Love the song! It has nothing to do with the chapter, but I couldn't help myself (a bit obsessed here)! I'm a huge masochist for listening to it all the time >.< It always makes me cry!

Surprisingly, I was able to finish another chapter quite soon. I was afraid I wouldn't be as I'm pretty messed up right now because of a stupid movie I've seen four times already (one of the main characters is called Oliver too), but I somehow managed, so I'm glad.

Hopefully, it's not too weird or different from usual (my writing gets easily affected by my mood), and I hope you'll enjoy reading the chapter!

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OLIVER's POV

It was Wednesday, two days since Josh left for his business trip, and I missed him so much my body hurt. I had a day off today, and although I managed to keep myself busy with cleaning the house and shopping, I still wasn't able to take my mind off the fact he was going to be gone for next five days. I was thanking god I had plans for the afternoon when Matty got out of the kindergarten.

Polishing the last mirror in the house, I put all cleaning necessities to their places and went to make myself a cup of coffee. It was surprising, but despite having a café and being able to prepare all kinds of coffees, when at home, I used the ordinary coffee machine as most people. I loved my special coffees, but it was easier to just pour a cup and add some cream.

Sitting down in the kitchen, I put my legs on the other chair, relaxing for a minute. The house was quiet. I hated when Josh had to leave for a business trip, and this silence always reminded me just how strong this hatred was. When Matty was still a little baby, the silence was nonexistent. Except for his naps, when I was glad he gave me a break for a bit, he was a lively child who liked to babble, laugh and cry all day long. Now, that he was in the kindergarten, it was too lonely without him.

Slowly sipping the hot beverage, trying to relax some more, a sudden ringing of a phone made me jump. I almost spilled it all over me, but luckily managed to find balance to keep it safe. Running over to my mobile phone, I smiled when I saw the name of the calling person.

"Hey," I said, probably overly eager, feeling my cheeks grow red when Josh started to laugh.

"Well, hello there. I bet you spent the whole day cleaning. You're always so hyperactive when I'm gone. I feel like I'm in the way when I'm home," he said, his voice full of undisguised humor. He always joked like this to make me feel better, and it worked, at least until he hung up. The moment I was left alone in that terrible silence again, I was back at square one.

"Shut up. How's it going? Any chance you would come home earlier?" Hearing my voice waver a little, I bit down on my lower lip, just barely surpassing the groan that threatened to break free. I didn't want him to hear just how weak I was at the moment. It could possibly distract him at work, and being a reason for his mistakes wasn't something I wanted to be. If anything, I wanted to support him just as much as he's supported me up until now.

"What's wrong? Did anything happen?" The tone of his voice lowered, and I almost swore out loud instead of just in my head.

Shaking my head, I chuckled a little. There was no way he would let this go unless he got a satisfactory answer.

"I miss you," I whispered, going over to the couch and lying down, staring at the ceiling.

"I'm just more emotional because of all the mess with Victor. I know I shouldn't let him have such a power over me, but I can't help myself. I'm so scared he is going to find out about Matt and take him away from me; my mind is all over the place. He would do it just to get back at me. He's always been childish in matters like these, and I doubt he's changed since then." Murmuring, I closed my eyes, trying to calm my beating heart. Just thinking about a situation like that made my already stressed self all panicked.

"Ollie," Josh sighed, and I could already hear what he was about to say. We had this conversation the morning after I got back from the meeting.

"I hate the guy. You know how much I despise him for hurting you and Charlie like that, but I don't think he would do something this stupid. What would he do with a kid he's never seen before? And Matty might be a bit shy in front of others, but you know what a pain he can be when he is angry or cranky. Your ex would definitely surrender after few hours because Matt would not stay quiet. He is too emotionally fixated on you. You are his dad and took care of him since he was born. He wouldn't endure being without you. And there's no way any sensible judge would give him to someone who he has never seen. The only scenario that could happen is shared custody, and even that is highly improbable. Moreover, you are a man, and even though the experiment project you went through is publicly known, there are still millions of people who have no idea about it. And I'm sure even if they knew about it, they wouldn't want to risk anything. We might know Matthias is just a normal kid, but other people might see your separation as a problem. Men with the ability to bear children are still too new of a concept. No one really knows if the kids are the same as when women have them because of its artificial help. I'm not even sure any lawyer would want to take up this case. Just stop thinking about it and relax. You should make a use of the days I'm not home and do something! Not anything wild or steamy, of course, but you should go out and enjoy your time with Matt. I might've been here for him for a long time, and he likes me, but an alone time with his daddy is something he would never refuse." I could hear a smile in his voice, and my mood got a bit better. Talking to him was something I could do forever. Every time I felt under the weather, a conversation with Josh would make me feel good again.

"You always know what to say, huh?" I asked, my lips turning upward in a small smile.

"It's not hard with a simple minded guy like you," he said, this time laughing by the end he finished. I just loved when he joked around like this. His eyes would always shine with a child-like mischief, making his face look much younger and more easy-going. He always had this serious aura around him, so times like this were refreshing and made my love for him grow even more. The only thing I hated about this moment was the fact I couldn't see him. My imagination might be great, but seeing it in person was thousand times better.

"Just wait until you're back here. I'll show you just how simple minded I truly am," I replied, already planning my revenge for his words.

"I'm looking forward to it, darling! You know I love when you get creative!" Chuckling, I just shook my head in answer, though I knew he couldn't see me.

"I love you," I whispered, not being able to hold back. I really wanted to hug him at the moment.

Waiting for an answer, I frowned when all I got was terrible silence. Ready to say something, a low chuckle rang in my ear after a second.

"Love you too, of course. Did I scare you?" he asked, chuckling again when I growled playfully.

"Don't pull this shit ever again, Joshua. I swear I'll bite you next time! And you know I'm not talking about your lips or shoulder."

There was a sudden burst of laugher on the other end, making me laugh too.

*****

"Honey, what will it be? You can get whatever you want today! Aunt Mel promised, right?" Melanie smiled, ruffling Matty's brown hair. Looking at it, it was growing to be too long again. I should visit mum so she could take care of it again.

"I wanna ice cream and lemonade!" he said, smiling at Mel and me, his eyes sparkling.

We were currently sitting in a café near the park we were in just minutes ago, and it was kind of refreshing to be somewhere else. I loved my shop and work, but sitting somewhere else, where nothing had to do with you, was good once in a while.

"Alright buddy! Add two espressos and a strawberry muffin, please," Mel said to the waitress, smiling when the girl nodded and left.

"So, where do you want to go next?" I asked, looking at my son, chuckling when his expression turned into a deep-in-thoughts one. We were out for over three hours now, and I was slowly getting tired. The little monkey was full of energy, and running after him all the time was exhausting. I almost forgot how hard it was since he started the kindergarten.

"I wanna go see boats! Billy was there last week and was telling us about it the whole morning!" he said full of excitement, my mind automatically counting how far the nearest harbor was.

"It's pretty far from here, Matt. Do you think you'll manage to go on your own? I won't carry you." Looking at him, I smiled when I noticed the determination written all over his face.

"I will!" he pouted, his cute eyebrows crumbling under a frown. There was no way we would reach the harbor without any word from him, and I was pretty sure I was going to end up carrying him for at least the third of the whole journey. But I would do anything for my sweetheart, so there was no way I was going to say no.

Thanking the waitress who came back with our order, taking in the beautiful smell of coffee that hit my nose, I turned back to Matthias. I had to suppress the laugher that threatened to escape my lips when I saw his big eyes staring at the sundae in front of him.

"Look at him! He is staring at it all fascinated. There's no doubt about him being your son. You make that expression whenever you make a new cake or something and end up being surprised it tastes good." She laughed, reaching for something in her purse.

"I need to take a picture to show others." Laughing again, she stopped halfway when a shadow of another person standing in front of our table appeared.

It was a beautiful woman with wild black hair, her engaging eyes looking straight at me. I had a feeling I've seen her somewhere before, but I couldn't really place the face anywhere.

"No way! You are Oliver, right? You look so much cuter in real life!" she said, her voice louder than necessary.

"Hey, stop it. Look at the guy. He has no idea what's going on." Another woman came from behind her, her chocolate eyes looking at me apologetically. It was another beauty, with hair tied up in a complicated bun and bright blue earing falling down almost to her shoulders.

I had no idea who it was, but she was right. I was confused as never in my life, not understanding anything. I couldn't figure out from where I knew the first woman, and her overly familiar attitude made me uncomfortable. Staring at her for longer than a minute, I noticed her eyes going in the direction of my son, her expression suddenly mirroring my own confused one.

It took a second, a fraction of a second for me to finally realize who it was, and I felt my heartbeat speed up. The great sunny day suddenly turned into a disaster.

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Hello guys!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I feel like there's something off about it, but I can't really think of what it is, so don't hesitate to tell me if you know!

What do you think is going to happen now?

Is Alison going to figure out Vic has a child? And if so, will she tell Victor?

How do you think would a hypothetical legal proceeding end up if Victor really decided to try and take Matt away from Oli?

Thanks for all of your answers and enjoy the rest of the day! ^.^