The CEO's Rejected Wife And Secret Heir novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Chapter 16 : The Almost-Encounter

Aria pov

The morning sun felt too bright and cheerful for the knot of anxiety in my stomach.

"Come on, Mama!" Noah tugged at my hand, pulling me toward the playground entrance. "I want to swing!"

"Okay, okay." I laughed despite my nerves, letting him drag me through the gates of Riverside Park.

It was Saturday, and the park was already filling with families. Children’s laughter mixed with the sounds of dogs barking and birds singing. Normal, peaceful, safe.

So why did I feel like I was walking into danger?

"Push me!" Noah climbed onto a swing, his little legs kicking with excitement.

I moved behind him, giving him a gentle push. "Not too high."

"Higher!" He squealed, laughing as he rose into the air.

I pushed harder, watching him soar, his dark curls flying in the wind. He looked so happy, so carefree.

This was what mattered. This moment with my little boy.

Not the messages from Damien that I’d deleted without reading. Not the lunch with Lucas I had planned for Monday. Not the constant fear that everything I’d built would come crashing down.

Just this.

"Look, Mama!" Noah pointed to a jogger passing by on the path. "That man runs fast!"

I glanced over absently, then froze.

The jogger had dark hair. Tall, athletic build. Expensive running gear.

And he was slowing down, looking our way.

My heart stopped.

Damien.

He jogged past regularly, his security team had mentioned in their reports. This was his route, his park.

I’d been so careful to avoid the times they’d noted, but today was Saturday. He never came on Saturdays.

Except apparently he did.

"Mama, push!" Noah’s voice pulled my attention back.

But I couldn’t move. Could only watch as Damien jogged closer, still not looking directly at us but heading this way.

Noah’s swing was slowing. "Mama?"

I snapped back to reality. "Baby, let’s go to the slide instead."

"But I want to swing!" He protested, his voice rising.

"Noah." I kept my tone firm but gentle. "Slide. Now."

He heard something in my voice that made him comply, scrambling off the swing with a confused look.

I grabbed his hand, maybe too tightly, and started walking quickly toward the other side of the playground.

"Mama, you’re hurting my hand," Noah complained.

"Sorry, baby." I loosened my grip but didn’t slow down. "I just—let’s go to the big slide over there."

We were almost to the far playground when Noah’s ball rolled out of his backpack, bouncing away across the grass.

"My ball!" He yanked free from my hand before I could stop him, running after it.

"Noah!" I called, but he was already gone, chasing the ball toward the jogging path.

Toward Damien.

My blood turned cold as I ran after him, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.

Noah reached the ball just as Damien jogged closer. He bent down to pick it up, his small body directly in Damien’s path.

Damien slowed, his attention caught by the small child in front of him.

"Sorry!" I called out, my voice higher than normal. I reached Noah, snatching him up along with the ball. "Sorry, excuse us!"

I turned away quickly, holding Noah against my chest, his face buried in my shoulder.

"Mama?" His voice was muffled. "Why are you scared?"

"I’m not scared," I lied, my heart pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears. "Just didn’t want you to get in the jogger’s way."

But as I walked away, I felt eyes on my back.

I forced myself not to look. Forced myself to keep walking, to stay calm, to not run like every instinct was screaming at me to do.

"You’re squishing me," Noah complained.

"Sorry." I set him down but kept his hand firmly in mine. "Let’s go home, baby."

"But we just got here!" He looked up at me with those ice-blue eyes, so heartbreakingly like his father’s. "You promised we could stay all morning!"

"I know, but" I glanced back despite myself.

Damien had stopped jogging. He stood on the path, looking in our direction.

Looking at Noah.

My throat closed. Could he tell? Could he see his own features in my son’s face from this distance?

"Mama, please?" Noah tugged at my hand. "Five more minutes?"

I looked down at him, at his hopeful expression, and felt my resolve cracking.

He deserved to play. Deserved to be a normal kid who spent Saturday mornings at the park.

I couldn’t let Damien take that from us too.

"Five minutes," I agreed, my voice tight. "But stay where I can see you."

"Yay!" He ran toward the slides, his earlier confusion forgotten.

I followed slowly, positioning myself so I could watch Noah while keeping Damien in my peripheral vision.

He was still standing there, staring.

Then his phone rang. I saw him answer it, his posture changing from curious to alert. He spoke briefly, then turned and jogged away in the opposite direction.

I released a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

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