5. Drew

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Andrew

"Drew, is the baby yours?"

God, I wish I could pretend she didn't just ask me that. I wish I could pretend I wasn't standing here, that I wasn't the one who had to break her heart. I promised Becca her happily ever after. I told her I'd always be there, that she wouldn't have to do life alone. What I didn't realize was that in order to give her that, I'd have to sacrifice my own happily ever after.

"Drew?"

Claire's voice cuts through my mental warfare, and when I look into her eyes, I know this moment has been coming for a long time—I just never figured out what I would say. I'm not ready.

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"Claire," I begin, my voice low, "I love you so much, and I want this family—with you and our baby. But I need to be there for Becca. She's all alone, and I promised her a happily ever after..."

Claire goes pale, and it wrecks me. But then Joy speaks—and what she says turns my blood to ice.

"Claire, we should leave. You need to take your meds soon, and the doctor said you need rest. All this stress can't be good for the baby. Drew, I don't know what all you've got going on, but I think it's best you leave Claire out of it. If you love her like you claim to, then you'll let her go."

Let her go?

No. That will never happen. Claire is mine.

"Never. Claire is mine, Joy! I know things are a little fucked up right now, but I will fix this. Baby, I will fix this! You'll come home, and I'll take care of you—we'll prepare for the baby together."

If I let her go, that'll be the end. I can't live a life without Claire. If I have to pick her up, drag her to my car, and cuff her to our bed, then so be it.

"Baby, come home with me and I'll explain everything. I swear to you, I'll fix this, C. We just need to be together. We can get through anything, as long as we're together."

Joy and Aiden both look to Claire for a decision. But she's locked in on me, staring into my soul like she's trying to figure out if I'm worth the risk—if we are worth the risk.

And we are.

She just has to hold on long enough to see it.

"Fine," she says finally. "I'll come home with you, Drew. But I'll walk away at the first sign of shit. I'm done doing the mental gymnastics of your world. I have to put myself—and our baby—first."

I exhale the breath I didn't even realize I was holding. She's coming home with me. That means I've got to get my shit together—fast. I can tell her fuse is short, and I'm one mistake away from losing everything.

"I hear you, C. I won't mess this up. Just let me explain when we get home. I don't want you hurting anymore, and you need to rest."

I step forward to lift her from Aiden's car, but he blocks me, crouching in front of her. And I see red.

"Aiden, you can either move, or I'll move you. But I will be taking my woman home today. I know I've been screwing up, and you feel like you have to protect her from me, but you're out of bounds."

He ignores me and speaks to Claire.

"Hey, babe. The choice is yours, but you know I'll take care of you, right? Joy and I are always here. If you don't want to go with him, you don't have to. You can move in with me if you want—we can set up one of the extra rooms for the baby, and I can be there to—"

He doesn't get to finish. I grab him by the shirt, yank him up from his crouch, and shove him into the car.

"First of all, Aiden, she's not your 'babe.' She's mine. Has been, always will be. Second, you will not be playing house with my woman and my baby. That is my family, and I'll be damned if you get to play daddy to either of them. Back. The fuck. Off. Before this turns into something we can't come back from."

From the corner of my eye, I see Claire trying to stand. She leans heavily on the door, her fingers white from gripping it so tightly.

"Drew, let him go," she says, just before her legs give out.

All three of us reach for her, but I'm closest. She's in my arms before she even hits the ground.

"Damn it, C. What are you doing? You're going to hurt yourself worse, baby." I wipe her sweaty face, gently lowering her into the wheelchair Joy is still holding onto.

And then Claire speaks—to him.

"Aiden, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

What the fuck is this? Since when does he get to be her concern? And when did he start calling her babe?

"I'm fine, Claire. I just want you to be fine too."

That's it. I've had enough.

"Are you two fucking? Is there something going on between you? Because if there is, then—"

I'm not even sure what I was going to say. Either way, C cuts me off.

"Andrew."

Panic floods me. She hasn't called me that since before we got together.

"There's nothing going on between Aiden and me," she says. "But if there was, I don't think you'd have a leg to stand on—seeing as your mistress is pregnant."

Her words knock the breath out of me. I drop my head, feeling like I just got gut-punched. I can't win. But losing? That's not an option either.

"Can we just go now, baby?"

She nods. She tells her friends she'll call them, and as they hug her, they let her know they'll be coming by the house around the clock.

Aiden holds onto her a little longer than I'm comfortable with—but that's something I'll deal with later.

For now, I'll be keeping an eye on him.