Chapter 165

Theo's POV I held my son against my chest, feeling years of accumulated anger and disappointment finally dissolve under the weight of genuine remorse and love reclaimed. Adrian's shoulders shook with the force of emotions he'd been suppressing for months, his tears soaking through my shirt as he clung to me. The embrace felt like resurrection. His tears weren't just grief for what he'd done—they were relief at finally being able to drop the defensive walls that had isolated him from the family he'd always belonged to. "I thought things would never get better," Adrian whispered against my shoulder, his voice muffled but carrying the raw honesty that had been absent from our interactions for too long. "I thought I'd destroyed everything between us that could never be repaired." "You're my son," I said simply, my own voice thick with emotion as I held him tighter. "That bond doesn't break, no matter how many mistakes get made along the way. We find our way back to each other." Through the