Chapter Twenty-Two

“Christy, we need to talk,” Jillian’s voice cut through the thick silence of my room. It wasn’t a command, but a plea, laced with something deeper. He wasn’t standing in the doorway, but I could hear him just outside, as if giving me space to process. His presence was overwhelming, though, and I could feel the tension in the air, thick and suffocating.

I didn’t move at first. Instead, I just sat there, my hands wrapped tightly around the fabric of my robe, the weight of everything—Alyssa, the baby, the lies—pressing down on me like a thousand tons. I wanted to ignore him, bury my face in my hands and forget the world existed. But I knew that wasn’t possible. Not anymore. Not with the way everything had changed between us.

I took a deep breath, pushing myself up from the bed, my feet hitting the cold floor with a sharp thud. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I opened the door, the cold morning air rushing in to greet me.

Jillian was standing there, his back to me, hands in his pockets, his shoulders stiff, like he was bracing for something. His eyes flicked to me the moment I stepped into view, and there was a softness in them—one that wasn’t there before, not like this.

“Christy…” His voice cracked a little, but he cleared his throat, trying to steady himself. “I—”

“You knew,” I interrupted, my voice low but steady. “About the baby. You knew. You didn’t even say anything.”

Jillian stiffened, his gaze locking with mine. “I didn’t want to add to the chaos, Christy,” he said quietly, taking a step toward me. “You’ve been through enough, and I didn’t want you to think I was complicating things further. I was already keeping something from you, and I didn’t know how to tell you. How to make it right.”

“Is that what you think?” My voice wavered, but I quickly steadied it. “That I couldn’t handle the truth? That I couldn’t handle you?”

“No,” he responded, shaking his head slowly. “No, that’s not what I meant at all. I just… I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to make everything harder.”

“You did that already, Jillian,” I shot back, my eyes narrowing slightly. “And it hurts, you know. More than you can imagine. Because now, not only do I have to deal with this—” I waved my hand to encompass the whole mess between us, “but I have to do it with you and her in the picture, all while trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m pregnant. And you knew. You knew and still kept it from me. You lied to me.”

His face softened, but I could see the guilt written all over him. He took another step forward, closing the distance between us. “Christy,” he said gently, his voice lowering, “I’m sorry. I didn’t lie to you because I wanted to hurt you. I did it to protect you. I wanted you to have the space to breathe, to think, without the weight of knowing about Alyssa’s pregnancy hanging over you.”

“I don’t need protection, Jillian,” I said firmly. “I needed you to be honest with me from the start. I needed you to be real.”

“I’m trying,” he whispered, a raw edge to his voice. “I’m trying so damn hard, Christy. But I don’t know how to make up for what I’ve done.”

I felt a lump rise in my throat, but I swallowed it down, keeping my composure. The weight of everything we had been through, everything still to come, pressed on me. I could feel the heavy throb of the baby inside me—a constant reminder of how things had changed, how much they had shifted. It wasn’t just me anymore. It was us. The baby, this mess between Jillian and me, Alyssa… it was all tangled together, and I didn’t know how to untangle it.

“I don’t know if I can forgive you, Jillian,” I said softly, my voice trembling slightly despite my efforts to remain strong. “I don’t know if I can just forget everything that’s happened. And honestly, I’m not sure how to trust you again.”

He stepped closer, until we were only inches apart. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, the tension in his muscles. “I’m not asking you to forget,” he said quietly, his gaze never leaving mine. “I’m asking you to give me a chance. One chance to prove that I can be the man you deserve. One chance to make things right.”

I wanted to say yes. I wanted to throw myself into his arms, to let him fix everything. But I couldn’t. Not yet. Not when the weight of our past was still so heavy between us.

“You can’t fix it all with one apology,” I said, shaking my head slowly. “You can’t fix it by saying the right words, Jillian. This is going to take time. Time and effort. And I need to see that you’re willing to fight for this… for us.”

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t pull away. His eyes softened, and he cupped my face gently in his hands. “I’ll fight, Christy. I swear I will. I’ll fight every day, for as long as it takes. I know I’ve hurt you, and I don’t know how to undo that. But I’m not giving up on you. On us. Not now, not ever.”

For a moment, I closed my eyes, letting the warmth of his touch soak into me. I had always wanted to believe in him. Wanted to believe that this love we had, whatever it was, could survive the storm we were in. But could it? Could we really get past the lies, the betrayals, the mess we were both tangled in?

“I don’t know, Jillian,” I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know if I can do this. If I can trust you again. Not after everything.”

He sighed, his thumb gently brushing over my cheek. “I’ll prove it to you. Every single day. Every action, every word. I’ll prove that I’m the man you need, Christy. Just give me that chance.”

I opened my eyes, looking into his, seeing the raw emotion there, the sincerity. I still didn’t know what the future held, but something inside me told me that he was willing to fight for it. He was willing to fight for us. Maybe that was all I could ask for right now.

“I can’t promise you that it will be easy,” I said quietly, my voice still shaking slightly. “But I’ll try. I’ll try, Jillian. Because I need to believe you.”

He kissed me then, softly, with an intensity that spoke of everything unspoken between us. It wasn’t a kiss that promised forever, but it was a kiss that promised a chance.

When we finally pulled away, Jillian was still holding me, his arms wrapped around my waist, as if he couldn’t bear to let go. “We’ll get through this,” he murmured against my ear. “Together.”

And for the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself believe him.