“You’re afraid a baby will make you look unstable? I thought you wanted to be the responsible family man?” She pulled on a sweatshirt.
“This wasn’t part of the deal we had!”
“Plans change, Griffin.”
“Not mine,” I snapped. “Not this close to everything I’ve worked for.”
She stared at me, eyes full of hurt. “Maybe you’re working for the wrong thing, and for all the wrong reasons.”
That landed hard. I stepped closer to her.
“Jess—”
“No, don’t,” she cried, hand up to stop my progress. “You keep telling yourself this is business, I’m just a prop to fix your reputation, that Theo needed a nanny, you needed a fiancée for show—but you never once stopped to see what I needed. You barely see what Theo needs. And now you’re standing here acting like a child we made together is an inconvenience.”
“I am not. The news just came as a shock.”
“I see right through you.” She exhaled shakily, a hand again on her stomach. “You’re panicking. But this isn’t a crisis for you to manage. It’s a tiny miracle growing inside of me.”
Her words gutted me. But pride was a poison I’d swallowed too long to stop now. “You should’ve told me sooner,” I said coldly. “We could’ve… handled it.”
“Handled it?” she repeated, voice sharp. “Like a problem we make go away?”
I rushed to course correct. “No. I-I meant handled the logistics. We could have worked the pregnancy into our reason for marrying.”
“Convenient,” she said, chin trembling. “Not too late to staple a baby clause into the contract now?”
“I-I don’t know. I need time to think about things.”
She scoffed and zipped up the suitcase. “You know what hurts? I thought if I stayed and played fiancée long enough, maybe you’d actually fall for me. That when I told you about the baby, you’d be happy, and choose to make something real between us instead.” She swallowed. “I should never have believed in fairy tales.”
“I told you I won’t marry again.”
“And you didn’t want another child. Yes, I heard you.” She pulled the suitcase onto the floor and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “But I thought—despite everything—you mightwantto be a father again.”
She moved toward the door.
“Jessa—wait.” I caught her wrist. She pulled free.
“Let go.”
I chased her to the front door, surprised Theo didn’t wake. “I need you to stay. You need the money.”
“That’s what you think I care about most?”
“Christ, I didn’t mean?—”
“Yes, you did,” she said. “You just didn’t expect a girl like me would walk away from the payout.”
Every fix-it instinct inside of me misfired. “Where are you going?”
“Sophie and Keaton’s for tonight.” Her voice was steel now.
“You’re walking out? You won’t even stay and try?”
“Give me one reason that isn’t based on money or perception.”
I opened my mouth. Nothing came. The past hit me right in the face and blocked me from going any further.
