You silently stare at the roses sitting in a vase on your desk. But your thoughts are far from flowers. They’re tangled in the conversation you had with Mattheo the day before.
“I thought I was protecting you,” he said.
You crossed your arms as you stood by the window. “By disappearing for two days without a word?”
His eyes didn’t leave yours. “Better for us… for you. For our daughter.”
“Nice roses,” Pansy says, suddenly appearing in your doorway.
You snap out of your thoughts. “They’re just flowers,” you mutter.
Pansy raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms with a smirk. “Sure they are. Just like you’re standing here staring at them for no reason at all.”
“I wasn’t staring,” your voice falters.
“Right,” she replies, mockingly. “And I’m here to borrow a book.”
“Pansy…”
“You never stopped loving him, did you?” she interrupts.
You sigh, eyes lowering to the floor. “I really tried. But when he looked at me…”
Your voice trails off, your mind drifting to that moment.
“Would you have told me if I didn’t force it out of you?” you had asked.
“I don’t know,” Mattheo admitted quietly. “Maybe not. Because I’m scared of losing you… of how you’d look at me if you knew what I really am. What this child might mean.”
“You left me alone,” you whispered, “with Theo’s words in my head, with my doubts, with my fears. I started believing him. Because you gave me nothing else. I woke up every single day wondering if you were ever coming back, wondering if Theo was right and I was too blinded by feelings that might not even be real.”
Mattheo stepped closer. “Every feeling between us is real.”
You swallowed the lump in your throat. “So what am I supposed to do with the lies? With the fact that we were never meant to be together? That the baby—”
“We’ll live with it,” he said, gently placing a hand over your belly. “Because she’s innocent. And I will do anything to keep you both safe.”
You looked up at him and he could sense your hesitation. “You trust me, don’t you?