“But he’s right,” I said, my voice wavering. “I moved in with you so fast, and we’re pretending to date, and when the truth comes out?—”
“The truth won’t come out,” he whispered, his thumbs brushing away tears I hadn’t realized were falling. “Even if it did, you left an unsafe situation. You protected your daughter. No court will fault you for that.”
Something inside me cracked. Not because of Jack’s words, but because hearing him say those things, hearing the bitterness in his voice where sweetness used to be made it real.
My marriage was over. Truly, completely over.
There was no going back. Years of my life, gone. The future I had imagined, growing old with Jack, raising Lily together, building a family… all of it was broken.
A wet sob escaped from my throat. Then another, and suddenly I was crying for the first time in days. Not quite tears, but ugly sobs that shook my body.
Derek pulled me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me tight. “It’s okay,” he murmured into my hair. “Let it out. I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.”
I cried into his shirt, my fingers clutching the fabric. I cried for my failed marriage, for the man I thought Jack was, for the life I lost. I cried for being so stupid, so blind, and so desperate to believe in something that was already dead.
Derek didn’t try to stop me or tell me it would be okay. He just held me, one hand stroking my hair, and the other rubbing my back.
I don’t know how long we sat there. Long enough for my sobs to quiet into hiccupping breaths. Long enough for my tears to soak through his shirt. Long enough for me to feel the exhaustion creeping in.
Then I heard it. Lily’s cry from down the hall.
“I’ll get her,” Derek said, even though I was already trying to stand.
“No, it’s okay. I shou?—”
“Paige,” he said, his hand on my shoulder keeping me seated. “Let me.”
He disappeared down the hall before I could argue. I heard the guest room door open, heard Lily’s cries intensify for a moment and then soften as Derek spoke in low, soothing tones.
After a moment, I followed him and stood in the doorway watching my daughter and my boss.
Derek had Lily against his shoulder, one hand supporting her head, the other rubbing gentle circles on her back. He was swaying slightly, a rocking motion that worked magic on fussy babies.
And he was singing.
He was so off-key, it would have been funny if it weren’t so sweet. I recognized the melody, something from a Disney movie. He didn’t know all the words, humming through the parts he forgot, but Lily didn’t seem to mind.
She was already settling, her cries fading and her little fist clutching Derek’s shirt the same way mine had minutes ago.
“That’s it,” Derek whispered, still swaying. “That’s my girl. Back to sleep. Nothing to worry about. Uncle Derek’s got you.”
Uncle Derek.
It made my chest ache.
Jack had never done that. I could count on one hand the number of times he got up with her in the middle of the night. He always had an excuse—work early in the morning, exhausted from a long day, she wanted me anyway. I told myself it was fine, that new dads struggled with bonding and hoped it would get better.
But watching Derek—someone who had no obligation to my daughter, who was doing it out of pure kindness—I realized how low I had set the bar.
Lily’s eyes were drooping, her body relaxing in Derek’s arms. He kept singing anyway, kept swaying, kept being exactly what she needed without being asked.
My childhood friend, my boss, my fake boyfriend, was showing me what I deserved. What Lily deserved. Not grand gestures or expensive gifts, but presence, consistency, and someone who showed up when things got hard instead of running away.
Derek looked up and saw me in the doorway. “Sorry about the singing,” he whispered with a sheepish smile. In the shadow of moonlight, with his ruffled bed-hair, he looked boyish and handsome, reminding me of our early days. “I know I’m terrible, but she doesn’t seem to care.”
“You’re perfect,” I said, and meant it.
His smile widened, and he carefully lowered Lily back into her crib, tucking the blue crochet blanket around her. She sighed in her sleep, completely at peace, and Derek stood there for a moment watching her, his expression soft in a way I had never seen before.
