The day after the confrontation with Rhys, Kaelen and Elias stood together in the living room of the penthouse. They had chosen a neutral space—the comfortable family sofa—for the most important conversation of their lives.
Rhys was present, sitting slightly apart on an armchair, his posture guarded but accepting. The co-parenting agreement was signed, but the emotional reality was still fragile.
Kaelen knelt on the rug in front of the boys, who were playing quietly with the Astro-Pup starship and Rhys's soccer ball.
"Silas, Seth," Kaelen began, her voice gentle but firm. "We need to talk about families. And about how much you are both loved."
She placed her hands on their knees. "You have two people in your life who love you very much and have helped take care of you since you were born. One is me, your Mommy. And the other is Da, Rhys."
Rhys stepped in instantly, his voice unwavering. "And I will always be your Da. Nothing changes that. I'm just taking a little break from living here right now."
Silas, the quiet observer, looked from Rhys to Kaelen, sensing the seriousness. "Is Mr. Thorne why you are moving, Mommy?"
Kaelen took a deep breath. This was the moment for the truth.
"Mr. Thorne is part of the reason, yes," she confirmed. "Mr. Thorne is not just a friend from work, boys. He is your biological father."
Seth frowned, confused by the strange word. "Bio-what?"
"It means," Elias explained, kneeling down next to Kaelen, his voice calm and steady, "that the two of you grew from me and Mommy. I am the man whose blood you share."
Silas tilted his head, his eyes widening in realization. He looked back at Rhys, anxiety clouding his expression. "If he is our father, is Da still our Da?"
This was the crux of the fear. Kaelen and Elias exchanged a glance. Elias had done his part; now it was time for Rhys to secure his.
Rhys walked over and knelt on the other side of the boys, pulling them into a tight, secure hug. "Listen to me, Commander, and you too, Speedy. I am your Da. I raised you. I teach you soccer. I chase away the bad dreams. We are family, and family is forever."
He looked directly at Elias. "Mr. Thorne is your father, and he has a different type of love for you. But he is working with Mommy and me to make sure you two have the happiest, safest life possible. And we all agree on the rules."
Elias nodded, reinforcing the unity. "That's right. You get two dads who love you, Seth. And two dads who will always be here for you, Silas. We are a team, and we will share the job."
Silas looked thoughtfully at Elias, then back at Kaelen. "So, we have a Da and a Father?"
"Exactly," Kaelen confirmed, her voice thick with relief. "And we are going to move to a new house that belongs to all of us—Mommy, you, and Silas. And Da and Father will visit, and we'll have sleepovers."
The New Arrangement
In the following weeks, the arrangement Kaelen, Elias, and Rhys had negotiated settled into a new, functional rhythm. Elias bought a beautiful, detached home in a quiet, central neighborhood—a home that was structurally "hers," ensuring it was not tied to his abandoned legacy.
Rhys, though no longer romantically involved with Kaelen, remained a constant, loving presence. He picked the boys up from school three days a week and kept his standing weekend soccer game. He was Da, an essential, permanent guardian.
Elias, now solely focused on the twins, proved to be an attentive, devoted Father. He spent his days learning to navigate school schedules and pediatric appointments. He was rebuilding his life, brick by brick, not with ambition, but with presence.
One rainy Saturday afternoon, Kaelen found Elias in the boys' room, reading a book about starships to Silas, who was nestled against his side. Elias looked up, his blue eyes soft. He was wearing an old, threadbare sweater Kaelen recognized from their college days—a sign that the ambitious CEO was truly gone.
"He asked me about my father today," Elias murmured, running a protective hand over Silas's silver hair.
"Which one?" Kaelen asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"My biological one. Alistair. I told him he was a man who made mistakes, and that we wouldn't see him again," Elias confessed. "He seemed satisfied with that answer."
Kaelen stepped into the room, her eyes warm. She walked to Elias, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Elias," she whispered. "Thank you for choosing them. Thank you for choosing us."
Elias stood up, careful not to wake the sleeping boy. He pulled Kaelen close, his kiss now slow and confident—no longer demanding, but accepting.
"I didn't choose them, Kaelen," he corrected, his voice deep with conviction. "I chose you. The three of them are simply the magnificent, terrifying consequence."
He looked around the warm, messy room—toys scattered, blankets piled, and the overwhelming scent of safety and family. The fortress Kaelen had built to keep him out was finally, truly dismantled.
Elias Thorne, who had once owned the city, finally owned the only thing that mattered: a second chance at love, and the undisputed, hard-won title of Father.
The End of Part One