Sebastian swallowed painfully and ran his fingers through his already messy hair. His life was way more complicated.
"Where is he?" He asked, referring to Aaron.
"Taking a nap but he should be up by now," Katie said before making her way to where Sebastian presumed was Aaron's room.
'What type of a father would he portray if Aaron was truly his son and he chose not to be in the little boy's life?'
Soon enough, Katie came back with Aaron on her hip. The little boy was still kind of sleepy. He had his head rested against Katie's shoulder.
Sebastian could not see his face properly and neither had Aaron seen him.
"Aaron, Your Daddy has come to see you," Katie said to her son.
Aaron removed his head against Katie's shoulder, he became alert.
"Daddy?" He smiled, showing his dimples. The dimples were the only thing Aaron inherited from his mother, Katie.
Katie had tears in her eyes, she knew it was a dream come true for Aaron to finally meet his daddy after days of him asking her about it and she stylishly avoiding the question.
"Yes, love. Your Daddy is over there."
That was when Aaron noticed Sebastian's presence. He was standing beside the couch.
He gestured for his mommy to put him down which she did and then he took fast steps towards Sebastian.
Sebastian squatted towards him and before he could utter a word, Aaron hugged him.
"I miss you, Daddy." the little boy whispered against his chest.
Sebastian wiped a tear that unintentionally rolled down his own cheek. It felt amazing to hear Aaron call him 'Daddy'. A word that he didn't think he would hear until his child with Jayda started talking.
Sebastian pulled away from the hug and took in Aaron's features. The small boy was a replica of him. In addition to other similarities, Aaron had Sebastian's beautiful eyes; the eyes that Jayda confessed she could stare at all day.
More tears welled up in Seb's eyes but he managed to hold them back. He was sure Aaron was his, he could see it, he could feel it.
Sebastian took Aaron's hands in his. "Sorry I've not been there for you all these while. I promise to make it up to you okay?"
Aaron smiled and nodded.
Sebastian managed to return the smile and then kissed his forehead. "Daddy, I want to show you my new toys," Aaron said excitedly.
"Sure, I'd love to see them," Seb replied.
Aaron happily connected his tiny hands with Sebastian's own and led him to his room where his toys were.
Halfway through Seb and Aaron getting to know each other, Aaron told his mom that he was hungry. She made his food and Sebastian offered to feed him.
Seb enjoyed spending time with Aaron. Even though the little boy was almost three years old, he was smart and polite.
When Sebastian announced that it was time for him to leave, his heart broke when he saw that Aaron was almost in tears.
He dropped down to his knees and consoled him. "Don't cry, buddy. I will come to see you tomorrow."
"Promise?" Aaron asked with tear-filled eyes.
"I promise. Do you want me to buy you anything while coming tomorrow?"
"I don't want anything. Just come and play with me." Aaron pouted.
Sebastian smiled. "I'll be here tomorrow evening with a surprise for you okay?"
Aaron nodded.
Sebastian pulled him into a hug and then showered his face with kisses which made him smile.
.....................
Even when he knew deep down that Aaron was his, Seb wanted to leave no stone untouched. He was able to get a hold of Aaron's drinking straw and fortunately, he helped him cut his fingernails so he had Aaron's nail sample too.
Seb made his way to the hospital as soon as he left Katie's place. He gave them Aaron's samples and his own samples and then pleaded for the results to be fast-tracked.
He was assured he would get the results via email in the next few hours.
..................
Sebastian had mixed feelings on his ride to Caleb's office. His visit to Aaron went well but deep down he was so damn scared; he was scared as to how Jayda was going to take the news.
Sebastian already missed out on three years of Aaron's life and he wouldn't want to miss any more of it. He just met Aaron and he loved the little guy already. He feels the need to protect him and makes sure he never lacks anything. Now Seb understands what a parent's love feels like.
He pulled up in the parking lot of Caleb's building and made his way to his best friend's floor.
"You're lucky I'm still here. I just told Caleb that if you don't show up in the next ten minutes, we will have to reschedule whatever you want to see us for." Lilian said to her cousin before connecting her glass of wine to her lips.
Sebastian was supposed to be with them about 35 minutes ago.
"I'm really sorry guys, I honestly lost track of time," Seb said as he approached Caleb and Lilian who were sitting on different couches at the far end corner of Caleb's office.
He took a seat on the empty couch that was beside Lilian.
"Should I pour you a drink?" Caleb offered.
"Yes please," Sebastian answered immediately.
"Okay, now I'm getting nervous," Lilian muttered.
"What do you mean?" Seb asked, confused.
Caleb said as he poured Sebastian a drink and handed it to him. "I'm your best friend and Lilian is Jayda's best friend. You said you wanted to meet both of us to discuss something so it's reasonable to conclude that you wanted us to help you plan your proposal to Jayda.
Sebastian let out a sigh. He plans to propose to Jayda. He would love nothing more than for her to be his wife but he doesn't know if it would be possible anymore.
"I'm in deep shit guys and I'm here because I need you guys to tell me what to do before I go crazy," Seb confessed.
"You did not cheat on Jayda right?" Lily asked nervously even though she was sure he wouldn't dare to do that to her best friend.
Sebastian shook his head. He took a sip of his wine and started telling them the whole story; all that Amelia said and all that happened earlier today with Katie and Aaron. He also showed them Aaron's picture.
Caleb and Lilian were short of words. Especially Caleb. Whenever Seb runs to him for advice, he always had one or two things to say but this time around his mind was blank.
Lilian swallowed painfully, "This is a very delicate and serious issue, Sebastian."
"I know, I've been a mess for three days now." He ran his right hand over his face.
"Katie instructed that if I want to be in Aaron's life, I should please create time for him. Aaron is a sweet and obedient kid. He almost started crying when I told him I had to go. I promised him I will check on him tomorrow evening."
"Do you plan to tell Jayda?" Lily asked.
"I don't know. What if she wants nothing more to do with me after I tell her everything? Life without her is not the same, I love her so much"
"Besides, I don't want her to worry because of her blood pressure. The Doctor said we should not engage her in things that will make her worry or depressed."
Caleb heaved a sigh. "So when you spend time with Aaron, where will you tell Jayda you went? The lies will keep piling up and she will eventually find out the truth." Caleb reasoned.
"Jayda is very unpredictable with how she handles different situations but one thing I can tell you as her best friend is that she hates lies. Aaron is a part of you, I understand the fatherly love you have towards him and I understand your desire to make it up to him especially after you've missed so much in his life."
"Jayda will be taken by surprise when she hears about it, I mean who wouldn't? You never saw it coming. Caleb and I even thought you called us here to help you plan a surprise proposal to Jayda. But all I can say is that Jayda deserves to know what's going on."
Sebastian sighed. "It's not that easy guys!"
Lilly and Caleb's heart went out to Sebastian. They could see the stress combined with nervousness and fear on his face.
Lilian wished there was something she could do to help but sometimes in life, there were things we must accept because we have no control over them. She had known Jayda since forever and one thing was for sure, Jayda wouldn't take the news well.