Chloe’s lips twitch, but she doesn’t argue. “If you say so.”
I raise both eyebrows at that, and it’s hard not to interpret the look she gives me asshe thinks I’m just fat,not pregnant with her first grandchild.
She picks up a stack of plates to hand to Matthew and nearly drops them when she sees his hand. “What’s that?” she asks, pointing at his fingers.
Matthew glances down, then turns it over, revealing the simple gold band. “Oh. Uh…” He looks at me briefly, a sheepish smile tugging at his mouth. “Brooke and I got married.”
Chloe’s mouth falls open. For a long, stunned second, she doesn’t say a word, just looks from me to Matthew, then back to me again. Finally, her gaze drops to my stomach.
I press a palm over it for emphasis.
“You’re… pregnant. And married?” she sputters.
Matthew nods, steady but a little sheepish. “We wanted you there, but we couldn’t wait, not with the insurance situation and everything else. We figured we’d have a bigger ceremony once the baby gets here.”
Chloe’s lips purse tightly, her expression clearly unimpressed. “Matthew, can I speak to you outside?” She asks, her jaw clenched so tight I can practically hear her teeth grind.
Matthew reaches over and covers my hand on my stomach. “You can say it in front of her.”
“Fine,” she says, smiling, but it’s not a warm smile. It’s cold and bitter.
She turns to me. “How do I even know that baby is my son’s?”
“Mom-” Matthew starts, his voice low and warning.
But she holds up a hand to silence him. “You’ve had him tangled in your net since college, and now suddenly there’s a marriage and a baby? How do I know you’re not trying to pass off someone else’s child as his because he-”
“Enough.”
Matthew’s voiceboomsthrough the apartment, loud enough that even I stop breathing. I’ve never seen him like this, jaw clenched, eyes blazing, chest heaving with barely contained anger.
“I said enough, Ma,” he growls. “I love you, but do not speak like that to my wife.And she is the mother of my child. The sooner you accept that, the better.”
Chloe blinks, thrown by the steel in his voice. “You’re picking her over me?” she asks, incredulous. “I did not raise you-”
“No,” he cuts in, sharp and certain. “This is exactly how you raised me, to take responsibility. To be better than my own father.”
Chloe goes completely still at that, her lips parting but no sound coming out. The air between them shifts, heavier now, thicker.
I glance between them, confusion tugging at the edges of my anger. I know his dad left before Matthew was born, but he’s never told me why. He’s never talked about it at all.
Matthew swallows hard, eyes fixed on his mother. “You taught me that being a man isn’t about running away when things get complicated. It’s about showing up. And that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m here. For Brooke. For our baby. Forus.”
Chloe’s face tightens, her eyes cutting toward me, colder now. “I will not let you ruin my son’s life.”
The words sting more than I expect them to. My throat tightens, and I manage, “I love your son.”
“For now,” she snaps. “Until you move on to some other poor schmuck.”
Matthew’s jaw hardens, his voice low and steady. “I think you should go.”
“I’m your mother,” she says, disbelief threading through her voice.
“And I love you,” he replies, and the sincerity in his voice almost breaks me. “But the way you’re acting right now… I don’t want to say something I can’t take back. Something that’ll hurt you.”
Chloe stares at him, stunned, like she’s hearing words she never thought he’d say. Seeing the heartbroken look on her face almost makes me feel bad for her.Almost.
Matthew
