Chapter 113: Hundred and Thirteen

The retreat hadn’t even started yet, but it already felt like a shadow hanging over me. I couldn’t get the thought out of my head.

At work, people buzzed with excitement. Packing lists, playlists for the bus ride, jokes about who would sing karaoke. I smiled when I was supposed to, laughed at Ashley’s jokes, but inside I was counting the hours until I’d have to tell Jacob.

Maybe I could get out of it somehow. And I did try. I went to my manager, brought up Noah. Someone needs to take care of him, you know. Two days without his mom?

She was too logical for my own good. I had spent much more than two days travelling for work. Noah was used to it. We had a babysitter. And Jacob could take care of him. The retreat was over the weekend.

In the end, I had nothing to fight with her about it. I had to go. There was no other way.

The thing about Jacob was that silence could sometimes be worse than anger. When I finally mentioned the retreat over dinner, my fork carefully slicing through vegetables I wasn’t hungry for, he didn’t even react at first. He only stared at me, his face unreadable, as though waiting for me to trip over my own explanation.

But I had prepared a speech in my head. I had written it down on paper.

“It’s just two days,” I said quickly. “The whole office is going. Team-building stuff, workshops. You know how these things are.”

He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. “And who decided this?”

“Ms. Bergess. The director. She thought it would be good for morale.”

He tapped his fingers against the table. “Morale. Right.”

“And, I went last year, too, remember? It was the same thing.”

Noah was busy pushing peas into patterns on his plate, humming under his breath. I watched him carefully, willing him not to look up, not to ask anything that would make this harder.

Jacob’s voice cut through the quiet. “And who’s your partner for this workshop?”

The question chilled me. I hesitated too long.

“Just… someone from the team,” I said lightly.

His eyes narrowed. “Who?”

“Declan.” The word felt dangerous in my mouth.

His jaw clenched. “Of course.”

The rest of the meal passed in silence, though not the peaceful kind. By the time I tucked Noah into bed, my stomach was in knots.

When I came back to the bedroom, Jacob was waiting. He sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, his expression hard.

“Tell me the truth,” he said quietly. “What’s going on with you two?”

“There’s nothing going on, Jacob.” My voice wavered, and I hated it.

“Do you expect me to believe that?” He stood, pacing a short line across the room. “You think I don’t notice? The way you change when his name comes up. The way you avoid saying it at all.”

I shook my head. “It’s not like that. He’s just… a coworker.”

Jacob laughed, but it was sharp, humorless. “Coworker. That’s what we’re calling it now?”

I felt my chest tightening. “Please don’t do this.”

“Do what?” He turned suddenly, his gaze burning into mine. “I’m just asking why my fiancée can’t look me in the eye when she talks about another man.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” My voice cracked despite my best efforts. “I’m here, Jacob. With you. With Noah. Isn’t that enough?”

His silence was answer enough. He stepped closer, his hand reaching for mine, but his grip was too firm, more claim than comfort.

“You should quit,” he said again, softly this time, almost coaxing. “Stay home with Noah. Let me take care of us. We don’t need anyone else. We don’t need this… distraction.”

I pulled my hand back, my chest aching. “I like my job.”

His expression darkened, and for a moment I thought he might argue, might explode. Instead, he exhaled sharply and turned away, tugging his shirt over his head.

When he came back to the bed, he reached for me. His touch was insistent, demanding, a reclaiming. I froze beneath it, my body stiff even as I tried to convince myself to give in, to make things easier. That’s what I’d always done. Smooth the edges, keep the peace.

But something in me resisted tonight. My thoughts were too loud, my skin crawling with his suspicion, his grip.

“I’m tired,” I whispered, turning onto my side.

For a moment, I felt his weight beside me, his breath hot against my neck. Then he pulled away, the mattress shifting with his frustration.

We lay back-to-back in silence, the rift between us wider than the bed itself.

I closed my eyes, but my mind wouldn’t quiet. I thought of Declan, of the way his voice had softened when he asked me why I stayed. The way his eyes had held sadness instead of anger. The difference was unbearable.

Noah’s laughter echoed in my mind faintly from earlier in the evening, when he had built another tower of blocks and shouted for me to come see. His innocence felt like a fragile thread holding me together.

I reached for it now, clutching it like a lifeline.

But in the dark, Jacob’s words circled back: What’s going on with you two?

And Declan’s, just as haunting: Or is it fear keeping you there?

The truth pressed against my ribs, aching to get out.

But I said nothing.

I felt Jacob’s fingers slowly stroke my back.

I stayed still. Pretending to be asleep.

And the silence grew heavier.