010: Too Little, Too Late

Lily's POV. 

I looked Ashton square in the eyes and said it.

"He’s not yours."

My voice was calm. Too calm. Even I didn’t expect it. My hand wrapped tighter around the wine glass, pressing it against my chest like it would shield me from the weight of his gaze.

Ashton just stood there. One brow lifted, his lips slightly parted like he didn’t expect me to say that. "You expect me to believe that?"

"You should," I said flatly, forcing my face to stay emotionless. "I had an affair after you fired me. The father is someone else."

He tilted his head, mouth twitching like he was about to laugh but didn’t. "You mean the same man who doesn’t exist? The one you never dated, never lived with, never even worked with? I had someone look into your past four years, Lily. There was no man. Just you. And Nathan."

I flinched before I could stop myself. Of course he did.

"Stay out of my life, Ashton. You have no right."

"No right?" he repeated, voice low, sharp. "You kept my son from me. For four years. You think I’m going to walk away just because you want me to?"

My nostrils flared. I took a step closer. "You want to talk about rights? You lost every damn right the moment you used me, threw me out of your company, and got engaged to another woman the same day. You made me feel cheap. You made me feel like trash. And now you have the audacity to stand here and talk about rights?"

His jaw tightened. That composed, CEO mask of his cracked just a little.

"Lily," he said, voice softer now. "I’m sorry. I should never have dismissed you. I thought I was protecting you from the chaos of my life. Valerie...the board...the press...I didn’t know how to keep you safe. So I pushed you away. But I regretted it. Every single day."

"Good for you," I snapped. "Your regrets mean nothing to me."

"They should," he said, stepping closer. "Because I never stopped thinking about you. About that night. About what I did."

"That night?" I repeated, my voice shaking now. My fingers were trembling, but I didn’t let go of my glass. "You mean the night you took everything from me and then fired me like I was nothing? Like I was some kind of office toy you got bored of?"

His face twisted in pain, but I didn’t stop.

"You humiliated me. I had to walk past the receptionist, past security, with tears in my eyes and my box of things in my hands while everyone stared. And then I saw it on the news that evening. Your engagement to Valerie Monroe."

"I didn’t love her," he said quietly.

"I don’t care," I bit out.

"I was being forced into that marriage."

"Still don’t care."

His hands clenched at his sides. "You should have told me you were pregnant."

I laughed. It was loud and bitter and ugly. A few heads turned in our direction, but I didn’t care. "Oh, you think I should have told you? After everything? After you told me I was no longer needed? That I was a distraction? That I was a mistake?"

"Lily, I would’ve taken care of you. Of him. I had a right to know."

"And what would you have done? Dragged me back into your world, paraded me as the woman you secretly knocked up? Risked your precious image? Would you even have believed me? Or called me a liar, said I was trying to trap you?"

"You should have given me the chance."

I stepped back. My voice was tight now. "I gave you everything once. My time. My trust. My body. I’m not giving you my son."

"Lily, please. Let me be in his life. I’m not asking to take him. I just...I just want to know him. To be there."

"You think you can just walk in after four years and play daddy? No. You don’t deserve him."

His voice rose a little now, not loud but sharp enough to cut. "You think this is easy for me? You think I’m proud of what I did? You think I sleep well knowing I might’ve let the only woman I ever cared about walk away carrying my child and I didn’t do a damn thing?"

That hit something in me. Something I didn’t want to acknowledge.

"I didn’t know," he said, voice shaking a little. "But I know now. And I can’t unknow it."

I stared at him, heart hammering. My throat burned.

"He doesn’t need you," I whispered. "We built our life. Just the two of us. You don’t get to come in now and disrupt that because your conscience suddenly started working."

"He needs his father," Ashton said. "And I need him."

I shook my head. "You don’t get to need him now."

Silence stretched between us.

He looked down for a moment, then back at me.

"Then tell me what I need to do. What do I have to do to earn a place in his life?"

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

Because the truth was...I didn’t know.

And that terrified me more than anything else.

Still, I said nothing.

Just looked at him. Looked through him. My throat was tight, chest rising and falling way too fast, but my face…my face was cold. Blank. Empty.

He wanted answers. He wanted forgiveness. A second chance.

And I had nothing to give him.

"Lily," Ashton said again, softer this time. Like if he spoke gently enough, I’d fold. "I know I don’t deserve it. I know I was a bastard. But please, just let me make it right. For him. For you."

My lips curled. Not into a smile. More like a grimace. "You think you can make up for four years with pretty words and sad eyes?"

He didn’t speak. His eyes were locked on mine, burning.

"You think I haven’t replayed it in my head? The way I begged you with my eyes not to send me away. The way I waited for a text, a call, anything. And nothing came. Not even a damn email. You fired me like I meant nothing to you. Like I was trash."

He ran a hand down his jaw, exhaling through his nose. His voice came out low, rough. "I didn’t know how to deal with it. I panicked. Everything was falling apart. Valerie, the merger, the pressure from the board…"

"Save it," I cut in sharply. "I don’t care about your excuses, Ashton. We’ve all had things fall apart. You don’t get to play the victim now."

He stepped closer. I took a step back.

"Don’t," I warned. "Don’t come any closer."

He froze.

My hands were shaking now, but I kept my voice strong. "You don't get to show up, all rich and powerful and suited up, and demand to be part of our lives. You don’t get to do that, Ashton."

"I’m not demanding anything," he said, and for the first time, he looked...tired. No mask. No ego. Just...a man. "I’m asking. I’m trying. I just want to know him."

"He has a father," I lied, my voice clipped. "And he’s nothing like you."

He flinched, but didn’t back down. "You said he wasn’t mine. But I see it, Lily. He’s mine. You can’t lie your way out of that."

"And what if he is? What would you do, Ashton? Hire the best lawyers in town? Take me to court? Win full custody because you have the money and the influence?"

His brows furrowed, expression tight. "Is that what you think of me?"

"It’s what you’ve shown me."

He stared at me, like he wanted to say something else. Maybe something that would change everything. But I didn’t want to hear it.

"You were supposed to be my boss," I said, voice shaking now. "You were supposed to guide me, protect me in a system where women like me barely had a shot. And instead, you took advantage of me. Then you discarded me. Like I didn’t matter."

He blinked fast. Once. Twice.

"I never meant to…"

"But you did!" I snapped. "You did it anyway. And now you want to play the victim because I didn’t hand you a baby with a bow on top?"

He was quiet. So quiet. Even the sounds from the brunch faded in the background.

"Nathan is my world," I said, firm now. "I raised him. I fed him. I held him when he cried, sang to him when he was sick, walked him into preschool on his first day. Where were you?"

He didn’t answer. Couldn’t.

I straightened. Swallowed hard. "You don’t get to be his dad just because you suddenly grew a conscience. You don’t get that."

"Then what do I get?" he asked. Quiet. Like he really wanted to know. "What do I get, Lily?"

"You get to live with what you lost."

Silence.

It stretched so wide, I thought he might break.

But he didn’t.

He nodded once. Hands still clenched by his sides. Face unreadable now.

"You’re angry," he said. "You have every right to be. But I’m not giving up."

I shook my head slowly. "You should. For your own good."

He stepped back then, a fraction. Just enough to let the space between us cool.

His jaw twitched. "I’ll find a way, Lily. I’ll earn it. You’ll see."

I turned from him without another word. I wasn’t doing this. Not here. Not now.

I walked away. Heart pounding. Feet steady.

He didn’t follow.

But somehow, I knew...this wasn’t over.

Not even close.