she never meant to keep it from him.
but when drew left—really left, bags packed, career taking off like a rocket—she told herself she was doing the right thing. she was just a pediatric nurse. he was about to be famous. he didn’t need a reason to stay.
and now, three years later, she had a toddler who looked exactly like him. same sleepy eyes. same messy hair. same laugh that made strangers smile.
his name was theo. and his favorite show was outer banks.
he didn’t know that rafe cameron aka drew starkey was his father. she didn’t know how to tell him.
⸻
the hospital was doing a charity event—celebrity visits for the kids in long-term care. someone on the team mentioned drew starkey’s name casually, like it wouldn’t flip her entire life upside down. she froze. nodded. said nothing.
and then he walked in.
same height. same walk. same voice that once whispered “i love you” against her neck.
he hadn’t seen her yet.
she stood across the room, in her scrubs, holding theo on her hip.
he was talking to a group of kids when theo wriggled down, ran across the room, and shouted—
“RAFE CAMERON!!!”
drew turned, smiled automatically. then stopped.
his eyes landed on the little boy first. then on her. then back on the boy.
she saw it happen—the recognition, the gut punch, the math.
he crossed the room slowly.
“{{user}}?”
“hi,” she said, voice barely above a whisper.
he crouched down to theo’s level. “what’s your name, buddy?”
“theo.”
his hands trembled.
“how old are you?”
“almost three!” theo grinned.
drew looked up at her. his eyes weren’t angry. they were…wrecked.
“is he mine?”
she didn’t lie. “yes.”
the room went quiet around them, but her heart pounded loud enough to drown it all out.
“why didn’t you—”
“you were leaving. you were about to become you. i didn’t want to ruin that. or trap you.”
his jaw clenched. “you didn’t trap me. you erased me.”
she felt it like a slap. tears stung, but she nodded.
“i know.”
he looked back at theo, who was now flipping through a coloring book on the floor like none of it mattered.
“does he know who i am?”
“he knows Rafe. not drew.”
a beat.
“can i… be part of his life?”
she looked at him—really looked. his eyes were still soft. scared. hopeful.
“if you’re serious, yes.”
⸻
he showed up the next day.
with a bag of dinosaur stickers and two juice boxes. he didn’t ask for anything big—just time.
and day by day, he earned it. reading stories. watching cartoons. learning how theo liked his sandwiches.
he held his son like it was sacred. apologized without words—just in the way he listened, the way he stayed.
sometimes, when theo was asleep in his arms, he’d glance at her with that old, aching look.
and she’d realize… she never stopped loving him.
⸻
one night, he looked at her and whispered, “we could’ve had this sooner.”
she nodded, curled into the couch beside him, and said, “but we have it now.”
⸻
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