Chapter 5 Shadows of Family Secret.

"Lorenzo, I don't think there are human traffickers as beautiful as her," Jay said in a whisper. His eyes had never left Amelia's face since he came in.

He had never seen anyone so beautiful and graceful before.

Jay was completely stunned that he couldn't even move from where he was when he saw the woman!

"Are you kidding me? You have stayed with those stupid women for far too long, Jay. Have you ever seen any one of those bad guys with the words 'bad guy' written clearly on their faces?" Lorenzo waved his hand dismissively despite what Jay said. "You can take the people back and tell my mom that Eric has been found and is safe. I'll bring him home later."

"OK. Got it!" Jay shrugged as he stole a glance at Amelia. There was an unmistakable smile on his face. "Let's go, hurry up! You're getting in the way! You don't know anything, and you can't do anything."

Jay ranted for no reason. He was apparently upset when he realized that Lorenzo would stay. Jay was worried that if Lorenzo and Amelia developed something between them, then he would have no chance anymore.

Alas! Jay felt so demoralized.

Eric smiled like he was the happiest person in the world. He gave Lorenzo a kiss on the cheek with a smile. "Mommy looks so beautiful, doesn't she?" he asked in his childish voice.

"No. Don't call her Mommy ever again. Do you hear me?" Hearing Eric say the word "Mommy" got on Lorenzo's nerves. The little guy understood the relationship between a mother and a father, and yet he chose to call her so and in an intimate way too.

"Mommy said that I could call her Mommy if no one else is around. And you're my daddy, not an outsider, so that means I can call her Mommy," Eric explained with a childish grin.

"Defending yourself, huh?" Lorenzo asked sarcastically. "Humph! Of course!"

"Sir, he is just a kid. He will let go of it after a while. It's late now. He should go to bed," Amelia said as she prepared Eric's bed and accompanied him there.

"I want Mommy to sleep with me," Eric demanded as he wrapped his small arms around Amelia's neck.

Lorenzo frowned. He was displeased with the situation. It was the first time he had seen Eric become so demanding and dependent on someone. He had grown up very independent since he was a child. He was always distant to his nanny, grandmother, and even to his father.

He was acting totally foolish at that moment with Amelia.

Amelia took a brief glance at Lorenzo, and she immediately felt anxious because of his aura that exerted an invisible force, making her feel pressured even if he simply stood there.

"She can sleep with you, but you have to promise to go home with me tomorrow morning," Lorenzo told Eric in a compromising tone as he specified the condition for allowing what he wanted.

Eric held up his head by supporting his chin with his chubby fingers as he pondered his father's condition for a while. "I will go home with you, but you have to sleep with me tonight too," he said.

"Well, just let your daddy accompany you to sleep, and I will be sleeping on the sofa," Amelia said in an agreeable tone of voice.

"No. I want both Daddy and Mommy to sleep next to me tonight," Eric explained. His voice suddenly became serious as his childish smile faded away.

Amelia felt like her brain was melting. 'Did God send this little guy to give me a hard time?' she wondered.

It was the evening of her first day back, and she had to sleep with a strange man.

She could bear to sleep with the little guy. That would not be a problem for her, but she didn't know what to do with the big one.

"Eric. I don't think it's a good idea," she said in a soft voice as she turned to Eric. She felt so nervous that cold sweat started to flow down her back.

Instead of answering Amelia's question, Eric turned to his father instead. "It's okay, isn't it, Daddy?" he asked Lorenzo with a slight tilt of his head.

He remembered what Jay told him before-that many girls liked his daddy. And that was why he kept an eye on him and forbade him from seeing girls.

He felt that he had to look out for his daddy for his mommy.

"Well, not very good, but not bad either," Lorenzo said uneasily.

It was an unexpected response from Lorenzo because he did not refuse Eric's request. He took off his coat, lay down in bed, and started to get comfortable. "Can we sleep now?" he asked.

He'd been restless since Eric disappeared, and now that Eric was back, his body had started to feel how badly he needed to have some rest.

"Yes. Mommy, let's go to sleep now," Eric said with a charming smile as he turned to her.

Amelia checked her watch. It was already two o'clock. She knew she just couldn't keep worrying about the situation.

She bit her lips as she nodded without saying anything.

"Yes! Great! I have both Daddy and Mommy now!" Eric exclaimed in excitement. To avoid being embarrassed, Amelia remembered to turn off the light before she lay down with them.

Eric held Amelia's hand in one hand and Lorenzo's in the other.

But as soon as she was in bed, she immediately regretted her decision to turn off the light. The atmosphere in the bedroom immediately became more embarrassing in the dark.

Eric quickly fell asleep between them.

The two adults, on the other hand, felt so fired up that they found it hard to breathe and sleep.

It became quickly obvious to Lorenzo that he overestimated his willpower. He thought that he would immediately fall asleep as soon as he lay down. But the tension that built up in the room kept him wide awake. His mind raced back to the one night stand he had that birth his son, Eric. He mind raced back to the lady he had sex with.

The warmth of her touch sent a shiver down his spine. Slowly, as if guided by an invisible force, they moved closer. Her breath mingled with his, her eyes searching his for permission, for understanding.

And then, the tension broke. Their lips met in a hesitant kiss that quickly deepened, growing in intensity. The room seemed to disappear around them as they explored the unfamiliar sensations that coursed through their bodies.

It was a night filled with passion and vulnerability, a connection forged in mystery and desire. Lorenzo didn't know her name, nor did she know his, but for those fleeting hours, they existed solely for each other.

Even now, years later, the thought of it made his chest tighten. Who was she? Why had his mother decided not tell him about her? The answers remained elusive, buried in the shadows of his family's secrets.