My lids opened just enough to narrow on her. “If this is my baby, I will be a father, and I will take responsibility.” The statement was utterly devastating, ringing with finality.

The tips of Everly’s lips lifted ever so slightly. “You’ll make a great father, Owen.”

“Leave my house,” I croaked. “Now.”

One week later, my world came crashing down. Then, one month after that, when I was in the thick of my depressive spiral, we completed a paternity test, confirming I was the father.

If only I knew that the worst was yet to come.

Chapter 9

OWEN

“Well, she sounds like a downright cunt.” My father’s words had me choking on laughter.

After unloading my past turmoil on him, I felt lighter somehow.

“But Owen, why didn’t you tell us? You didn’t have to go through all of that by yourself. I hate the thought of that tyrant using you, manipulating you. Especially in the state you’ve been in.”

“I must admit, I haven’t been in my right mind since Alexis left.” I inhaled deeply. “I’ve really managed to fuck everything up, huh?”

“Yes and no.”

“In what scenario is there a no, Dad?”

“This baby.” He said it so simply as if that in itself was the answer. “I know I’m not good at this shit, son, but let me try. Yes, you have lost something dear, and we are devastated for you. But this baby is innocent.”

I sat there stunned. My father was really going to go there.

“You’ve lost your love, but you can find another in this child. Your child. You now have the opportunity to experience a different type of love—as a father.”

That was the first time I’d ever heard my dad say the word “love”, and he just mentioned it twice in one sentence. I really had fallen off the deep end.

“It’s time for you to come to terms with Alexis, Owen. She deserves to heal, and so do you. I don’t want you to regret holding back from this child because you don’t have the energy to spare.”

I understood what he was trying to say. Harriot had surmised the same. I had a baby who was relying on me. And I couldn’t give all of myself if I was stuck chasing after someone who didn’t want me.

Alexis had confirmed that in the most evident way possible, and I was finally willing to listen and process her request. I had given her no choice in the entire scenario, and there was no chance of reconciliation.

“I just don’t know how to let her go, Dad. I love her. Above all else, I love her.”