Stolen Heart [Tommy Shelby x OC]

Chapter 28

Lily stayed with the children for the rest of the day, avoiding Tommy Shelby like the plague. Now that Tommy was back, it was implicit that her time in Arrow House was over. Which would have been a blessing had Tommy not dropped the bomb in the morning. Now she was caught in a limbo; she couldn’t leave but she didn’t want to stay either.

Luckily, he kept out of her way. He was out in the grounds after breakfast, then visiting his brothers and a man who called himself the ‘Wandering Jew’. But she knew he was Alfie Solomons of Camden Town. She had heard enough about his 'bread' in London.

After putting Charles to sleep for his afternoon nap, Lily went to her bedroom with Oliver, who refused to sleep. He shrieked as soon as they entered the room, his small hand pointing at the window.

She walked towards the window and looked out. The sky was clear with light shades of orange sieving through the clouds. And it appeared as if a mild wind was blowing.

‘I know what you’re thinking, partner. Let’s go,’ she said conspiratorially.

A few minutes later, the mother-son duo was in the vast estate of Arrow House. Lily settled on the slightly damp ground and raised Oliver in her arms.

She nuzzled his belly as he laughed, eliciting a louder response. Making her laugh. They continued the action until Oliver began to writhe in her arms.

Setting him on the ground beside her, she touched his head and pointed a finger at him. ‘No running away.’

He laughed, the imp that he was and began pulling at the grass.

Lily leaned back on her elbows, looking at the scene around her while keeping an eye on Oliver. The house was magnificent but the garden area was beautiful in its simplicity. Life must have been good for the Shelby family here. And now Oliver was a part of it. 

She wondered what Tommy was planning to do about their ‘situation’. She wouldn’t let him keep Oliver and living with him was out of question. All she could comprehend was that Tommy would deal with his other child, the one not out of his perfect Grace’s womb later and until then she was to be at his beck and call.

Oliver tottered towards her and began playing with the buttons of her dress. She mindlessly rubbed the space behind his ears, thinking about her uncertain future and cursing the day she had offered tea to Polly Gray.

From the window of his study, Tommy Shelby watched Lily and her son, his son play in the garden. He had wasted too much time when the truth had been right in front of him. A part of him had initially wished Oliver wasn’t his, because it would have absolved him of the guilt of not asking after Lily. But he had known he was son, even before his man had brought him the evidence. Oliver’s cries that day had almost scared him to death and he had wanted to bang his head for being so reckless. And he would make up for everything, but after he was done with the Priest and the robbery.

His gaze shifted to Lily, who was now leaning on her elbows with Oliver playing beside her.

He had noticed she no longer swore like a sailor or reacted with volatility. But the humour was still there, along with the fearlessness, he thought as he remembered their morning conversation. He had almost smiled at her words. No one was unwise enough to call him something like that, but she had almost spat the word at him. And all he had done was watch her go, in her long-limbed stride, shaking her head slightly. His eyesight wasn't the only thing damaged by his accident then, after all.

He had to deal with her too. But before that, he had to make sure she didn’t run away.