Anyway, it's a bit longer than other chapters, and to be honest, I had tears in my eyes while writing some parts. But, well...let's see what you think about it! Hope you'll enjoy reading it!

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OLIVER's POV

I was walking from side to side in Kyle's kitchen, nervous and stressed at the same time. Matty was sitting at the table and eating a sandwich I prepared from the little I found in Kyle's fridge, and Joshua was by his side, watching me with worries written all over his face.

It had been a few days since all the hell broke out, and I still couldn't get used to it. Whenever I went out, people were looking at me. Some of our regular customers stopped coming, and for each, another dozen started to come by to see the miraculous guy who gave birth to McNemara's child. It was insane.

The impact this whole mess had on Matt was a different kind of a problem. Nothing big happened, not really. But he knew something changed. Who wouldn't, when you were constantly followed and bothered by hungry journalists? He was asking nonstop why the strange people were following us all the time, why daddy was on TV and in magazines, and why were they taking photos of us every time we got out. And even though he was a smart child, he didn't understand the situation at all. I tried to explain it to him more than once, but he was still too little to know what business and being famous meant.

We were lucky nothing really bad had happened yet, but I was scared shitless for the moment it would.

"Calm down, Ollie. It's going to be okay," Josh said, giving me a crooked smile.

His face was strained and darkened as much as mine. The situation was hard for him too, maybe even harder than for me, considering he was the extra-in-between me, Victor and Matty, right now. Some spineless assholes didn't mind to go so far as to stalk him to his workplace, bother his coworkers and then, as if it wasn't enough, write some shitty article about him being a homewrecker and man-whore who stole the big bad Victor McNemara his man and son. It was disgusting.

With that, and his boss not happy with paparazzi all around their workplace, he had about enough of everything. We even fought two days ago, and I hated the fact it was happening to us. I knew there was no such thing as a perfect relationship without any conflict and arguments, but I hated we were fighting because of this. I wouldn't mind if it was something like a color of the carpet, or me looking at another guy and admiring his nice ass. Just let it be something normal, not this insane situation.

I was about to reply and tell him I would calm down after all of this was over when the doorbell rang. I spun around, staring into the hallway with a dread creeping up my back. In the past few days, I had to think about Victor more than I ever did in all of the five years we hadn't seen each other. It was terrifying and freeing at the same time, and knowing today might be the day our relationship would get resolved was, to say the least, weird.

"Go get it." Josh stood up, walking over to me and giving my forehead a passing kiss.

"I'll be in Kyle's bedroom if it's not too messy." He chuckled, ruffling my hair, winking at Matty and leaving us there all alone, in front of one of the hardest situations in my life.

Breathing in and out for a few seconds, the bell ringing once again, I went to the main door and opened it. Victor was standing there, stepping from one foot to another, looking extremely out of place.

"Hi," I said, opening the door more widely so he could get in. It was weird, having him over in Kyle's place like this. It was part of my private life, life Victor didn't share with me. Inviting him in was like inviting him into my life, and that made me scared shitless. But it had to be done.

"Hi, Oliver." He smiled, coming inside and – to my utter surprise – stopping and looking around the entrance hall. When he noticed all the shoes there, he took his off as well and continued towards the kitchen. Any other time, he would have continued without even thinking about whether the people living there walked around in shoes or not, but he was actually considerate enough to check and follow. He was either still trying to impress me, for whatever reason, or he really changed in the past five years. I wasn't sure which option was scarier.

The moment he stepped into the kitchen, I could hear a squeaky sound of a chair being pushed back, and small steps thudding on the floor.

"Dad!" Matty's voice was so full of happiness I almost felt like a villain in a story who was planning to ruin the main character's life.

"Matt! How have you been?" Vic asked, giving Matthias space to speak as much as he wanted – and that he loved to talk. I followed in his steps, finding Matt high in Victor's arms in the middle of the kitchen, both their faces shining with pure joy.

I didn't want to disturb the moment. It was a moment between a son and his father, and interrupting them felt wrong. But we were here for one reason only, and if I wanted to give Matty and Victor more opportunities to be like this together, we seriously needed to talk.

Waiting for them to finish their conversation about their current topic – about how Matt saw Victor and me on TV, I came over and patted my son's shoulder.

"Honey, I want to talk to you dad for a minute. Could you go to play in the living room? You will have enough time afterward to talk dad's ear off." I smiled, feeling guilty as never before as I saw some of the shine disappear from his face. Oh man, I'm a terrible father, I thought, ignoring the need to tell them to continue and leaving the issues I called Victor for another time.

"You promise?" he asked, looking from me to Victor and back, clutching Vic's jacket with all his might.

Suppressing a groan, I smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Of course, honey. I've never lied to you, have I?" I asked, watching him shook his head slowly. Victor let him go, whispered something to him I couldn't hear, which made Matt all bright again, and our son ran to the living room just as I told him.

"Let's sit down. Do you want something to drink or eat?" I asked, going over to the fridge. From what I observed before, there wasn't much to offer as Kyle's fridge was almost empty, but I thought there was enough to make at least one more sandwich. My brother was completely unprepared when it came to having guests over, but there was nothing to be done about it. I was happy he let me have this meeting here in the first place, and being disgraceful wasn't right.

"Just something to drink, thanks." He sat down, watching me with curious eyes, his questions and expectations written all over his face. This was starting to give me a headache. Was I doomed to ruin everyone's mood today or something? First Matt, now Victor. This was bad for karma.

Getting two cans of beer, which was one thing my brother wasn't short on, I put it in front of us and sat down. It was hard to start the conversation, but it was unavoidable now, and I had to get it done. Taking a deep breath, I started to speak words I had been mulling over in my head for the past few days.

"Vic, I'm going to start a bit off-topic, but it's related and it has to be said to avoid any further misunderstandings," I said, feeling weirdly relaxed and at peace all of a sudden. This mess was hell. But it brought one positive thing into my life, and that was why my anger at him was almost nonexistent.

Looking into his eyes, really looking this time, I smiled a sad smile.

"I don't have any feelings for you anymore. Not the ones you're hoping for."

He was frowning now, but however bad it might have sounded, his expression didn't change as much as someone's who was in love with you and just got rejected should. Which proved my idea as of what his so-called feelings toward me were at the moment.

"As you said on the TV, we have our own lives now, and that is not going to change. What we have to do now, though, is work out how to deal with the publicity. We are parents, and I know you didn't have enough time to get used to it, and I'm sorry about that. I really am. But we have to protect our son." I never stopped looking in his eyes, trying my hardest to read him. Now that I was finally free of all the hatred and bitter feelings towards him, I saw he was still like an opened book if you looked for the right signs. When you once found out the right things to look for to see into someone, there was no way you would forget it.

Staring at me, not saying a word, I was overwhelmed by a sudden wave of sadness. This relationship had been over for several years, but now, it felt like the real deal. I was cutting it out all over again, this time with a clear mind, remembering the bad moments and the good ones we went through together.

Reaching out, I placed my hand on his, continuing before I forgot what I wanted to say; before I lost the courage to.

"Vic, the past few days forced me to think about you and me so much it made me feel like I was obsessed." I smiled, his warm hand giving me the strength to go on.

"It opened a new path for me, too. I've been holding onto my hatred towards you this whole time. I've been cursing you and hoping you would hurt the same way as me when I found you with Charlie in our bed that night.

When we met again, I was ready to fight you with all my might. I was still holding a grudge. Being an adult and a parent, I was acting immature, but I refused to see that. The day we spent together as a family brought back memories I didn't want to remember, and I was convinced I had to stay away from you more than ever."

He suddenly squeezed my hand, and I could see he was starting to realize this was it. He looked sad, but not in a you-just-broke-my-heart kind of way. No, it was the same kind of sadness as mine. It was a sadness of something ending. Something you quite clearly had no idea you had, but suddenly lost it and realized it won't be the same anymore.

"But this whole mess made me get close to you as never before, even though just in my mind. And it helped me let go. It helped me realize there was no reason for me to hate you. Yes, you hurt me. You are an asshole who cheated on me for half a year with a barely legal man. But it was a long time ago. I was able to find new love. I have a lovely son, who is your son as well, and we have to give him the best we can. There is no reason for me to hold onto the hatred." Tears welled up in my eyes, but I let them flow freely. There was no reason to feel ashamed. Not when the person in from of you was in the same state as me.

"I finally managed to forgive you, Victor. Now, when I look at you, I see an old friend who knows a lot about my past me. I see a man who will be a great father to our son. A man who will help me with Matt when he hits puberty and starts to act up in a way I don't recognize. A man who will help Matthias with things I won't be able to – and I'm sure there will be things like that. He is our son, after all. When you combine me and you together, there is sure to be something unpredictable happening." I chuckled, the tears spilling over and falling down my cheeks.

"But I need you to let go of the expectations. I know you think you're in love with me, but you're not. I remember what it was like when we were in love, how you looked at me, how you acted, and how the love shone in your eyes. None of it is present now. All I see is this hope for something. But Victor, what do you hope for? What is it you want from me after five years of nothing? Because, if you really loved me, you would come after me no matter what all those years ago. But you didn't. I think you were falling out of love, that's why you were with Charlie. There is no way a mere fling would last half a year. You know that. You have to know that."

He was looking at me with his mouth slightly opened, and slowly let go of my hand. I could see he was fighting with something within himself, but when he finally looked away and wiped his wet eyes, he mumbled something which made me feel relieved and sad at the same time.

"Stability," he said, his eyes still turned away.

"What I had with you five years ago," he paused, probably searching for the right words or gathering courage to continue. It was hard to say which, but either way, I would give him as much time as he needed. Getting Victor to speak like this way hard. And when I finally managed, I would do almost anything to make him continue. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to get anywhere.

"I've never had anything like that with anyone if you don't count Charlie, but even that was all wrong. You were stability I haven't had since being a kid. You know, when my mother," he stopped midway again, and I knew he wouldn't continue with this topic. Talking about his mother was always risky. And with both of us crying like idiots, this would not be a day he chose to speak about it.

"It's ridiculous, really. I came rushing here with my heart beating so fast it was almost painful, thinking you finally saw we were meant to be together and all that. But a few minutes of you speaking, and it's all turned around and I suddenly feel empty and free at the same time. I wonder if all I really needed was your forgiveness. Shit." He wiped at his eyes again, and I was on my feet right that moment, going for a hug. To think I was full of poisonous thoughts and hatred towards this guy a week ago, and now, I was crying with him and hugging him. It was, just as Vic said, ridiculous.

"You're selfish and stubborn. You're used to getting anything you set your eyes on. You're the big bad boss. It's not surprising you would go after something you wanted without giving it much thought," I said, looking over his shoulder to check if Matty wasn't watching us. The last thing he needed was to see his parents cry.

"Nah, it's the sobriety. If I wasn't sober, I would fight for my truth with all means possible."

"Then keep sober, will you? You're much more reasonable when you're not intoxicated." I chuckled, letting go and looking in his eyes. They were much brighter, like any other eyes which just shed way too many tears. But they were way more relaxed and warm in comparison to his stare when he arrived, and it gave me an assurance this conversation was at least partly successful. The boundaries I tried to set before the catastrophe with the press were there now, and that was all I needed. That was all we needed to move on in our relationship and lives.

"Now, we should probably talk about the mess all over the news. That was the main purpose of this meeting, after all," I said, going back to my seat and opening the can of beer. It was ironic, but this talk was going to be much more stressful for me than the previous one.

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So, how many of you hate me after reading this chapter?

I know there are many of you who hoped Victor and Ollie would end up together, but I tried my best to hint otherwise since the moment I decided the ending. To explain more about my decision, please read the author's note that is posted after the epilogue. It will give you a bit of an idea of how my mind works and why I decided to write it this way.

You can help me decide which cover to use for the second book too - there are a few covers I made at the end of the author's note, and I'd love some help. I'm not entirely sure which is the best (though, I have a favorite, of course).