Chapter 103: Hundred and Three

Jacob’s hand was like a vise around my wrist as he dragged me across the parking lot and up the stairs to our apartment. He didn’t say a word, just seethed, every breath sharp, his jaw tight. By the time we reached the door, my skin burned where his fingers pressed into me. He unlocked the door with jerky movements and slammed it shut behind us so hard that a frame rattled on the wall.

Before I could say anything, Noah’s small voice floated in from the living room. “Mommy?”

He appeared, holding one of his toy cars in his hand, his big blue eyes widening at the sight of us. Fuck, every time I saw those blue eyes of his I was reminded of Declan. They had the same eyes, the same hair. The same crooked smile.

“Go to your room, Noah,” Jacob said, his voice clipped.

Noah’s eyes flicked between us, confused. “Daddy -”

“Now.” Jacob’s tone brooked no argument.

Noah blinked, hurt, but he hurried back toward his room, dragging the little car along the floor. The door clicked shut behind him, and the silence that followed felt deafening.

Jacob turned to me, his expression raw with betrayal and rage. “Why was he here?”

“Jacob…”

“Why was Declan here, Willow?” he shouted, his voice rising, echoing off the walls. “Do you want him back? Is that it?” His voice fell a few decibels. “Have you slept with him?”

I recoiled as if he’d struck me. The accusation cut deep, deeper than I expected. My chest tightened, tears stinging my eyes. “How could you even ask me that?” I whispered, my voice trembling.

His nostrils flared, his hands curling into fists at his sides. “Because I don’t know what the hell to think anymore!” he roared. “You’re hiding things, you’re meeting him, you’re lying. What am I supposed to fucking believe, Willow? Tell me!”

The walls felt like they were closing in. I could hear Noah moving in his room, his little feet pacing, probably listening, probably scared. I wanted to protect him, but Jacob’s words trapped me here, forced me into a corner.

“I haven’t slept with him,” I said firmly, though my voice shook. “I don’t want him back. I’m with you, Jacob. I chose you.”

“Then explain it to me!” His voice cracked under the weight of desperation. “Explain why he keeps showing up. Explain what’s going on, because this,” he gestured wildly toward the door, toward the life we were barely holding together, “is driving me crazy.”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry and raw as tears threatened to spill out. My hands twisted in front of me, my body trembling. “I took Noah to work today, right,” I said slowly, deliberately, as trying to build some kind of peace between us. “He saw Noah with me. He asked questions. I didn’t tell him anything, Jacob. I didn’t tell him the truth.”

Jacob’s eyes narrowed. “The truth?”

I nodded, my chest heaving. “He knows Noah is my son now. But he doesn’t know whose son he really is. And he never will.”

Jacob’s breathing was heavy. I could feel the rage inside him. The hurt, the shock. His eyes bore into mine, searching, frantic. “Did you tell him anything about… about Noah’s dad?” His voice broke, trembling on the edge of panic.

“No.” My answer was immediate, fierce. “I didn’t. And I won’t.”

The words tore out of me like a promise. And I did mean it, then. I stepped closer, shaking, my tears spilling freely now. “Declan will never know the truth, Jacob. Never. He has no place in this family. He has no place in our lives.”

Jacob looked at me, his anger softening into something else. His chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. His lips parted, like he wanted to say something, but nothing came.

I couldn’t hold myself together anymore. The pressure of the lies, the accusations, the secrets, all of it crashed down on me like a wave. My knees gave way, and I sank to the floor, covering my face with my hands. A sob wracked through me, then another, until I was trembling with the weight of it all.

“I can’t do this,” I cried, my voice muffled against my palms. “I can’t keep holding all of this in, pretending like everything is fine when it’s not. I’m suffocating, Jacob. I’m drowning in this.”

I felt his hesitation before I felt his arms. Slowly, cautiously, Jacob knelt down beside me. For a long moment, he just watched me fall apart, his own eyes shining with something unspoken. Then, finally, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest.

His voice was softer when he spoke, almost a whisper against my hair. “Willow… don’t cry.”

I clung to him, burying my face in his shirt, letting his warmth anchor me. He held me tightly, as though afraid I’d slip away if he loosened his grip.

“I’m sorry,” I choked out. “I never wanted this. I never wanted him back in my life. I thought it was over. I thought it was behind me. But now he’s here and it’s stirring up everything I left behind. And I don’t know how to stop it.”

His hand stroked the back of my head, slow and steady. “We’ll figure it out,” he said, though his voice sounded uncertain, fragile. “We’ll get through this. Together.”

The words were meant to soothe, but I could hear the cracks in them, the cracks in us. Still, I clung to them, to him, to anything that might hold us together in this storm.

We stayed like that on the floor for a long time, wrapped in each other’s arms, our tears mingling, our breaths slowly steadying. Outside Noah’s door, I could hear the faint hum of him singing to himself, his little voice unaware of the war raging between the two people he loved most.

When I finally pulled back, Jacob cupped my face in his hands, wiping away my tears with his thumbs. His eyes were red-rimmed, his expression raw.

“Don’t keep things from me anymore, Willow,” he whispered. “I can’t handle it.”

“I won’t,” I promised, my voice hoarse. “Not ever again.”

He nodded, pressing his forehead against mine. For a moment, we just breathed together, trying to believe that was enough.

But deep down, a hollow ache remained. Because no matter how many promises I made, no matter how many times I swore Declan was out of my life, the truth lingered like a shadow: he wasn’t gone. And neither were the feelings I had always had for him.