Rob What's going on? Do you have any other problem?"
"No. I mean, yes. I--"
"I get it," Ann interrupted him. "You don't want to promise me anything, 'cause you've already decided that Collin will be your heir. You and his mother made that decision and now you don't know how to tell me. Is that it?" she exclaimed.
Then she got up from the couch to get away from him.
Robin went after her, making efforts not to show his uneasiness. Already without the suppressants he was finding it difficult to maintain his usual control, and feared she was beginning to notice.
"Come on, answer me, Rob," she pressed.
"It's not that. In fact, I haven't decided anything on the matter. I have to think it through to make the right decision, but just now I can't with everything I have on my plate."
""But when the time comes, our son will take priority, right?".
Wrong. The priority, as a rule, was for the eldest son, in this case Rowan. But Ann did not yet know that Rowan existed, so... How to tell her without hurting her, without ruining her illusion?
Maybe it would be a good idea to name Ann's son his successor and forget about the problem, but what about Juliette? What would she say then? No, before making any promises, he had to talk to her first.
"Rob, you don't answer anything?", she insisted in a slightly sweeter tone and wrapping her arms around him.
"I promise you that if I have to choose between Collin and..."
"Robin II," Ann stepped forward.
"And between Robin II, I'll choose Robin II as my heir."
It wasn't a lie. Except that his decision was not just between Collin and Robin II. There was a third candidate to the succession: Rowan, his first-born son, who had first priority and whom Ann knew nothing about. But this wasn't the right time to drop such a bombshell.
"Will you? Aw, thanks, love," Ann exclaimed, oblivious to his thoughts.
Then she kissed him, Robin returned the kiss without hesitation. They had kissed many times before, but this one was different, now he could feel with more intensity. Maybe it was a side effect of the accident, maybe it was just the absence of the suppressants. The thing was, he felt more alive than ever.
"I love you, did you know that?", Ann whispered.
"And I love you, but... there are things about me that you don't know yet and I'm afraid they will tear us apart someday."
"Nothing, no one, will ever tear me away from you," she replied, kissing him again.
In seconds, Robin forgot about everything: his problem with the Oasis Landing police, the flash drive document, Kaleigh, even Juliette... Everything was wiped from his mind, like some other kind of 'restart', only this was sweet and comforting.
Outside those four walls, everything remained complicated and frightening, but of one thing he was sure at the moment: he had returned home, his one true home.
(To be Continued).
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