Chapter 25: I Need Time

Hailey's POV

Gio didn't let go of Maxwell for the rest of the day.

The moment we got home from the visitation center, he'd wrapped himself around Max like he was trying to disappear into him. Even now, four hours later, he was still glued to his side.

"Daddy, can we build the Lego set?" Gio asked for the third time, his voice so small it made my throat tight.

"We already finished it, buddy. Remember?" Max spoke with patience. "Want to start a new one?"

"No." Gio shook his head. "I want to build that one again. The castle."

"Okay. Let's take it apart and start over."

I watched from the kitchen doorway as Maxwell sat on the floor with Gio in his lap, carefully dismantling the castle they'd spent all week building together. My son kept looking up at him every few seconds. Making sure he was still there.

"Mommy!" Gio's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Come help us!"

I set down my cold coffee and joined them on the floor. Gio immediately shifted between us, one hand on Max's arm, the other reaching for mine.

Keeping us both close.

"You okay, baby?" I brushed his hair back.

"Yeah." But his voice trembled slightly. "I just... I like when we're all together. Just us."

By the time we finished rebuilding the castle, Gio was was almost falling asleep.

"Movie time?" Max suggested.

Gio nodded, climbing onto the couch and curling into Max's side immediately. I grabbed a blanket and settled on Gio's other side, wrapping us all in warmth.

We put on his favorite dinosaur movie, the one we'd watched a thousand times, and he knew all the lines now, but still loved it.

Within ten minutes, his breathing evened out completely.

"He's out," Max murmured, his hand still rubbing Gio's back.

I looked at my son's peaceful face, so different from the terrified expression at the visitation center.

"I should put him to bed," I said quietly.

"I've got him." Max shifted carefully, lifting Gio without waking him.

I watched this man, this man who wasn't Gio's father by blood, carry my son to bed with such tenderness it made my chest ache. Watched him tuck his teddy beside Gio, pull the blanket up, press a kiss to his forehead.

The penthouse felt too quiet after Gio's door closed.

Max headed for the kitchen. I followed, suddenly hyperaware of the fact that we were alone. That we hadn't actually talked since the morning after. Since the shower. Since everything changed.

He poured two glasses of wine without asking, sliding one across the counter to me.

"He was terrified." My voice came out rough. "He didn't understand why he had to be there. Why this stranger with his eyes was claiming to be his father."

"Ethan's not a stranger." He said calmly. "Not technically."

"He is to Gio." I took a long drink. "My son spent two hours with a man he doesn't know, doesn't trust, doesn't want in his life. And I had to sit there and watch it happen because some judge said so."

"The supervised visits are temporary." Max took a sip of his drink. "Once the court sees how bonded Gio is to us, to our home, they'll side with you."

"Will they?" I set the glass down harder than intended. "Or will they see a devoted biological father trying to connect with his son while the mother and her convenient husband block access?"

"That's not what's happening..."

"Isn't it?" My voice rose slightly. "I heard Gio today. Every single sentence was about you. 'Daddy took me to the museum..' He made it very clear that Floyd isn't his father. You are."

Something flickered across Max's face. "Is that a problem?"

"No... Yes... I don't know." I pressed my hands to my eyes. "It's complicated. Because you're not actually his father either, are you? Not biologically...not yet anyway. You're my husband in a six-month contract that's almost up."

The words hung between us.

Maxwell went very still. "Is that what you think this still is? After everything?"

"I don't know what this is anymore." The words felt like ripping open a wound. "We had rules and boundaries. There was supposed to no complications. And then we..." I couldn't say the words.

"Had sex," he finished bluntly. "We can say it, Hailey. We slept together."

Heat flooded my face. "Once. We slept together once. In a moment of...of weakness or stress or whatever. It doesn't have to mean more..."

"Doesn't it?" He moved closer. "Because it felt like it meant something. At least to me."

My breath caught. "Max..."

"What are we doing?" His voice was low, intense. "Actually doing? Because I need to know if I'm the only one who's stopped pretending this is fake."

The vulnerability in his question made my chest tight.

"I don't know," I whispered. "I don't know what we're doing or what this is or what happens next. All I know is that everything's a mess and I'm terrified of making it worse."

"How would it be worse?"

"Because what happens when our six months end?" The question burst out. "It's been almost five months, Max. In a few weeks, our contract expires. And then what? You walk away? Gio loses another father? I..."

I stopped, unable to finish.

I lose you too. I wanted to say.

"You think I'd walk away from him?" Max's voice was sharp. "From Gio?"

"I think that's what the contract says. Six months, then a clean break. No complications."

"Fuck the contract." He stepped closer. "You really think I could walk away from that kid? From the boy who calls me Dad and falls asleep in my lap?"

"People leave," I said quietly. "Floyd left. My father left...emotionally, at least. Everyone leaves eventually."

"I'm not everyone." His hand found my chin, tilting my face up. "And I'm not Floyd."

"I know that..."

"Do you? Because right now, you're already planning my exit. Already protecting yourself from something that hasn't happened."

"I'm being realistic." My voice was sharp. " We got married out of necessity. For protection. This was never supposed to be..."

"What? Real?" His thumb brushed my cheekbone. "When does it become real for you, Hailey? When I claim your son on national television? When I fight your board members? When I can't go five minutes without thinking about you?"

I wanted to lean in. Wanted to close the distance and kiss him and stop thinking about contracts and consequences and all the ways this could destroy me.

But I couldn't.

"I can't do this right now," I whispered, pulling back. "Gio needs me to be stable. The custody case needs me to be focused. I can't fall apart over feelings I don't have time to process."

Something flashed in his eyes, hurt, maybe, or frustration.

"When will you have time?" His voice was rough. "When the six months end and I'm supposed to walk away? When Gio asks why his dad isn't coming home anymore?"

"I don't know." My voice cracked. "I just know I can't handle one more thing falling apart. And if I let myself feel this...whatever this is...and you leave anyway..."

I didn't finish. Didn't need to.

He stepped back, jaw tight. "I'm not leaving."

We stood there, the space between us feeling too big despite being inches apart.

"I need time," I finally said. "To think. To figure out what this is without panicking about what it means."

His hands clenched at his sides. Then he nodded once, sharp and final.

"Fine. Take your time. But Hailey?" His eyes met mine. "I'm not going anywhere. Not from Gio. Not from you. Whether you believe that or not."

Then he walked away, leaving me alone in the kitchen with my cold wine and my racing heart and absolutely no idea what happened next.