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“From my calculations, and unless you had the baby early, the timeline matches when we were together.”
“He’s my son,” I insist.
“I’m not saying he isn’t. What I’m saying is that he could be mine, too. I want to know; I have a right to know.”
“All of a sudden, you’re interested?”
“If I had known, things might have been different.”
“Like how, Dr. Pearce? You might have stayed and resented me for trapping you.”
“I understand you’re hurt, but you have no right to keep him from me.”
“I have no right? You can go fuck yourself. I have every right. You told me you weren’t ready for marriage, let alone a child, and now I see that you’re engaged. Congratulations. I guess what you really meant was that I wasn’t right for you. You could have told me that.”
“Would it have made my leaving any easier?”
It wouldn’t have, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing, so I sit and glare at him instead.
“Answer me, Miss Stanford.”
“I have work to do, and I would appreciate it if you left my office,” I dismiss. “I refuse to allow you to see my son, and that’s final.”
“I’m asking politely. The next time won’t be so.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“There are ways to get you to allow me to see him. What’s his name? The newsletter only listed his initials as CJ.”
“Please leave my office. I don’t owe you anything. And if you ever cared about me at all, you’ll leave me alone to live my life.”
“I did care about you. I still do,” he adds softly.
“You have a funny way of showing it.”
Chase stands up and fixes his eyes on me—the same colored eyes I see daily when I look at CJ.
“You had your chance. You could have made this easy for both of us.”
He promptly walks out of my office and closes the door behind him. It’s then that I notice my hands are shaking. Hot tears prick my eyes. I know that he can request a birth certificate, which makes me worry because I put him down as the father.
It takes me several minutes to calm down before I can log into my email. Della brings in some notes that she has for me, and with that, I try my hardest to focus. By the end of the day, I’ve settled in. Obviously, no one has seen Dr. Pearce but me because they would have mentioned it. Just as fast as he slipped in and out of my life, he was in and out of the building.
I can’t wait to get to Lexi’s to pick up CJ. All I want to do is hug my son and never let him go. I haven’t heard a word from Steven all day, and I know it’s because he’s hurt by me not allowing him to take CJ. I also left my engagement ring in my jewelry box this morning. Out of spite, I wish I had worn it to show Chase that I wasn’t pining for him anymore. That I was moving on with my life just as he was.
When I get to Lexi’s, she tells me that CJ was the perfect little angel. All-day, I resisted the urge to text and call her a million times. I know I can’t do that all the time and that it’s better I don’t know what my little munchkin is doing from minute to minute because it would only make me miss him more than I already do.
It’s a nice summer day, so I take my time pushing CJ’s carriage home. When I enter my building, I’m startled to see Chase waiting for me. I want to turn around and run out of the lobby, but it’s too late. He sees me, so I steel my nerves and approach him.
“I told you I wouldn’t give up,” he whispers.
The concierge at the desk isn’t paying attention to us, but I feel like alerting him to the fact that Chase is an unwanted guest.
“How dare you come to my home!” I hiss.
“I want to see how my son is living. I have a right.” Without permission, he kneels to look at our sleeping baby and reaches into the carriage to touch his soft tiny hand. “Megan, please,” he pleads, “I want to see him. I know he’s mine. He has my hair and chin.”
Not wanting to start a scene, I lose my will to fight him and nod while I hit the button for the elevator. We stand on separate sides of the car as we ignore each other. He’s as handsome as I remember him being, and his nearness is having the same effect on me; it always did. A large part of me still wants him even though he hurt me so badly. Banishing the thought, I fumble with my keys and drop them on the floor when I get to my apartment.
