“You know what made me walk away? I didn’t want Maddox to choose me over the baby. I was always his number one. His only choice. No matter what, I will always be his only one. I saw it in his eyes, Riley. So, I made the choice for him. I dared him to be the dad, his father couldn’t be.”
I knew Maddox better than he knew himself. He was scared of losing me, scared of having Bianca come between us. He panicked… and so, he was going to take the easy way out.
I didn’t want to be the reason this child didn’t have a father.
The more I pushed him away, the closer it got him to Bianca.
Riley was silent for a long minute. She let out a sharp breath, her tongue making a clucking sound. “I don’t know what to say, Lila. You have a messy way of thinking over things.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I fucked up, I know. I thought I was doing the right thing. For Maddox.”
“You know what your problem is, the both of you?” Riley questioned, although she didn’t wait for an answer.
“Maddox will do anything to protect you. He will fight for you, even if it means losing himself in the process. And you will do the same. The two of you are so in love, so stubborn, that you’d risk your own happiness, for each other. I saw how it killed you to walk away from Maddox, yet, you did it… because you thought it was the right thing to do. And Maddox? All this time, he was caring for you in his own messy ways. All the lies, all the secrets… it was all because…”
“Because he loved me and he wanted to spare me any more pain.”
“Yup.”
I pressed the print button and watched, as the documents Riley had sent me, printed out. “So foolishly in love, doing foolish things, and protecting each other like a fool.”
“What a pair!”
I grabbed the freshly printed papers in my hand. It was time to put an end to all of this, and these papers were everything I needed to do it.
“What are you going to do now?” Riley muttered. I could sense the smile on her face, even though I couldn’t see it.
What am I going to do now? Well, that was simple.
With certainty and a firm determination, I closed my laptop and grinned. “Fight for my man.”
I found myself in front of Maddox’s house again. Unlike last time, I wasn’t nervous or second guessing my decision. I stood on the stairs outside the main door and called him – this time, I didn’t bother hiding my caller ID.
His phone rang twice, before he picked up. “What do you want?”
“Always so cheery, I see,” I taunted.
“Lila,” he warned.
“I need to talk to you. Come outside.” I killed the call, without waiting for his response. I didn’t want to give him a chance to say no.
But I guess, I forgot how stubborn Maddox could be.
I waited ten minutes in the cold.
Thirty minutes later, I sat on the stairs… waiting. Tugging my jacket closer to my neck, I wrapped my shawl over my mouth and nose.
I called him again. He didn’t pick up. I paced the driveaway, up and down, left and right.
Forty-five minutes had gone by and still no Maddox. After the fourteenth call, he finally picked up, only to bark out a single word. “Leave.”
I stared blankly at my phone, when he hung up. Well… okay, then. Time for plan B (because I already knew Maddox was going to make this difficult).
I got the blankets and snacks from my car and parked my ass on his porch. I used a blanket as a cushion, since the stairs were rock hard and rough. An hour later, all my snacks were gone. The sun had disappeared behind heavy clouds, and I could hear the thunder from far away.
I unlocked my phone and sent Maddox one last message. It’s going to rain… I’m still outside. I’m not going to leave until we talk.
Tucking my phone away, I cuddled up under the blankets. It was getting colder now, even with my heavy winter coat, boots and gloves. I’m waiting. Come to me, Maddox.
The wind picked up, and my teeth started chattering. Thunder rolled through the sky. The sky was completely clouded over, growing darker. The drizzle started next.
I grinned.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Sev–
“For fuck’s sake, Garcia!”
I didn’t even get to ten. I peeked over my shoulder, with a stupid grin on my face. “Couldn’t bear the thought of me sitting here, cold and in the rain?”
Maddox stalked outside and slammed the door closed behind him. “What. Do. You. Want?”
“Tell me… the… truth,” I said, through chattering teeth.
He stopped beside me; his shoes next to my thighs. Maddox glowered down at me and crossed his arms over his wide chest. I could see his muscles bulging through the sweater, and I suddenly forgot what I came here for.
“What truth?” he snapped.
“Grayson told me…”
His expression was thunderous. “Yeah. So?” he seethed. “What do you want to know?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked quietly.
“You never gave me a chance to.”
“You could have yelled it in my face,” I shot back, leaving the comfort of the blankets and standing up.
Maddox and I were toe to toe. His jaw clenched, and his shoulders tightened. A strong wind blew over us, and I shivered, feeling the winter coldness seeping through the layers of clothes I had on.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked again. “Why did you let me believe the worst?”
His blue eyes flared, but his lips clammed shut. He stood stubbornly quiet. I stabbed a gloved finger into his chest. “Tell me! I want to know!”
“Because,” Maddox barked. His arm snaked out sharply, and he gripped my bicep, shaking me. His head dipped low, his cold breath fanning over my frozen lips. “Because I’d rather you believe the worst in me than give you hope, only to have it snatched away from you!”
He released me abruptly, and I stumbled back. Maddox made a wounded sound in the back of his throat, as he ran his hand over his head, his fingers tugging on his hair. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to gather all the proof I needed. I didn’t know if we could reopen and win this case! I didn’t fucking know, and I needed to be prepared. I didn’t want to see that hope in your eyes, only for it to wither away, if we couldn’t… if we couldn’t… fuck, Lila! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?”
“I want you,” I barely breathed through my cold, freezing lips. “Just you.”
“Stop,” he croaked.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For finally telling me the truth. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
His lips curled with a sneer. “Leave now.”
“Not until you see this.” I grabbed the papers I had brought with me, pushing them toward him.
Maddox snatched the papers from my hand and glowered at the documents. “What is this?”
“Bianca… she’s lying.”
His brows furrowed. For a long time, I had a nagging feeling in my chest about Bianca and her pregnancy. At first, I told myself I was distrustful of her because I had been jealous.
But then the feeling grew, until I couldn’t deny it any longer.
So, Riley and I did some digging. Hospital records, phone calls… text messages…