Chapter 107: Hundred and Seven

The air in the living room was so thick I could almost taste the tension. My chest rose and fell rapidly, each breath shallow, every nerve in my body stretched taut like a string ready to snap.

Declan stood in front of me, his face shadowed by the faint glow of the lamp in the corner. His eyes, God, his eyes. They looked nothing like the ones I used to know. Back then, they were filled with laughter, with warmth. Now they were red-rimmed, wet, fierce. He looked devastated, broken, and yet… burning.

“You’re not going to keep lying to me,” he said, his voice rough and low, almost trembling with restrained fury.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself, but my palms were slick. “Declan, listen to me.”

He stepped closer. I stepped back. But the wall met me, and there was nowhere else to go.

“Don’t,” he hissed. “Don’t you dare try to deflect this time. I saw it, Willow. I saw the certificate. I know.” His jaw clenched, his fists balled at his sides. Then, softer, aching, he whispered, “I know he’s mine.”

My whole body trembled. Tears burned the back of my eyes, but I forced myself not to let them fall. I pressed my palms against the wall, trying to find something steady in this dizzying storm of emotion.

“He’s not…” I started, my voice breaking.

“Don’t lie to me again!” Declan snapped, stepping so close that I could feel the heat of his breath. His hand shot out, gripping my wrist tightly, almost painfully, just enough to make my heart race. “Don’t you dare. Just say it, Willow. Say the words.”

I looked up at him, at the tears brimming in his lashes, at the rage tangled with heartbreak carved into every line of his face. His hand trembled around my wrist. He wasn’t just angry. He was breaking.

And so was I.

My lips parted. The truth clawed at my throat, desperate to escape, but fear held me frozen. Fear of what would happen once it was out. Fear of what it would destroy.

“Declan…” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Please…”

“Please what?” His tone cracked, hoarse, vulnerable. “Please stop fighting for the truth? Please pretend I didn’t just have my entire life ripped out from under me?” He pressed his forehead closer to mine, his breath shaky. “You

should’ve told me. You should’ve told me years ago.”

The tears finally spilled down my cheeks. My free hand came up, pressing against his chest, not to push him away, but to keep him from closing the small, unbearable space left between us. His heart was pounding as wildly as mine. I could feel his heartbeat, loud and strong and fast under my palm.

I was about to speak. Finally, finally, speak. But the sound of the front door opening cut through the moment. Fuck.

“Willow?”

My blood ran cold.

Jacob’s voice.

I froze, my entire body stiffening under Declan’s grip. Declan turned his head slightly, and I saw the shift in his expression. Anguish hardening into fiery resolve..

And then Jacob was there.

He stood in the doorway, his eyes sweeping over us, landing on the way Declan’s hand was still gripping my wrist, on the closeness between us. His face darkened instantly, his jaw tightening, his nostrils flaring.

“What the hell is this?”

Before I could explain, Jacob stormed across the room. He shoved Declan back with a force that nearly knocked me off balance.

“I already told you,” Jacob spat, his voice venomous as he put himself between me and Declan. “Stay the hell away from my fiancée.”

Declan stumbled a step back but quickly regained himself, his expression like a storm about to break.

“I’m not leaving,” Declan said, his voice low but deadly certain. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his hands shaking at his sides. “Not until she tells me the truth.”

“What truth?” Jacob barked. His eyes flicked to me, sharp and demanding. “What the hell is he talking about, Willow?”

“I - ” My throat closed up, panic rising inside me like a wave. Like it would drown me.

Declan’s voice broke over mine. “Noah.”

The sound of my son’s name shattered me. My chest was hurting, like I could physically feel my heart breaking.

Jacob stiffened, his gaze snapping back to Declan. “What about Noah?”

Declan’s eyes glistened, his voice raw as he said, “He’s mine.”

Jacob froze for half a heartbeat, his face registering shock, before fury replaced it. He launched forward, his fist slamming into Declan’s jaw with a sickening crack.

“Jacob!” I screamed.

Declan staggered back but barely missed a beat. He came back swinging, his fist connecting with Jacob’s ribs. Jacob grunted but pushed forward, tackling Declan against the wall. The lamp crashed to the floor, glass shattering.

“Stop!” I sobbed, rushing forward, trying to pull them apart. “Please, stop this!”

But neither man heard me. Their rage had taken over, years of jealousy and betrayal boiling to the surface. Jacob punched again, catching Declan across the cheek. Declan retaliated, shoving him off, his own fist flying, cracking

against Jacob’s nose. Blood sprayed, and Jacob stumbled, but he wasn’t down.

He roared, charging again.

“Fucking stop it!” I screamed, grabbing Jacob’s arm, pulling with every ounce of strength I had. “You’re going to kill each other!”

Jacob froze, chest heaving, blood dripping from his nose, his fists still clenched. He turned his head toward me, wild-eyed, desperate.

“Is it true?” His voice was raw, broken, as he stared at me. “Is it true, Willow? Did you tell him?”

Declan stood on the other side, clutching his jaw, his own face a portrait of devastation. His tear-filled eyes were locked on mine, silently begging me to say yes.

I couldn’t breathe.

The walls felt like they were closing in, their voices, their eyes, their pain pressing down on me all at once. My knees buckled, and I sank to the floor, my sobs tearing free.

“He found his birth certificate,” I whispered, my voice so small it barely carried over the sound of my own crying.

Jacob stumbled back, his entire face crumpling, as though the world had just cracked beneath his feet. Declan inhaled sharply, tears spilling freely now, his expression wrecked but vindicated.

I buried my face in my hands, unable to look at either of them. “I never wanted this,” I choked out. “I never wanted it to come out like this.”

The silence that followed was deafening, heavy, suffocating.

When I finally lifted my head, both men were staring at me. One shattered, the other destroyed.

And in that moment, I realized the truth hadn’t set anyone free. It had only broken us all.