“I’m sorry, Daisy.” She took my hand, and I was glad when she squeezed it because another cramp came on, and her hold helped distract me from the pain. “I’m sure Max will think ofsomething. There’s no way he’s going to let you give up his baby.”
I bit my tongue and lowered my head, staring at the impossible swell of my stomach.Lucy.
I couldn’t tell her I’d already thought of a way to fix this—to fix everything.
Max was the leverage they held over me—over my heart. If he wasn’t in my life, then their threats were empty.
If I left, Max would no longer be in danger, and Todd’s parents wouldn’t be able to find me.
“Daisy…” I lifted my eyes to Harper’s. “Don’t.”
“Don’t?”
“Don’t run.”
My mouth opened and then shut. “What are you talking about?”
How did she know?
In seconds, her eyes were awash with tears.
“Two years ago, Nox was in a relationship with someone. No one knew—well, I knew—but no one else did. Something happened…I found him upset. Angry. So angry.” She shivered at the memory. “I begged him to talk to me. To Max. To Dad.To someone.The next day, he decided he was going to study glassmaking in Italy. He didn’t tell me until the day before he was leaving.”
My breath hitched. Now, the chill between them seemed clearer.
“Nox had the same look when he told me he was leaving as you do now,” she finished, her fingers curling into a fist. “He thought running was the answer, and so do you.”
I didn’t think it was the right answer. I thought it was the only solution. But I didn’t say that. If this was what I decided to do, I couldn’t tell her. She’d turn around and go right to Max.
“Isn’t running what you’re doing with Blaze?”
My question shocked her, but only for a second before she banded her arms over her chest and fired back, “Blaze never looked at me the way my brother looks at you.”
And with that, she walked around the counter to wash her hands and then grabbed her bag. “I have to get to my hives, but if you need anything, just call.”
My chin dipped.
“And Daze?” She stopped on her way to the door and looked back at me. “Max will be back soon, and he’ll figure out a way to fix this, I promise. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do when it comes to protecting you.”
My palm lifted to my throat, my heart nothing more than a rattle against my chest.
I watched her walk away. Heard the front door open and close. And that was when I let myself break.
Why was Max always the one protecting me?
I love him too, you know, I wanted to shout to her.Why couldn’t I be the one to protect him for once?
Him and my baby?
My chest started to heave with deep cries, each one fitting between the increasing cramps in my stomach. Harder and harder. Each more painful than the last. I knew what they were, but they felt like my heart breaking. Each one cracking and splitting the seams of an organ I’d finally let feel.
Was it running when it was a choice? When it was to protect the man I loved?
There was a loud knock on the door, and my cries hiccuped to a halt. Swiping my eyes with my fingertips, I saw the basket still on the table.
Harper had forgotten them.
I picked up her things and went to the door, puffing out hard breaths through tight lips as the contractions intensified.
