Not aggressively—just enough to place himself slightly in front of me, his body a quiet line drawn in the concrete space between us and Edward.
Eddie stood just inside the garage, keys clenched in his hand, disbelief written starkly across his face. His gaze flicked from Archie to me and back again, jaw tightening.
“No,” he said flatly. “Absolutely not.”
I felt my spine straighten behind Archie.
“This is not appropriate,” Eddie continued, voice rising now, controlled but edged with fury. “Not now. Not ever. This cannot continue.”
Archie didn’t flinch.
“You don’t get to decide that,” he said evenly.
Eddie’s eyes flashed. “I am your father.”
“Right, when it suits you. But it’s not about that. It’s about the fact,Frankieisnotyours. Not your child. Not your anything,” Archie shot back without hesitation. “She’s mine and she always has been.”
The air felt tight enough to snap.
“I’m trying to protect everyone involved,” Eddie snapped. “You think this is responsible? With everything that’s at stake?”
Archie’s shoulders squared. “What’s at stake is her autonomy.”
I stepped forward then, placing a hand lightly against Archie’s back—not pulling him away, just grounding him. Claiming my space too.
“This is my choice,” I said, my voice steady despite the heat crawling up my neck. Having Archie just declare it so damn clearly emboldened me. I was not letting him face Eddie alone. “You don’t have to like it. But you don’t get to forbid it.”
Eddie stared at me like he was seeing me clearly for the first time—and didn’t like what he found.
“This is a mistake,” he said. “One that could hurt all of us.”
“Maybe,” I said quietly. “But it’s still ours to make.”
Silence fell hard and heavy.
Finally, Eddie exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “This is unacceptable,” he said, already turning away. “We will discuss this later.” Then he just walked out, the garage door slamming shut behind him with finality.
The quiet afterward rang in my ears.
Archie stayed exactly where he was for a moment longer, breathing slow and controlled, before turning back to me.
“You okay?” he asked, immediately softer.
I nodded. “Yeah. Are you?”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I am now.”
I let out a shaky breath and laughed under it. “Well. That escalated.”
He huffed once, a humorless sound. “He doesn’t get to scare you.”
“I’m not scared,” I said. And realized it was true. “Not of him.”
His gaze softened then, just slightly. “Tomorrow,” he said.
“Tomorrow,” I agreed.
And even with the truth looming closer than ever, I knew one thing with absolute certainty. Neither of us was backing down.
