Page 55 of Rejected Broken Mate

"Of course, I feel bad," she screamed. "My son grew up without a father! He grew up with a mom who could hardly balance her life, let alone him. I'm sorry you feel robbed, but life wasn't fucking cupcakes and rainbows for me!"

“Well, it’s a good thing you age quicker, I’ll have plenty of extra time with him after you die.” Laura’s eyes widened in horror, and suddenly, I wished I could take the words back.

Laura's office door swung open. "Hey, that's enough." I watched as Owen stepped into her office. He grabbed my shoulder, shoving me a step back. "Miles, out now."

I looked back at Laura, who had refused to look at me. She had turned away, and all I could see was her hair as Owen stepped into my view.

I turned, storming out, but Owen continued to push me, pointing towards the stairs. "Move. Outside."

I head down the stairs to the garage and then out towards the front, and Owen crosses his arms, glaring at me. "I don't know what the hell has been going on between you two, but you aren't going to scream at each other inside the fire station."

I turned, running my hands through my hair, fury building in my belly. I tried to pace, shaking my head.

"Do you have any idea how this feels? Not only to find out that you are the father of a kid, but this kid doesn't want anything to do with you? You should see the look in his eyes! It was like pure hatred."

I paced some more, gripping my hands into fists.

Owen leaned against the building. "Yelling at Laura isn't going to change that. If anything, it’s only going to make everything worse."

I turned, glaring at him. "She never told him about me. And the kid hates me. The kid looked at me like I was the worst person he’d ever met."

My mind traveled to my folks. Growing up, I tried so hard to be the best and to impress them where I could. My folks didn't give affection often. It had to be earned, and the older I got, the harder it became. I always thought the harder I tried, the more they would eventually love me.

I remember getting straight A's, being busy with sports, and always being interested in anything they brought up. I spent endless nights reading up on my father's job, trying to spark conversations with him.

They never went to any of my sporting events, and they weren't there when I won awards in school. When they went to my graduation, they only saw me walk before leaving, going back to their day because it was more important.

When I returned, it seemed only to get worse. My parents expected more, and my father gave no mercy when it came to business. It all became too much, and I finally snapped. No matter what I did, I was never going to be enough, so I promised that when I finally found the person and settled down, I would be an amazing dad. I would never leave them or make them feel abandoned. I never wanted to be like my parents. I wanted to be around for everything, even the stupid, silly, unimportant things that didn't matter.

"I missed out on so much already, and he doesn't want anything to do with me."

Owen crossed his arms. "Why did you guys break up?"

I thought of our relationship. I knew that Laura loved me, and I only gave her half of what she deserved. I could have loved her more. I could have been there for her more. And she had a good reason.

"I hate who I was before, Owen." I felt my shoulders sink. "But I'm not that guy anymore. I've not been that guy in years."

"But you were," Owen said. "You can't change your past, Miles. And you can't change the decisions she made."

"And what if he doesn't want a relationship with me at all because of it?"

Owen made a face, shaking his head. "I think he will, but it takes time. I don't see any kid just accepting this without being full of emotions and having questions. Michael is smart, but he's also reserved. It's clear that Laura and him have been through things, and he often looks up to his mother."

I frown. "I'm not trying to ruin that. I just want to be part of it."

Owen nodded. "Yeah, but that's not how he might see it. He sees it as a threat. You just have to give him time. Let him calm down and think things over. I'm sure he will come around."

I ran my hands over my face again.

"And during that, you and Laura needed to find some even ground. Whether you guys decide to be together or just parent separately, you need to know that all before Michael wants to ask questions."

"Be together or separately? What the hell does that mean?

Owen raises an eyebrow. "Do you really think we're that stupid? You realize that we have cameras outside, right? I know you guys left looking a little disheveled the one day, so don't even deny you guys had sex."

I didn't know what to say. I was hoping no one would know about what happened between us and her office.

"Whether you guys want to be together or not, you can't be screaming at each other like that. Michael will never want you if you go against his mother. So, get your shit together and figure out what you want."

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