I leaned forward. "I wish you'd told me, Ivy. I would have wanted to know. I needed him to live on, somehow."
She shook her head, voice trembling. "I was 20. And terrified you'd take him away, or that I'd just be another burden to you."
"This is my son's child."
Ivy stiffened. "He's my child too, Rose. I carried him, I raised him, through everything. I'm not about to hand him over like a coat you left behind at a party."
"I wish you'd told me."
Advertisement
"I'm not here to take him from you, sweetie. I just want to know him. I want to love what's left of Owen." The words tumbled out of me before I could stop them. "I could take him this weekend. Just for pancakes or the park —"
Ivy's head snapped up. "No."
Heat rushing to my face. "You're right. I'm sorry. That was too much, too fast."
The door opened behind us.
A tall man stepped in, shoulders tense, eyes moving quickly between Ivy and me.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Ivy's fingers twisted together. "We were just talking. This is Theo's dad, Mark."
"About?" His gaze landed on me.
She swallowed. "About Theo."
"This is Theo's dad, Mark."
Advertisement
He frowned slightly. "Okay…"
I stepped forward before she could spiral. "I'm Rose," I said. "Owen's mother, and Theo's teacher."
He studied my face. "Owen?"
"My son," I said. "He died five years ago."
Recognition flickered across his expression. He did the math.
Ivy's voice broke. "Theo is his."
He looked at Ivy. Not angry. Not yet. Just stunned.
"Theo is his."
Advertisement
"You told me Theo's father was gone," he said carefully.
"He is. He died before he ever knew."
Mark's jaw tightened as he processed it. Then he looked at me again. "You're saying… you're his grandmother."
"Yes," I said. "I found out today. And I'll be here... if you let me."
"You didn't tell her," he said to Ivy.
She shook her head once.
Mark exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"This isn't about biology," he said finally. "It's about what happens next."
"He died before he ever knew."
Advertisement
