Jacob
As the elevator doors slid shut, a jolt of panic shot through me.
Fuck.
I wasn’t thinking-I never was when it came to Evelyn.
Before I could process it, my legs were moving, rushing toward the stairwell. The cold air burned my lungs as I sprinted down the steps, two at a time, the echoes of my own footsteps pounding in my ears.
God! What the hell was I thinking? Why didn’t I stop her?
Fuck. I knew the answer-I was too busy self loathing in my own mind.
By the time I reached the ground floor, my breathing was ragged, sharp exhales cutting through the silence. I bolted toward the parking lot, scanning frantically.
Nothing.
She was gone.
God, how the fuck did she disappear so fast?
It was nearly night. The streets were emptying, the sky turning a shade too dark, too ominous. And Evelyn? She wasn’t even wearing anything warm enough.
This wasn’t safe. Not for her.
Not for the-fuck-not for the baby.
I raked a hand through my hair, frustration clawing at my skin. “Why am I even thinking about the fucking baby?!” I muttered under my breath, shoving the thought away as I slid into my car and gunned the engine.
I didn’t know where I was going, but I couldn’t sit still. My mind raced through every possibility, every street, every road she might have taken.
Did she take a cab? Was she walking?
If she was on foot…
A sharp tension gripped my spine. I knew these streets too well, the empty pathways, the dark alleys. The wrong kind of men lurked there, waiting for trouble.
A fresh wave of urgency crashed over me. “Fuck!” My palm slammed against the steering wheel, the horn blaring into the night.
I pressed the accelerator, weaving through traffic, my pulse a live wire beneath my skin. Nearly an hour had passed, and I was getting nowhere. My knuckles were white against the steering wheel, regret twisting deeper into my gut with every passing second.
Then, my phone rang.
For a split second, I ignored it, but then I saw the name flashing on the screen-Bianca.
I picked up, my voice raw. “Is she at yours?!”
Her answer was instant. “Yes, thankfully, she is. But what the fuck did you do now, asshole?!”
Relief hit me like a freight train, knocking the air from my lungs.
Bianca’s voice lashed through the receiver, sharp and unforgiving. “It’s freezing outside, Jacob! What the hell did you do to make a pregnant woman walk out of her house, barely dressed, in tears? She’s been crying for the past hour!” She snapped, “You better have some good fucking explanation for this, you fucker!”
She was safe.
She was safe… but she was crying. She was freezing. And it was because of me.
I let out a shaky breath, my foot pressing harder on the gas. “You know the reason, Bee,” I muttered. “I don’t know what the fuck to do. I-” I cut off, swerving past a car on a sharp turn, my frustration bleeding through every word. “I am fucking hopeless. I have no idea how to handle this because I am not ready to be a father! I might never be!”
A harsh silence.
Then, Bianca’s voice came through, colder than steel. “That’s not her fault. Do you hear me?” Her tone was deadly. “If you knew you couldn’t get past your traumas, you had no fucking right to drag her into this. What you’re doing isn’t just selfish, it’s cruel. You are constantly hurting her for the mistakes that someone else has fucking made!”
I gritted my teeth. “Bianca-”
“No, listen to me, Jacob! The world was hard on us, I get it. But people have had it worse. And they still fucking live! They choose to move forward! They choose to love despite the pain! You can’t keep punishing Evelyn because of your demons. Get over them! Man up and tell them to fuck off! You can’t push her away just because you’re scared of turning into him.”
My stomach twisted.
I didn’t need her to say his name. I already knew who she was talking about.
“He was only in your life for a few years. Dad? He was there the whole time. He raised you. He taught you how to be a man. If you’re going to take after anyone, it’s him. So stop acting like you have no choice.”
Her words cut deeper than I wanted to admit.
I clenched my jaw, swallowing hard.
“I’ll be there in half an hour,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
I ended the call before she could say another word.
Then, I sped up again.
I knew exactly where I needed to go.
I needed answers.
And I needed to fix this-before I lost her for good.
***
Evelyn
Bianca gently brushed my hair back, her touch soft, wiping my tears with a tissue as I sobbed like a child.
“I don’t know what to do, Bee,” I choked out, my voice raw, broken. “He doesn’t want our baby, and it looks like he never will. I’ll have to raise my baby alone. They will not have a father by their side, it hurts to think about that!”
Her arms tightened around me, pulling me close, the way Clara always did when I was hurting. But this-this was different. This time, I wasn’t just sad. I was breaking.
“No, sweetheart,” Bianca whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Jacob can be an asshole-the biggest asshole in the world-but he’d never abandon you. Trust me.”
I swallowed hard, my throat aching. “Well, I’m not staying with him if he doesn’t accept my baby,” I sniffled. “I choose this baby over his stupidity.”
“I know,” she murmured, her voice laced with understanding. “It’s just… Jacob doesn’t see things the way we do. It’s hard for him to make decisions like this. You know our biological father wasn’t exactly a role model, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know,” I whispered, shaking my head. “But that doesn’t mean he can’t be a father. He is not like him, Bianca. He’s different. If anything, he’s like Enzo-not that man.” My voice faltered. “What is he so afraid of?”
Bianca sighed, her fingers rubbing soothing circles against my back. “He hates the fact that his blood runs in his veins, Evelyn,” she admitted. “Jacob has demons he never showed you. Not because he wanted to keep secrets, but because that’s just who he is. He bottles everything up. He fights with the world, takes on battles no one asks him to, and then comes home covered in bruises, telling you he just fell down the stairs.”
My chest ached at her words. My tears welled up again, fresh and hot, spilling silently down my cheeks. I didn’t know how to respond-didn’t know if I even had the strength to.
And then, before either of us could say anything else, the doorbell rang.
Bianca exhaled and stood. “I’ll get it, honey.”
I barely registered the sound of footsteps, my mind lost in the weight of everything. But when the door opened again, something shifted in the air.
I felt it before I saw him.
Jacob.
Standing in the doorway, his presence heavy, his expression unreadable. Bianca stepped aside, looking between the two of us before quietly excusing herself.
“I’ll leave you two to it,” she murmured, closing the door behind her.
Silence stretched between us, thick and fragile.
I swallowed, my throat tight. “Why are you here?” My voice was barely above a whisper, trembling on the edge of breaking.
His gaze softened, and he took a slow step forward. Instinctively, I backed away, climbing further onto the bed, clutching the duvet tight around me.
If he came any closer, I would shatter.
And I didn’t want him to see me like that.
But then, his voice cut through the silence, low and steady.
“I told you, I’d always find my way back to you, didn’t I?”