Ella had settled down into bed, but despite being exhausted, she was struggling to get to sleep. She lay there for what seemed like forever, and was finally starting to drift off to sleep when she was startled by banging on her front door.

She jumped up from her bed, her heart racing in her chest, and hurried down the stairs before the commotion woke Max. The banging began again, just as she reached the door. She threw the door open to find a very angry, and clearly drunk Nina standing in front of her.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Ella demanded, angry to have been woken up the way she was. “It’s almost midnight, and I have a little boy asleep.”

“Oh, I know all about your little boy,” Nina slurred as she pushed past Ella. “Or should I say, my husband’s bastard.”

“Look,” Ella said as she followed her into the living room. She tried her hardest to remain calm and remember that Nina had a right to be upset, but it was hard. Her words cut into Ella, deeply. “I understand you’re upset about Max, but you can’t come into my home in the middle of the night and talk about my son like that. I want you to leave…”

“I bet you would love that,” Nina spat back before Ella finished. “For me to leave so you can have my life. Take my husband, so you and your bastard can all play happy families with him.”

“There is nothing going on between Nathan and me,” Ella sighed as she tried her best to reassure Nina. “It was one night, a long time ago. Now please, just go.”

“But you want there to be something between you,” Nina said as she walked towards Ella, her eyes filled with rage. “You want him so bad; I can almost smell it off you.”

“Nina, you’re drunk,” Ella replied as she struggled to reign in her temper. “Now is not the time or the place to have this conversation. Go home and come back when you are sober.”

“Is that why you moved here?” Nina asked, completely ignoring what Ella had said. “So you and he could be closer together.”

“I didn’t even know his second name, much less where he lived,” Ella tried to explain, but she realised quickly that nothing she said would make a difference to Nina. She was here for a fight, and Ella refused to give her one. “Now get the hell out of my house before I call the police.”

“You must think you are so fucking special,” Nina snarled into Ella's face. “You could give him the son I never could.”

“Nina, I know you’re hurt…” Ella began to say, but Nina cut straight in.

“DON’T TELL ME HOW I FEEL!” Nina cried. “You haven’t the first fucking clue how I feel.”

“No, I don’t,” Ella said as her patience quickly began to wear thin. “But I do know that there is nothing going on between Nate and me…”

“NATE!” Nina exclaimed. “You call him Nate? The only person that ever called him Nate was his father.”

“I misspoke,” Ella lied as she tried to calm her down. She just wanted her out of her home before she woke Max and upset him. “Nina, I’m sorry, please just go.”

“You make me sick,” Nina hissed through clench teeth as she stepped closer Ella. The smell of alcohol from her breath was almost intoxicating. “You and your perfect little world. Your own house, your own business, and your bastard…”

“He is not a bastard,” Ella snapped back, finally unable to hold her tongue any longer. “He is my son, and he is Nate’s son…”

Before Ella could finish, Nina slapped her with the back of her hand, across the face, sending her stumbling backward.

“NINA!” Nate exclaimed as he suddenly appeared at the door of the living room. He rushed to Ella to check she was okay. Then he looked back at his wife as anger poured from every pore of his body. “Have you lost your damn mind?”

“Do not blame this on me!” She cried as she stared back at her husband comforting Ella. “You did this to me.”

“You did this to yourself,” Nate said as he pinned her with his gaze. “You did this to us the day you climbed into another man’s bed.”

“And you never let me forget it,” Nina said, suddenly the fight went from her. “Even when you came home, you never looked at me the same. You never wanted me again…”

She stopped as a look of realisation spread across her face.

“You didn’t want me because you wanted her,” she said as it all became perfectly clear. “You didn’t just fuck her; you fell for her. All this time…”

“Nina, it’s not that simple,” Nate replied.

“You…you don’t even deny it,” she cried as the tears of anger were replaced with tears of hurt.

“There is nothing going on between Ella and me, ” Nate tried to assure her.

“But you want there to be,” Nina sobbed. “How could I have been so stupid?”

“You need to calm down,” Nate tried to reason with her. He stepped closer to her, but she just stepped back from him.

“I can’t do this anymore!” Nina exclaimed. “I need to get out of here.”

Without saying another word, Nina pushed past them both and disappeared out the door.

“Are you okay?” Nate said as he turned Ella towards him and had another look at her face.

“I’ve been better,” Ella sighed as she winced from the pain in her cheek. “I guess she knows about Max.”

“Yes,” Nate confirmed, and he took Ella by the arm and led her to the sofa. Without thinking, she sat down as he instructed. “And as you can probably tell, she isn’t thrilled about the news.”

“Can you really blame her?” Ella asked giving Nate a questioning look. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“You amaze me, Ella,” he replied with a laugh. “Nina storms into your home, drunk and abusive. She hits you and accuses you of all sorts, but you still feel sorry for her.”

“I just think this is hard on her,” Ella sighed. “This is all such a mess. I just wish…”

“You wish what?” Nate asked as he looked down at Ella when she didn’t finish her sentence.

“If I hadn’t have moved in here,” Ella replied, suddenly unable to look at Nate anymore. “None of this would be happening.”

“And I wouldn’t know my son,” Nate added, and Ella could sense the worry in his voice. “Ella, please don’t take him away from me because of Nina.”

“I just don’t need any more complications,” Ella whispered. “My life is already so hard. So is Max’s…”

As she said his name, she remembered he was upstairs, and she needed to make sure he was okay. She stood up and made for the stairs, but Nate caught her by the hand.

“Wait, what’s wrong?” He asked as fear cracked in his voice.

“I need to check on Max,” Ella replied. “I need to make sure that all this fuss hasn’t upset him.”

“Let me,” he asked, as he gave her a pleading look. “Please.”

“Okay,” Ella nodded reluctantly. “His name is on his door in wooden letters.”

Nate gave her a reassuring smile before he quickly turned and hurried up the stairs. Ella slumped back onto the sofa and closed her eyes. How had her happy ever after, become a nightmare from hell? She felt tired, and her head hurt. She just wanted life to be simple again.

She finally opened her eyes and blushed when she saw Nate standing in the doorway, watching her.

“He’s okay,” Nate smiled as he walked towards Ella and sat back down next to her. “Still asleep.”

“Good,” Ella sighed and gave him a tired smile. “So you told her.”

“Did you doubt that I would?” Nate asked her, and he sounded surprised.

“It’s one thing saying it,” Ella shrugged. “It’s another actually doing it.”

“He’s my son,” Nate smiled. “I’m ready to tell the world about him. Tomorrow I want to tell the girls about him, and I would love for them to meet him.”

“Nate,” Ella said as she sat up straight, feeling more than a little overwhelmed. “I want him to know your daughters; they are his sisters. But it’s all so much, so fast. You are expecting so much from him. He is not like other kids.”

“I know he’s not, but I have to tell them something,” Nate explained. “They heard us arguing tonight, and Shelby got very upset. I was trying to calm her down when Nina stormed out to come over here. Believe me, if I hadn’t have been up with the girls, she would have never come here tonight.”

“I see,” Ella sighed. If she was honest, she wished she could just make all this go away.

“Look,” Nate said as he reached out and took Ella’s hand. “I know how hard this is for you. You didn’t ask for any of this, and for that, I’m sorry.”

“It’s just like everything is coming at me at once,” Ella sighed. “I haven’t even told my family about you yet.”

“They don’t know I’m Max’s father?” Nate asked as again Ella could see the worry on his face. “Who do they think his dad is?”

“My mom knows who you are,” Ella replied as she blushed a little. “But my dad and my brothers don’t know about you. I never told anyone who Max’s father was. How could I?”

“I see,” Nate replied.

Ella watched him, knowing she had hurt him with her words. She wished she could have said something to make this easier for him, but the truth was, nothing about this was easy.

Suddenly, Ella felt tired.

“Maybe you should go and check on your family,” Ella said as she stood up. She needed some space. “Make sure Nina is okay.”

“Okay,” Nate sighed as he slowly stood up. “Maybe I can call by tomorrow?”

“Maybe,” Ella replied not giving a definite answer.

He stared at her for a moment and sighed.

“Goodnight, Ella,” Nate said before he turned and walked towards the door.

“Goodnight, Nate,” Ella replied as she followed him out to the hallway. He stopped when he reached the front door and turned back towards Ella.

“I know how hard this is for you,” Nate said in a small voice. “I know your life has suddenly been turned upside down, and it would be easier for everyone if we just left well enough, alone. But I can’t. Max is my son. Please don’t take him from me.”

“I won’t,” Ella assured him. “I promise.”

He gave her a smile before he turned and walked out the door.

Ella closed the door, blew out a long, deep breath, and pressed her head against the door. Why the hell did she have to like him so much? Everything would be so much easier if she could just separate her feelings for him, from what was best for Max.

She thought about what Nina had said. Was it that obvious she was still attracted to Nate. She certainly hoped not.

Locking the door, she turned and made her way back up the stairs. Instead of going back to her bedroom, she quietly pushed open the door to Max’s room and stepped inside. She smiled when she saw he was still fast asleep.

She crept across the room and sat down in the chair next to his bed, the one she sat in every night to read him his bedtime stories.

As she sat and watched him sleep, she knew that there was nothing in this world that she wouldn’t do for her little boy. It was her job to protect him, and right now, she was worried that she was letting her heart rule her head and letting him down.

She had no doubt that Nate would love Max, and that he would make a wonderful dad. What worried Ella was how others would react to Nate being part of Max’s life.

She doubted Nina would ever be able to accept Max as part of their lives, and she was worried that Nate’s daughters might not want Max to be part of their life too.

Ella was also worried about what her dad and her brothers would say about Nate. She knew her father, and she knew he would not be happy with her introducing a married man into Max’s life, even if he was his father. When it came to Max, everything Henry did, was with the view of making his life as simple as possible. Nothing about this situation was simple.

Ella closed her eyes and rested her head back against the chair. Her head hurt. She wanted so much for things to work out with Nate and Max, but she didn’t know how that was going to happen. Maybe this wasn’t the house for her, after all. She drifted off to sleep with so many thoughts running through her mind.

“Is that you, Ella?” Nora called from the kitchen as Ella stepped through the front door, the next morning. She had woken up late, having spent the night sleeping on the chair in Max’s room.

“Yeah,” Ella said as she slipped off Max’s coat before she followed him through to the kitchen. “We slept through the alarm.”

“Ah, it’s allowed once in a while,” Nora said as she turned to greet her daughter, but the minute she saw Ella’s face, her smile faded and was replaced with a look of concern.

Much to Ella’s horror, when she woke up and made her way to the bathroom, earlier that morning, she was greeted with the sight of a purple bruise on her cheek from where Nina had struck her the night before. “Dear God, what happened to your face?”

“It’s nothing to worry about, Mom,” Ella replied quickly, knowing that it was unlikely her mother would accept her answer. She was right.

“It doesn't look like nothing,” Nora said as she set down the wooden spoon she was holding and walked towards Ella to have a closer look at her face. “Someone hit you.”

“It’s nothing, honestly,” Ella sighed.

“Don’t tell me it’s nothing,” Nora said angrily. “Who did this to you?”

“The lady was shouting,” Max said from where he was sitting on the floor, searching through his box of animals. “She was too loud.”

Ella and Nora both looked at Max, and Ella could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

“What lady?” Nora asked as the realisation hit Ella. Max had heard Nina the night before.

“The lady in our house,” Max shrugged. “She said a bad word.”

“Who said a bad word,” Henry asked as he too walked into the kitchen.

“The lady who hurt Mommy,” Max said as he finally found the animals he was looking for and took them to the table. Ella stared at her son, as tears pooled in her eyes. How had she not known he had seen everything? How could she have let this happen?”

“What lady hurt your mommy?” Henry asked as he looked from his grandson to his daughter. The minute he saw the bruise on Ella’s face, Ella could feel the anger emanate from his entire body. “What the hell is going on, Ella? What has happened to your face?”

Ella felt like she was going to be sick. She knew she had no choice now; it was time to tell her parents everything.