“Charlie, please,” Austin begged, his voice breaking. He dropped to his knees in front of me, desperately clutching at my thighs. “Say something. Please, I can’t—” He choked on a sob, tears streaking his face as he looked up at me.
I was frozen. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. My brain couldn’t catch up with everything he was telling me. It was too much, too fast.
“This is so much,” I finally whispered, my voice hollow. “I can’t... So much has changed.”
Austin’s grip tightened, his face crumpling. “I met Nova for coffee this morning. I had to confirm.”
I shook my head, taking an unsteady step back, needing distance. He wasn’t at his mom’s this morning. He was with his ex-wife.
“You went to see her? You didn’t text me because you went to see her?”
I needed air.
“We can figure it out together. Please, just?—”
“This is just... fake anyway,” I muttered, and the bitterness in my voice surprised me.
He dropped his hands away from me as he slumped back on his heels, looking utterly defeated. “Charlie, don’t,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, raw with emotion. “Please, don’t walk away.”
I froze. “Then talk.”
He exhaled shakily, running a trembling hand through his hair. “Nova’s engaged,” he said, his words slow and deliberate, as though each one weighed a ton. “She’s happy. She has a life, and Ollie, her fiancé, has been helping raise Scarlette. But they’re here now, Charlie. They’re staying. And I-I need to meet her. I need to tell her she has a dad. I have to be involved in her life.”
Of course he did. Of course he wanted to be a dad—because that was who Austin was. Selfless, always wanting to do the right thing. And why shouldn’t he? She was his daughter. He had every right.
“Why didn’t she tell you?” I asked quietly, trying to steady my voice. “Why now?”
His hands came back out to touch mine as he held onto me, still on his knees.
“She tried. When I was in rehab, she called after three months, but I’d extended my stay. She said the staff told her, and... she got scared, Charlie. She didn’t want Scarlette around someone struggling with addiction.” He looked up at me, hiseyes pleading for me to understand. “I get it. I don’t blame her for that. But I didn’t know. I didn’t even have a chance.”
I nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in my throat. “She was trying to protect her,” I said, more to myself than to him.
I would have done the same thing. I would’ve protected my child at all costs, especially if it involved someone who was in an active addiction.
“She’s engaged to Ollie,” he continued, his voice quieter now. “He’s been there for her. But this is my daughter, Charlie. I need to meet her. I need to be in her life.”
My chest tightened, the weight of it all pressing down on me until I thought I might collapse. I couldn’t breathe. I was going to throw up. This was too much.
“I need some space,” I said, my voice trembling as I took a step back.
“Charlie,” he said again, tears spilling down his face. “I love you.”
I shook my head quickly, taking another step backward. “No,” I said firmly. “You don’t get to say that now. You don’t get to throw that at me because you’re scared of losing me.”
“I am scared of losing you,” he said, his voice breaking on a sob. “But that’s not it. I love you, Charlie. I love you, and I need you. I’m terrified.”
“Me too,” I whispered, the confession slipping out before I even realized it. Tears burned my eyes as I stepped out of his reach. “I can’t do this right now. I can’t, Austin. I need to get out of here.”
Without waiting for him to respond, I turned and hurried upstairs, my heart racing. My hands shook as I shut the bedroom door behind me and locked it, leaning against the cool wood. I needed space. I needed air. This was too much, and I couldn’t process any of it while he was standing there, tearing himself apart in front of me.
“Fuck,” I whispered, hot tears slipping down my cheeks.
Two whole weeks of break. I was happy for him—I really was—but I wasn’t sure I was ready to be a stepmom or even where I fit in all of this.
And what about her?
What if he fell back in love with Nova? I’d agreed to this marriage partly because she was far away, out of the picture. She was here, they’d be co-parenting, and the thought gnawed at me—what if there were still feelings? What if this brought them back together?
