have planned this? My relationship with Shane has nothing to do with you, I wasn’t thinking of you when I got with him and I still won’t be thinking of you after this,”
“But-”
“No. You asked for the restroom and I’ve shown you. I’ll go get water for your mother now,”
“So what, this is like your house too? You two are shaking up?” he bitterly asks.
“Our living arrangements have nothing to do-oh, wait they might have something to do with you now that there’s been a revelation. Yes, this is a home to me, I spend most of my days and nights here and if this turns into anything, you will be seeing a lot of me when you decide to visit. Is that all? ”
” Yes. ”
” Good. “she turns and leaves without giving him another chance to speak.
Mother and son eventually leave after Chase exchanges numbers with Shane. The tension is still there no matter how much they all try to ignore it but Shane is sure to not entertain anything else except that Chase might be his son. When they are gone, he goes back in the house to find Amerie and she’s standing there, nervously because she doesn’t know what to expect.
“I didn’t plan this,” those are the first words that leave her mouth as soon as she sees him.
He walks to where she is and wraps up her in a hug “There’s no way you could have planned this, baby. You didn’t even know that I could be his father,”
“What happens if you are, Shane?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean with us. What happens if you turn out to be his father? ”
“Are you expecting me to make changes if he turns out to be my son?”
“I’m hoping you don’t… But I don’t know what to think, what if he expects this of you?Will this one fact not bother you? I mean, it doesn’t look pretty at all, I moved from son to father… It sounds…. Shameful” she whispers the last word.
“Amerie, were you not in there with me?” He’s getting worked up, she hears it in his tone.
“I was,”
“Then how do you still have doubts? I made it clear that nothing between us changes,”
“It won’t bother you that I was with your son first?” just the thought makes her cringe now. She’s done nothing wrong but still…
“Him and I were nothing to each other until recently. If we had that relationship from the get go,and I had known that you were with him then maybe things would have happened differently but I didn’t know, you didn’t know either and he also didn’t know. Gail sat on the supposed truth for so many years and my heart is already yours. What’s done is done, there is no need for us to make each other suffer just because we are trying to build a relationship. I love you, Amerie , without a doubt in the world. I see a future with you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I need to know that you feel the same, that you won’t start pulling away from me because Chase is the guy that broke your heart before I found you, ”
” I don’t want to go anywhere, ever, ” she says without missing a beat. This is the happiest that she has ever been. Is she willing to sacrifice all of it for her cheating ex? No way, she doesn’t owe Chase anything, it’s just a shame that he might have ties to the man that she’s deeply in love with now… And that should they get married, she will become a step-mother to her ex-boyfriend. Gosh, this is a movie.
The two of them have supper and then they shower and go to bed. Shane scrolls through his emails while she checks her messages before they can sleep and that’s when a message pops up from an unsaved number. She opens it and it reads
“This was something I never imagined you’d do. How do we move on from this, Amy? I have never stopped loving you and just when I was starting to make peace with the fact that you left me because of my stupidity, I then find out that you are with my father?
Just the thought of you being in his bed makes me want to pull my hair out. Please don’t do this to me. Don’t punish me like this, I’m trying to build a relationship with the man and I don’t see how it’s going to happen when you are still in the picture. It will be torture for me, my girl is now my step mother? I can’t even breathe properly, Amerie. I know I did you wrong, I know I cheated and broke your heart but this is too much and I don’t know how I’m going to survive it. The two of you can’t be in a relationship, it’s not right. Please be considerate. Please think for everyone involved, this is not right and you know it. Please do what’s right, you can’t be with my father,”
She takes a deep breath after reading it, she doesn’t need to wonder who it’s from.
” Baby? ”
” Yes?” she puts her phone away and looks at Shane who’s giving her a concerned look.
” Are you okay? ”
” Yes, yes I’m good,”she reaches up and kisses him while running her hands on his beard and cheek. She’s not going to entertain Chase’s nonsense.
” Are you sure? ”
” It’s just been an eventful day, maybe some rest will do me good. How are you feeling? I never asked, ”
” I’m okay, I’m not putting too much emotion into it until I have straight facts,”
“Okay, what time are you guys going tomorrow?”
“In the afternoon,”
“I wish I could be there but I can’t take off work,” for once, she’s glad to have work as an excuse.
“I understand, love… Going to bed next to you will make things better though,” he says with a sly smile and she tries not to smile while shaking her head.
“At this point we might as well be cohabiting, Shane,”
“Not for long, love. Not for long,” he says and shuts her up with a hot, erotic kiss then he gets between her legs. There’s nothing like making sweet love to his woman after such a crazy day and a part of him just wants to fuck any trace of Chase that may be lingering at the back of her mind due to her seeing him. He may be his son but Amerie is his woman and the only man she should be having in her mind right now is him. No one else. TANGLED HEARTS.
- DUE TO HER.
“Shane is what?” Leona asks for the second time and this time, she doesn’t wait for the answer before loosing herself in laughter yet again. She’s rolling on the bed, tears are streaming on the sides of her cheeks from her eyes. She’s clutching on to her almost cramping stomach while trying to stop herself from laughing. From the moment Amerie opened her mouth and told her what happened and that Shane is possibly Chase’s father, Leona just started laughing and held no words of comfort for her friend.
Amerie gets why this would be funny to her friend, the first thing being that she’s not the one who is directly faced with this situation and the second being that she believes that this is the karma that Chase deserves after what he did to her.
“Girl, please… Get me some water before I die from laughter,” She manages to form a sentence and Amerie is glad to excuse herself out of her bedroom and goes to get some water.
When she returns, Leona has stopped laughing but still seems hyped about the whole thing” Thank you, “she says as she welcomes the cold glass of water and gulps it all down in one go then she sets the glass on the night stand. Only then does she wipe the tears of laughter.” I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing like this, ”
” Yes, you shouldn’t. I’m in a situation here,”
“Being in a situation is better than being in the hell that whoring Chase will have to survive in if it turns out that daddy Shane is really his father. Oh my word, what a turn of events. Bestie, you really took the ‘date your father ‘ lyrics literally huh? ” she starts singing the song and Amerie shakes her head at this.
” When you’re ready to get serious let me know, ”
” Okay, okay… I’ll stop, tell me what’s stressing you the most, is it Chase? ”
” Not necessarily him, but if the results come back positive then the next thing to do is for them to start forming a relationship. I fear that my presence and place in Shane’s life might hinder all that potential progress,”
“Did daddy Shane express that doubt?”
“No, he’s adamant that nothing will change and that Chase will have to adapt,”
“What’s eating you up then? Your man is saying that everyone who isn’t happy with your relationship will have to suck it up and you’re here mopping?”
“This is what’s stressing me,” she opens her phone and shows her the message that she got from Chase.
Leona reads and then she pretends to gag “So you caught him stuffing himself inside another girl and you survived yet just the thought of you being with his maybe father is giving him sleepless nights and heart palpitations already?” she uses a bored tone. She will never understand what Chase thinks he’s made out of when everyone else is a product of man juice.
” Shane is standing his ground now, if they get the results and they are positive then Chase decides to pull away because of me, do you think he will still stand his ground or he will eventually blame and resent me for having a nonexistent relationship with his son? ” Shane doesn’t have a close relationship with his own people, what if he resents her if Chase decides to be a brat? The thought alone makes her insides churn.
” First, he would need to blame that aunty that kept the son hidden for so many years… And girl, you need to trust what your man says, if he says that he will handle it then let him handle it. You both didn’t know about the ties that he has to Chase, must you sacrifice your heart and love for that douchebag? I think not, he doesn’t deserve it, ”
” This isn’t about him, I don’t care for him, ”
” That is good. The way I see it, Chase has no right to demand that you walk away from daddy Shane because it’s not your fault that his mother chose to keep quiet about his paternity. He needs to be grown about it and focus on his relationship with father and leave you alone, you have nothing to do with all of this,” she holds out on saying that she believes that Chase is getting everything that he deserves. He played Amerie for the longest time and now he gets to sit in the front row and watch how a woman should be treated and who better to teach him this lesson than his own father? This would make for a great movie or book.
Amerie on the other hand tries to stop with the overthinking. The state of the relationship between the two is not in her hands. She will not sacrifice her happiness for Chase, not only does he not deserve it, but she loves Shane too much to just let him go unless he is the one who insists on ending what they have, which would really break her heart because no matter how much she tried not to fall too deep, she has dived in, head first and there is no saving her, she is in love with Shane.
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.
.
The past three days have been a drag for him. Normally it would have taken weeks but he wouldn’t have been able to wait until then so he made a plan and the best that could be done for him was to speed up the line to up to three days and today is the day they confirm the truth.
He has avoided having to try and form a bond with Chase in the past few days, he just wanted to be sure first. He can’t confidently say that he trusts Gail to tell him the truth, he had to do this his way. Chase has also avoided contacting him, the last time they spoke was on the day they did the tests.
They meet outside the lab offices, “Are you good?” Shane asks both mother and son.
“Yeah, we just want to get done with this, it’s been nerve wrecking,” Chase says honestly. His mother has never lied to him but he can’t help but feel stressed about the situation.
“It will be over in minutes,” Shane says, not knowing what to say to comfort him.
They get to the doctor’s office and they don’t waste time. They get straight into it and the doctor delivers the news by confirming that Shane is indeed Chase’s father. The room goes silent, no one knows what to say, they are all lost in their own thoughts and Gail doesn’t even know what to say. Her father created this mess, she wanted to tell Shane back then and he didn’t let it happen and now he’s dead, leaving her to deal with the mess that he left behind.
The three of them make their way outside. Chase is visibly floating in his own thoughts and somehow, Shane can’t help but be concerned about him. They are outside in the parking lot and the air just doesn’t even seem to be enough for them to breathe properly.
“How are you feeling?” Shane asks, setting aside his own feelings.
“I have mixed feelings. I don’t understand why you had to keep this from me for so many years,” Chase angrily says to his mother.
“I’m sorry, Chase. It was never my intention to hurt you -”
“But you did, ma. You lied to me, for so long. You and David looked at me every day and you knew the truth. What would have happened if he hadn’t gotten tired of you,”
“Chase, I’m still your mother. I understand that you are upset but there is no need for you to address me like I’m one of your friends,”
“Oh, now you want to act like a good mother,” He scoffs.
“Chase, I know this is a shock, it is for me too but this-” Shane comes in.
“Please, don’t start. You don’t even know me. You haven’t been a father to me for more than a week and you’re already sucking at it,”
“Excuse me?” Shane is taken by surprise by the tone Chase uses on him.
“Don’t act dumb. You sat there and you told us that nothing was going to change with you and Amerie even after you found out that we have a past,”
“We spoke about that,”
“No, you spoke. You said what you wanted to say and didn’t give a damn about how I would feel, just like her,” he eyes his mother coldly “her and her father took decisions concerning my life and now that she has decided to come clean I’m expected to just be calm and happy about it like I’m not human and I don’t have feelings? What the hell do you too take me for?”
“Chase you can’t do this here, this is a public space,” His mother warns lowly so as to not attract unnecessary attention.
“I’m done with this and I’m out of here,” he starts walking away.
“Where are you going?”asks a perplexed Shane. This is not the same person he went into the room with earlier, was he maybe hoping for different results?
” Leave him, Shane. He needs to calm down, he will find his way home, “Gail says and it sounds like it’s not the first time she’s having to deal with this kind of behavior.
” Does he do this often? ”
“The same way you used to when we were young,” She smiles sadly “Chase will come home and I will talk to him but I do think that you need to reconsider how this whole thing is going to work, Shane,”
“Gail-”
“I know, I know you both didn’t know but now you know. This relationship is going to hurt your son. He is your blood and family means everything, you know this. I won’t even try to decide for you but I’m just going to ask that you sit and think about how all of this will work if you don’t let Amerie go. She’s your son’s ex-girlfriend. How is he supposed to build a bond with you when she comes as a package?please,put yourself in our son’s shoes before you make a permanent decision.
I’m sorry once again for keeping this from you. I know that all of this, including what’s happening with you and Amerie is a result of my secret keeping. I’d like to believe that if you had known from the beginning, then you wouldn’t have courted her, but we are here now and the choice is yours. I’ll go wait for Chase at home. Hopefully we can all move forward and find a resolution that is amicable for all parties involved, especially the important ones,”she gently rubs his arms and then gets in her car and drives off. Leaving Shane to his own unpleasant thoughts.
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” You went a little overboard there, “She says when she finally steps inside her house and finds her son lazying on the couch, enjoying a cold beer. She stopped by the shops to get refills for the house and then she drove home knowing very well that she would find him here.
” I know, my feelings got the better of me,”
“We spoke about this, Chase. You can’t be speaking to your father the way that you did earlier and you most certainly cannot disrespect me like that. I gave you more than enough time to make peace with knowing David isn’t your real father, you had years, so what was that all about? ”
” I just got mad, okay? Knowing that Amerie is his now? He wouldn’t have done that had you told him earlier,”
She throws her hands in the air because she’s just about had enough of this Amerie” How many times do you want me to apologize? Would you rather I go on my knees and grovel? ”
” I would rather you go back in time and choose to tell him earlier. There is no way my father can make my girl his, you’re the one who told me to let it be known to him that I’m not willing to accept it, ”
” And you did good, but that doesn’t mean you cut him off. First wait to see if he doesn’t change his mind,”
” And if he doesn’t? ”
” Then we work another angle but you stop pestering him about that girl, ”
” Why are you so relaxed about all of this? You seem to forget what is on the line. You lived the lavish life with David even though he was a shitty husband, now imagine having a lavish life and a loving husband, don’t you want that? Don’t you want tobe Mrs. Matthews, thee Matthews of S.M designs and I get to be the heir,”
” You know I do,”
“Then act like it, mom. The only way those two are going to break up is if we make it happen,”
“And it won’t happen by you forcing it. I know Shane, he is stubborn, just like you. This needs to be his decision,”
“So we just wait while he takes Amerie to bed every other night?” just the thought of it makes him sick.
“Don’t be stupid, we influence the decision instead of forcing it. We cement our place in his life, become the family that he lost all those years ago, let him taste what it’s like to have a family, to be a father and then that girl goes,”
“She comes to me,”
“Whatever, I couldn’t care less but if she’s going to be a threat to our family, she goes. Our family first, Chase. Always.”
“I hear you and while you daydream about the perfect family, I’ll start sorting out this mess,” he gets up and starts walking.
“Where are you going now?”
“To make a phone call,” he yells before shutting his bedroom door.
Gail goes back to the kitchen and pours herself a glass of wine. She comes back to the living room and sits alone. She looks at the DNA papers and a smile forms on her lips. This is the beginning of it all, everything that she was robbed of in the past years, all the love that she was deprived and the true lavish life instead of the crumbs that David afforded her, everything will be hers again and her ticket to that life is no one other than her first love, the one she gave herself too, the father of her son, the one she should have married instead had it not been for her controlling father. She will get everything that is due to her and no little girl is going to stop her from getting it.