9. Drew

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Andrew

"C?" She hadn't spoken for a while, as if she were remembering everything. I just hope what she remembers is similar to what actually happened.

"C, baby, please talk to me."

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at me.

"That all seems pretty convenient, Drew. But what about the baby? Why is she pregnant with your baby?"

Fuck. I knew this was coming.

"Baby, I can't tell you everything—at least not right now—but I can tell you this: there is only one woman in this world currently carrying my child, and that's the woman I'm deeply in love with. The only woman I've ever cum in."

That got the tiniest smirk from her, and it felt like I was finally coming up for air.

I knelt down in front of her and laid my palms on her thighs, sliding them up to her hips and back.

"Please tell me we're okay, C. Tell me you still love me, and that you're not about to walk out of my life. I wish you weren't hurt right now so I could fuck my love deep inside you—make you remember how much I love you by worshiping every inch of your body, just the way you like. The way only I know how."

"No, Drew. I'm not just going to be okay with you keeping things from me. You and Becca have this weird long-lost lovers-slash-sibling vibe going, and you expect me to what? Just go along with it because you made her a promise when you were kids? Do you hear yourself, Drew?

"I'm all for people keeping their word—but within reason! And if you plan to keep doing this, then let me go. We both deserve to be happy. And if keeping your promise to Becca is more important than what you and I have, then let me go. Let someone else love me the way I know I deserve to be loved. And for me, that means putting me before their sister-cousin-wife—or whatever you two are going by this week."

"So it's not important to you that I keep my word, Claire? Isn't that one of the things you love about me?"

What she said next brought everything to a halt.

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"Loved, Drew. It was what I loved about you. But then I realized you only kept your word to me as long as Becca's wants didn't interfere. You'd promise me the moon, but then hand the rocket ship to Becca.

"The first three years of us were great. But the moment Becca came back into town, it was like she became your girlfriend and I became the other woman. Your family—and the whole damn town—act like you and she are written in the stars, and I'm the interloper.

"I can't be that person anymore, Drew. I have to think about the baby now. I don't want him or her growing up feeling like they're the lovechild—like their mother stole their father from the woman he was supposed to be with.

"I can stay with Joy and Aid—"

I cut her off. I'll be damned if I lose her. I'll be damned if I lose my family. And I'll be damned if Aiden gets to play daddy to my kid.

"No. You're not moving in with Joy or Aiden. You are not the other woman. You are MY woman. My only woman. I don't even know what the fuck you mean by that sister-cousin comment because Becca and I are not together in any fashion."

I take a deep breath. I have to tell her everything now. If I don't, I'll lose her—but if I do, I might lose her anyway.

"I've known Becca since we were kids. Our families go way back—probably as far as the Mayflower. They've done business together for decades and eventually joined forces to create our company, Focus. As you know, I'm the CEO. I mostly handle the tech side while Katerina serves as the interim lead of the fashion division."

Focus covers a broad spectrum of tech work—from simple websites to building large-scale systems for the tax courts. But under the Focus umbrella, we also have a fashion company. Becca's grandmother was big into fashion, so her father created Focus Fashion as a sort of passion project. But it grew into something massive—a powerhouse in the fashion industry.

"After Becca's parents died, the plan was for her to take over Focus Fashion—but only once she turns 27 or gets married, whichever comes first. As you know, Becca is pregnant now. She needs access to her trust and to the company."

I pause, seeing Claire's breathing become shallow—too shallow. She's starting to have an asthma attack.

I quickly pull out her backup inhaler from my pocket and rub her back gently.

"Take a deep breath in for me, baby—and hold it for five seconds."

She does. I press the inhaler.

"Good. Do it again."

She nods, following my instructions.

"Do you want me to keep going?"

She nods again.

"I told Becca no. I told her we could find someone else for her to marry—someone she could divorce after a year. But she said that would take too long. And that's where we left it. I told her I couldn't do it—but I would help her find another way to access the trust."