The fire crackled softly in the hearth, and a piece of wood slid into place, spraying tiny sparks. The warming glow wrapped around his body like a cloak, trying to drive the cold from his limbs. But the cold clung to his limbs like he was up to his neck in mire. He was nervous, kneading his hands restlessly and trying to calm his nerves. The waiting look Eve gave him from the side didn't exactly help him to collect himself.

Now, he had the chance to speak out, but he did not know where to start. His thoughts suddenly seemed to have been swept clean, the gears of his mind stuck together. He had thought about a thousand sentences, rolled the words back and forth, and played through how she might react. And now?

Where should he start? How could she understand him?

At the very beginning?

How he had met Dylan?

What they once had in common and why he trusted him?

No, that would go beyond the scope.

He had to concentrate on the essentials.

But where did it all begin, and where did it end?

Damn it, why was he so confused?

He wanted to scream out his frustration as he leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. Was this how you felt when you were about to lose everything that meant anything to you? When you loved and ... the pain of a stupid mistake was eating you?

"I never wanted you to find out like this," he finally broke the silence after taking a deep breath and turned his gaze back to Eve. He struggled to look her in the eye. Preferably, he would have kept his eyes lowered like a dog that had fucked up. "I wanted to tell you. For a long time ... but every time..." Ray faltered and felt like a fish on land for a heartbeat, desperately gasping for air as he searched for the right words. Preferably ones that wouldn't put his foot in his mouth or make things worse. "The right opportunity just never presented itself," he finally sighed, watching Eve's face contort as if she had bitten into a lemon.

"Which is no excuse," he quickly interjected as the young mother opened her mouth to retort. "It shouldn't have come to this at all. It was all a big mistake. I know that. And it was my fault, all my own."

Eve turned her head towards him, looked at him for a second as if he'd slapped her across the face, and then abruptly turned away. "Ouch..." Eve gasped in the brief pause that followed his words. Her soft voice dripped with bitterness, sending an unpleasant shiver down his spine. "A big mistake..." she repeated. Her gaze lingered somewhere on the floor, and her lips curled into a hard line. "I see."

'Wait a minute. What?' It took Ray a moment to understand what she meant—or rather, to realize what he had said and how she had understood it.

'Oh no, not again,' he cursed himself silently and would have liked to slap himself for simply not thinking enough about his words. Almost frantically, he jumped up from his seat in front of the fireplace. Eve had her fingers clutched stiffly into the fabric of her pants when he grabbed them and placed his rough fingers over hers. "No, wait. That's not what I wanted to say!"

Eve wanted to pull her fingers away from his, probably instinctively, because she was hurt. But this time, he didn't let her; he gripped them tighter and pulled the woman closer to him again. No... He would not allow Eve to misunderstand him and hide behind her wall. He wouldn't just let her go with this misunderstanding.

"My mistake was not talking to you when I had the chance to clear the air. I never meant to hurt you, Eve. It..." He faltered. "I was afraid of what would happen if you found out," he confessed in a raspy voice. His hands around hers twitched restlessly under the nervousness that spread to his fingertips.

"It's true that Dylan hired me to find you. That was a few months ago," he finally began to say. "I served with him until my injury forced me to leave the service. We were like brothers... I never thought he would betray me. After all the treatments and the death of my parents, I returned to my hometown - Echo Bay."

He didn't know why he was telling her all this. But it felt right. Maybe it helped her understand that he meant every word he said and wasn't trying to hide behind excuses.

"Dylan didn't tell me much back then—just your names, that you'd disappeared, and that you'd taken Liam with you because of the divorce. He made you out to be a bad mother, and since I didn't have any information, I had to assume the worst."

The words tasted sickening on his tongue and became even more bitter when Eve inhaled sharply beside him. He could feel how pain and anger formed a dangerous mixture. Beneath his hands, she clenched her fists.

"That's just like him. Dylan's always twisting the facts until they suit him." The words sounded harsh and choppy like a mountain stream struggling to make its way over Hill and Dale.

Yes, she was right. He had fallen for it himself and trusted Dylan. What he got out of it was obviously in front of him: all the lies and twisted truths had finally led them to this point.

"I didn't know that then, unfortunately. Believe me, I wish I had known."

However, that was easier said than honestly meant. If he had known, he would probably never have taken the case. Eve would have lived her life peacefully - safely here in Canada. On the other hand, he would never have met her, would have gone about his business in Echo Bay, and carried on with his monotonous life. Maybe Dylan would have shown up here one day and ... he wouldn't have been there to help Eve. No... As bad as the situation was now... that would have been worse. Ray cleared his throat because it was all choking him up.

"I quickly realized that Dylan's version of the story wasn't true. At least not in its entirety ... And I don't just mean the scar," he finally continued, his words mingling with a thunder rumble as if nature wanted to emphasize his statement. "I've been watching you. The way Liam laughed, and you romped around the house with him. The way you looked after him... You're not a bad mother. I couldn't imagine that you could hurt him. So I started investigating in other directions."

Still open-mouthed, his voice broke as another bright flash flashed outside the window. His heart was beating fast and frantically in his chest as if he had run a sprint, and his tongue felt dry. Between all the serious and true words, he felt like a pubescent teenager who didn't know how to express his feelings. But... It was time to come clean.

"By the time I found out that something was wrong and what was really going on, it was too late. Dylan was on his way, and I... didn't know what to do," he finally confessed quietly. "I was torn. On the one hand, I was angry because I had been lied to and betrayed. In any other case, I would have put my cards on the table, terminated the contract, and left immediately. But at the same time, I've always felt more comfortable here, with all of you ... and I fell for you. Hard."

His shoulders slumped under this confession, and he carefully dared to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I've lived with countless roles for many years. I hid my true self behind masks because I didn't want to let anyone get close to me. I... preferred to care for other people's problems because I didn't have to face my own. But when I came here, everything was different... You just took me in despite the initial difficulties. You helped me when I was down and..." Ray swallowed hard. He had kept these words bottled up for so long that as he began to speak, they bubbled out of him.

"You've awakened feelings I thought I could never feel."

He felt the soft skin under his fingers without Eve pulling them back this time. Her head had lifted barely noticeably so that the glow of the fire caught in her eyes. Golden-white flames mingled with the blue-green, giving even the dull color a unique beauty. Eve was beautiful. She had always been to him, and no scar could tarnish that.

But he also saw the struggle in her features. Eve had been hurt many times, and Dylan had undoubtedly had plenty of excuses. Excuses, justifications, apologies. She was scared ... and he understood that, even without seeing the tears gathering in her beautiful eyes.

"Ray, listen, I..." she began softly, but he quickly interrupted her.

"Ryker. My name is Ryker; Ray is an old nickname. But if anyone can use it, it's you. But please wait. I'm not finished yet; listen to me for a moment, will you?" Even as he spoke, he released his hands from hers. Carefully and hesitantly, he let them wander over her upper arms, over the dark fabric of the blanket, until he reached her shoulders. He wanted to touch her, caress her ... show her that he never wanted to hurt her, what she meant to him, and at the same time, he wanted to take every opportunity to touch the woman he loved once more. Perhaps it would be the last time, and that thought guided his hands in a desperate longing, like a puppeteer pulling strings on his marionette. He lightly grazed the underside of her chin with his index finger before his thumb followed the curve of her cheek.

"My feelings for you were never an act. You're a wonderful woman, and anyone who doesn't recognize or appreciate that is an idiot who doesn't deserve you," he said, hearing his voice shake.

His next breath was even harder. His chest tightened, and the nervousness seemed to choke his lungs. The heat on his face wasn't just from the crackling fire in the fireplace, and at the moment, he wasn't even angry or embarrassed about it.

"I love you, Evelyn - or Kaylen. Whichever name you choose, I don't care. I love the woman I've found here. The mother of the little whirlwind who has brought so much joy into my life. The baker, who I'm sure I owe at least five kilos more to - and I don't regret it. I love the woman who fights like a lioness because life gives her nothing. If I feel any regret and hate myself for it, it's what I did to you and that I didn't tell you the truth much sooner. But I don't regret a single moment we spent together."

God, why did it have to be so hard to admit everything and face the truth? He had fought in battles, and yet this conversation seemed to take more out of him than any of his trials before. Not because he was ashamed. But to reveal these things and hope that Eve could forgive him for his mistakes... No, more than that: that she would return his feelings. Ray had told her the truth. Who he was, how he felt ... and now everything depended on her.

It was all the more distressing to hear nothing but the howling of the wind, the crackling of the flames and the rumble of the storm. Kaylen remained silent, planting a cruel uncertainty in his limbs that seemed to grow with every breath he took. Those seconds seemed to last forever.