Chapter 50: ’Perfect Little Family’
When Ezra looked up, expecting to see Evie so he could welcome her with a smile, his gaze instead locked with a pair of blue eyes he’d rather never see again—her blonde hair cascading down and her red lips curled into a smirk. Dawn. What the hell was she doing here?
His smile disappeared instantly, replaced with a look of hard disapproval as his jaw tightened.
What baffled him even more was when she gently nudged the little boy in front of her, and the child immediately bolted toward him, beaming as he cried out, "Daddy!" His grin was wide, his voice full of joy as he wrapped his small arms around Ezra’s legs.
Daddy? Of all the names he could have been called, *that* was the one? What in the world was going on?
None of this made sense—first, that she had the audacity to show up in his house uninvited, and second, this little boy, now gazing up at him with wide, irresistible eyes that only added to the confusion.
Dawn had closed the distance between them now. "We’ve missed you, darling," she said with a smile, like nothing had ever happened between them—as if this was the most natural thing in the world. Ezra stared at her, utterly stunned.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice tight and his eyes sharp, locking onto her with piercing confusion—because he was confused. Deeply.
"Still as cold as ever," Dawn winced, feigning offense.
Her eyes flicked toward the dining table, and a sly smile crept across her face as she turned back to him. "I see you made something for us to eat," she said sweetly, then, without hesitation, dipped her fingers into the sauce meant solely for Evie.
"Don’t you—" Ezra warned, but it was too late. She popped her fingers into her mouth and moaned dramatically.
"You’re such a good chef, Ezra. How come you never made anything like this for me?" she said, pouting playfully.
Then she stepped closer, eliminating the last inch of space between them, placing both hands on his chest as her amused eyes looked up at him. Ezra glared back.
What the actual hell? He had to be dreaming—no, nightmaring. Because this? This was beyond absurd. And completely unacceptable.
"Ezra." Evie’s voice floated in—soft, unsuspecting—until she stepped fully into the room and froze.
Ezra turned at once, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw her standing there.
No. She was the last person he wanted walking in on this chaos. Not now, not when even he
didn’t know what the hell was going on.Dawn wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her head to his chest in a mockingly tender gesture—her eyes locked squarely onto Evie, a triumphant smirk tugging at her lips.
Ezra saw the shift in Evie’s expression.
She looked from him, to Dawn, to the child... and then back to him.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Something in him cracked.
She looked at him like he’d betrayed her—like he’d shattered something fragile between them. Her face fell, and her eyes...
He couldn’t bear it. He hated what he saw in them. And it only deepened the storm brewing in him—that he had no control over this moment, that he didn’t even understand how any of this had happened.
It should have been Evie walking through that door—Evie, smiling, laughing. He was supposed to welcome her with dinner, with warmth.
Instead... he had gotten a ghost from the past.
A woman he wanted nothing to do with.
Evie’s gaze locked with Ezra’s as realization—or what she *thought* was realization—hit her hard. She blinked once. Twice. Then, without a word, she spun on her heel and stormed out of the room.
"Evie—Evie, wait!"
Ezra immediately shoved Dawn off him—she’d still been clinging to him like a lifeline. She stumbled back with a gasp, but he didn’t spare her a second glance.
The only woman that mattered was halfway out the door, and he knew he needed to explain what she’d just seen—whatever the hell that even was.
Ezra chased after her just as she pulled open the front door."Evie, wait!" he called, desperate, breath catching in his throat.
But she wasn’t waiting.
She didn’t want to hear his voice.
She didn’t want an explanation.
Not now.
And yet he couldn’t stop. He had to follow her, even if he didn’t know what the hell he was going to say once he caught up.
God, he had no idea what he was doing. He’d never been in a situation like this. That look in her eyes—like she’d just walked in on a cheating husband tangled in the arms of another woman—was carved into his brain.
"Evie, wait," he said again, finally catching up and reaching for her arm.
"What the hell do you want?" she snapped, spinning to face him, her eyes blazing as they locked with his.
Right then, he knew—she was livid.
She deserved an explanation. But what was he even going to say, when he didn’t understand it himself?
The rain had begun to fall—light at first, cold drops splattering across his face as if mocking his helplessness.
"Please," he said, gentler now, still holding her wrist as he tried to calm her fury.
Her posture softened only a little. The fire in her eyes hadn’t gone out—it had simply shifted into something deeper. Anger. Hurt. Disbelief.
"Let me explain," he said again, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Explain what, Ezra?" Her voice rose with sharp sarcasm. "I leave for one weekend, and suddenly you have the perfect little family?"
He bit his bottom lip to keep from cursing out loud.
"Evie, what you saw—hell, I don’t even know what that was," he started, voice low, raw. "What you saw—it’s not real."
"Oh really?" she challenged, her eyes narrowing as she folded her arms.
"It is not what you think"
"Then tell me what it is, Ezra. Because from where I’m standing? It looks like your ex and your child just walked into your house and you were hugging her like it was the most normal damn thing in the world!"
He opened his mouth to speak—but nothing came fast enough. He hadn’t hugged Dawn. He’d just frozen. Shocked. Confused.
"Evie, I didn’t know she was coming. I didn’t know anything about a child. This just—happened out of nowhere."
"That’s not my child," Ezra then declared with unwavering confidence. There had to be a mistake; he couldn’t fathom the idea of the child being his. "And I have no idea why she’s here. Honestly, I’m trying to figure it all out."
"You expect me to buy this nonsense?" Evie questioned, frustration evident in her tone.
"You don’t know why your ex is here with a child? Why else would she be here? Has she already wormed her way back into your life? Is that what’s happening? You knew she was at the launch that day too. Why didn’t you say anything about this, Ezra?" Her questions came in a rapid-fire rush, while Ezra pinched the bridge of his nose, overwhelmed by the chaos around him.
"Evie, just calm down, okay?" Ezra replied, trying to regain control of the situation. "You can’t just jump to conclusions"
"What conclusions are there to draw?" a voice interrupted from the back.
Ezra half-closed his eyes, attempting to muster patience as Evie turned her attention to the woman approaching them.
"Ezra, why aren’t you being honest with her?" Dawn linked her arm with Ezra’s, a smug expression on her face. "Why are you lying?" she pressed, and Ezra met her gaze with confusion; he wasn’t the one lying. He pulled his arm away from her hold.
Dawn crossed her arms and shot Evie a condescending look. "I didn’t think you were foolish enough to wait around," she sneered. "Are you really expecting Ezra to explain anything? The truth is simple: the child is his, and yes, I’m back in his life."
"What the hell?" Ezra exclaimed, incredulous.
How was this happening right in front of him?
"We discussed this last night over the phone, and you said I could come home with Noah today. So why haven’t you kicked her out already?" He directed his questioning gaze at Dawn, who softened her demeanor as she spoke.
Evie’s fists clenched at the implications. So Ezra had orchestrated this plan without her knowledge, all while making her wait like a fool. It was infuriating. With a glare aimed at him, she turned on her heel to walk away.
"When did I ever say that?" Ezra turned back to Dawn, a look of disbelief on his face.
She smirked, clearly enjoying the moment. "You didn’t need to say it, Ezra. Look, she’s gone now."
"Wait right here," Ezra instructed Dawn.
Then followed Evie again. He quickly closed the distance between them, grabbing her hand firmly.
"Evie, please," he pleaded, desperate to set things straight.
"Let go of me," Evie demanded, yanking her hand from his grasp. "You think you can just manipulate me? What a coward," she spat, her anger evident as Ezra stood silently, absorbing her words.
"I can explain," he said, his tone earnest.
"Explain what? That you tricked me into coming here just to set me up as the fool?" she shot back, her glare unwavering.
Ezra frowned, confusion etched on his face. "You honestly didn’t believe what she said, did you? You don’t trust me? Why would I ever do that? Evie, I swear I know nothing about this—it’s just Dawn," he insisted.
Evie shook her head, disbelief evident in her expression. He stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Please trust me, Evie. I promise—"
"Promise what?" she interrupted, her voice steady as she removed his hand from her shoulder. "I don’t even know what’s real anymore. This whole charade between us is pointless. I’m not doing this anymore"
"Evie... No," Ezra said, desperation creeping into his voice.
"Go back to your family, Ezra," she replied firmly, accepting that she had no place in his life now that his ex was back with their child. She would soon fade away as if she had never mattered.
"They’re not my family, Evie. Please, try to understand," he pleaded.
"There’s nothing left to understand," she stated coldly. "I want nothing to do with you after all of this." With that, she turned on her heels, ready to walk away.
"You can’t just walk away," Ezra called after her, frustration rising. "You can’t end it like this, Evie!" But she was done; she wouldn’t linger or listen any longer.
As she walked away, he felt drained.
"Ezra," Dawn’s unmistakable voice cut through the silence, "Let’s go inside."
He clenched his jaw, irritation surging within him.