I managed to finish the chapter!

The weather is still the same, still over 30°C, but it should get better at the end of this week. If the forecast is at least a little bit right, it should drop several degrees, which would be perfect! This summer is just too hot for me. I'm not friends with 30°C+ degrees. I think it actually ruins my brain >.<

Anyways, things are heating up! ^.^

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OLIVER's POV

The whole scene in front of me seemed like a scene from a movie. And even though I knew hell was about to break free, all I could do was stand still, barely breathing.

"What are you doing here, to make trouble again? One would think you've done enough." Josh's voice was cold. He was standing in front of me, shielding me from Victor with his broad back, and I couldn't be more grateful to him.

Why did Victor have to show up at this moment? Joshua was finally back, and all I wanted to do was spend some quality time with him. Just enjoy his presence, relax a bit. My ex disturbing this time was the worst.

"Now, now. What about we all calm down and sit down somewhere to talk? I'm here, so there's no reason to be so tense!" sounded right after the door opened again, and my mood went down even more. Like hell she would calm everyone down. She wasn't any better than Victor.

"And who might you be?" My not-so-calm man asked, his shoulders tensing even more. I could see he was too distressed, and if it continued, something bad would definitely happen. Choosing to step out for that reason, I touched his arm gently, squeezing it a little bit.

"It's okay, Josh." I looked up, smiling at him, my lips twitching a bit.

"That's his fiancée, Alison." I sighed, starting to feel a tad bit irritated. Josh had no idea Victor knew about Matty, and I wanted to tell him when we got back home, so we could actually talk about it in peace. These two coming here meant he would find out now. Which wasn't good. Which wasn't good at all.

"I don't know why you are here, but before we talk, I need a minute." I grabbed Josh's hand and dragged him to the kitchen with me, telling Mel to get Victor with Alison seated somewhere in the corner. I didn't need unwanted company when we would be having the talk.

I managed to glace at Charlie to see if he was okay, and was surprised he actually kept a smile and continued serving the customers. He was a bit tense in the shoulders, and his face was a bit paler than before, but it was a huge improvement since the last time. The new guy had to have a great influence on him.

"What's going on, Ollie?" Joshua asked when the door closed behind us, looking at me with confused eyes.

I hated this situation. If it was anyone else, I would just tell them to leave so I could have enough time to explain everything to Josh, but this was Victor we were talking about. He wouldn't leave even if fire broke out in the café.

I sighed, frustration creeping in. I really didn't know where to start, there were just too many things to explain, and not enough time. Mulling it over for a while, I decided to start with the worst one. It can get only better when the worst one is out of the way, right?

"He knows about Matt." Running my hand through my hair, all agitated, I went over to the only sitting area in the kitchen, and sat down. It was weird, but all of a sudden, I felt so tired it was almost impossible to keep my eyes opened. All the stress from the past week had been piling up, and even though Josh was a great reliever, it was not enough at the moment.

"What am I supposed to do, Joshua? I just-" His strong arms wrapped around me, hugging me so tightly it hurt for a second.

"It's going to be okay. I have no idea what's going on, but it seems like you went through a lot of trouble while I was gone. I'm sorry for not being here for you, Oliver."

A sight of relief left my lips, my arms going around his shoulders. I really didn't know what I would do if I didn't have him by my side. He was like my guardian angel.

"I wanted to talk about it after we got home. Why does he keep on ruining everything?" I murmured, leaning against his arm.

I would give anything for this moment to last a bit longer. He was giving me strength just by being here with me, but it was impossible. There was a big problem sitting in my café, and I had to take care of it before it exploded into a bigger mess.

"You can tell me anything and everything, Ollie. It doesn't matter when or in what order. I will listen. And we will figure it out together. That's what partners are for, after all." He kissed my head, gently stroking my arm.

It took everything in me to get up and start my way towards the man that was hell-bent on ruining my life. If there was anything I wanted to avoid doing, it would be meeting Victor McNemara ever again. I never expected he would appear in my life like this. There was a part of me that was terrified of it happening, but I was in a huge denial considering this problem. Moving away and starting my own business, while taking care of Matty and having Josh by my side was like heaven. Who would want to admit there was someone with power to destroy it all?

"It's going to be alright," Josh's quiet voice sounded behind me, his hand taking my hand and squeezing it. It was such a simple gesture, but it gave me so much strength it seems unreal.

"I'm going to go with you, so you don't have to worry about anything. We will figure it out. He won't hurt you again. Not when I'm around."

I took a deep breath and, stepping out of the kitchen, went straight towards the table they were seated at. At least, we were in public. God knows what he would do if we were talking somewhere private, just the two of us.

*****

The tension was terrible. There were four people sitting around the small table, but it felt as if there were fifty of us. I hated the atmosphere that surrounded us. I loved my work and people around here, so feeling like this while being in the shop felt extremely wrong, and it was making everything even worse. The last thing I needed was to remember this situation every day I came to work.

We should had gone somewhere else.

"So," Josh started instead of me, and even though I was grateful for his initiative, I wasn't sure it was a good idea. I could see Victor was beyond pissed when he noticed Josh was coming with me, and I didn't want to provoke him more than he already was. If I had to talk with him, I'd rather have him calmed down.

"What did you come here for?" I asked, laying my hand on Josh's thigh to relax him. He seemed rather calm when we were leaving the kitchen, but the moment we sat down, his whole posture tensed, and I could see he hated the situation as much as I did. I couldn't blame him, though. He was in between this mess, and even though it didn't affect him directly, it was still part of his life - I almost pitied him for getting together with me, a person with so much baggage. If he found someone else, he could be happy without having to worry about these stupid problems.

But I would never give him up. Not now, not ever.

I was glad Kyle was picking up Matty today. By the end of this conversation, I would need the much desired alone time with Josh even more than up until now, and Matty being with his uncle was giving us enough time to be alone for a while. I loved Matt with every fiber of my being, and if he would be home, I would definitely cuddle with him and Josh while watching television, but Kyle was taking him on his own accord, so it wasn't like I wanted him out of our way. I would just use the opportunity to the fullest.

I could see Victor taking a deep breath, a sign he was readying himself to talk, but Alison was faster.

"I think there's only one reason we would be here, don't you think?" her sweet melodic voice was like a poison. This was the third time I met her, and I already hated her as much as Victor. She didn't have any right to stick her nose into our business. It didn't concern her in any way.

I looked at Victor, trying my hardest to ignore the woman. Just looking at her was giving me a headache.

He was staring back at me, eyes full of emotions I didn't want to remember. It's been five years, but his eyes were still the same. When I met him for the first time after so many years, I thought he was different. He seemed the same, but his face was a lot colder. Looking at him now, though, I couldn't had been more wrong.

I could see the storm of confusion and anger in his eyes. He was looking at me, and I was one hundred percent sure he didn't know how to start. If I didn't think it was nonsense, I would think he was a bit scared too, but that was impossible. My ability to read him was too rusty for me to guess that far.

"Victor," I started, but was stopped by his raised hand.

"Give a second. I'm actually trying to be nice here," he mumbled, eyes still on me.

If the situation wasn't as grave as it was, I would probably laugh. Hearing those words come out of his mouth was just ridiculous. He was either playing with me or had gone mad, there was no other explanation for his sudden trying-to-be-nice attitude. This wasn't like him at all.

Keeping our eye contact, the seconds ticking by felt like hours. I wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but the fact it took him so long to get it out of himself like this was unusual. He never took long to speak. If anything, he spoke his mind out more than necessary, and it got him in a lot of troubles in the past. This stranger in front of me was too confusing for me to figure out.

When he finally breathed in again and opened his mouth, I wished for him to keep quiet for the whole eternity.

"I want to meet our son," he said, voice unexpectedly low, almost insecure. He was looking at me with this weirdly vulnerable eyes, and I wasn't sure what I should make out of it. It was as if the Victor in front of me was someone else compared to the one who stepped into the shop minutes ago. If I didn't know better, I would say it was his twin or doppelganger.

This couldn't be Victor McNemara. That was impossible.

I could feel Josh tensing up even more next to me, but I didn't have time to react to either of them. The sound of the door being opened disturbed the moment, and I turned around unaware of why. Just then, all my blood drained from my face, and I could almost hear my heart stopping for few seconds.

Kyle went in, Matty running into the shop in front of him, impish smile gracing his cute face.

Normally, I would stand up immediately and run to him so I could hug him to no end, but I was too shocked at the moment. I was frozen on the spot, staring at both of them with huge eyes, unable to react in any way.

Why did my brother always have such a terrible timing?!

I was sure my brain was about to explode from all the thinking I was doing at the moment, but luckily, Kyle decided to finally speak up.

"Ollie, I'm so-," he paused, his eyes going wide as well.

"Oh shit!" he cursed, my fatherly instinct kicking in immediately.

"Watch your words, Kyle!" I grumbled, finally getting up and going towards my lovely son. Count on Kyle ruining everything and then making it better in a matter of few seconds. My brother was an expert in this.

"Daddy, I got uncle to take me here! I want your ice-cream!" Matty yelled while chuckling, and even though the situation couldn't be worse than it already was, I smiled at him. He was just too cute, and I couldn't show him how bad I actually felt at the moment.

"Oh, really? I think daddy needs to scold Uncle Kyle, huh?" I took him in my arms, kissing him on the cheek. I was definitely going to have a talk with Kyle later on.

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So, how was it?

It's been a long time, and I'm sorry for that. I just can't really write when it's too hot outside. We don't have an A/C at home or at work, so the temperatures get crazy over the day.

But enough of this.

Do you think Victor was being sincere in this chapter, or was it all just some kind of a game on his side?

What do you think about Josh in this chapter?

Did you expect Victor will get to see his son so soon?

Let me know what you think!