Coffee, Brownies and the Ruthless CEO (MxM)| FILLING THE VOID series, BOOK 1

36. Chapter - Mood

OLIVER's POV

It was finally the day I dreaded the most since the last time I saw Victor. I was lucky enough to forget about it for a while, Josh being a huge help in that department. But my stubborn son made it his mission to remind me about it all day yesterday, so there was no chance of staying in the comfortable and naïve bubble I was in for a bit longer. If I should be honest, the last thing I wanted was to spend the afternoon with my ex and our son. It reeked of trouble. And however much Josh tried to persuade me he was okay with it, I could see he wasn't. Who could blame him, though? It was all a huge mistake, and if it wasn't for Matty looking forward to meeting his father so much his excitement on Christmas was nothing compared to it, I would cancel without hesitation.

I knew I was being stupid and an asshole for wanting to keep Matthias away from Victor even after they already met, but it was hard to do otherwise. Ignoring the fact it was going to turn into mess eventually because Vic is a well-known businessman, I was too scared of the impact he would have on my little angel. The few times I saw him proved my concerns to be real. He was aggressive when something didn't go his way, and although I would like to think he wouldn't act that way around his son, I couldn't be sure. The person I knew all those years ago didn't exist, so he was practically a stranger now.

"You look terrible," the voice I loved so much sounded from around me, and it took me a while to realize I was staring into space, daydreaming.

"Ugh." I shook my head, clearing my vision. We were currently in the kitchen making us a breakfast, and the atmosphere all around was terrible. I couldn't sleep the night before, my mind too occupied with different scenarios as to what today could end up like, and the sleep deprivation was obvious to anyone who looked at me. Thanks to that, I was cranky and everything bad I thought about during the night seemed much worse than what it really was.

"I'm so ready to call him and cancel the whole thing," I grumbled, taking a piece of toasted bread and crunching on it to chase away all the unnecessary thoughts and churning in my stomach.

Looking at the clock, I could see it was already almost ten. The time was running too fast to my liking. Couldn't it drag on a little in a situation like this?

"Do it, then. He can't dictate you what to do or not. You can say you're feeling sick or something. You wouldn't even be lying. You look ready to throw up. I don't want to let you go anywhere when you're in a state like this." Just then, Matt run inside the kitchen, eyes shining and a happy smile lightening his whole face up. He was already dressed up, wearing one of his stylish black shirts and light blue jeans. I would've chuckled at how cute it was, but my thoughts were elsewhere.

Looking at Josh, I smiled, sighing.

"As if I could. Look at him." I shook my head and leaned in to get me one of his calming kisses.

"Let's finish the food and eat. As much as I'm sick, my stomach needs some food."

Taking two plates of eggs and some vegetables, I went straight for the dinning table. I couldn't wait for the day to be over.

***

Matty was unstoppable. The moment we said our goodbyes to Josh and left the house, he became almost annoyingly hyperactive. He was jumping in his seat the whole drive to our agreed meeting spot, and he wouldn't stop talking about Victor and what he wanted to do with us together.

When I introduced them, I never expected he would take it like this. He was just five, and although kids were, often times, more flexible about changes when they were still in this age, I still thought he was going to be more shy and reserved around Vic – at least at the beginning. What I got instead was unbelievable.