Chapter 10

ANNA

The week flew by in a blur. I had to let all my professors know that I’d be heading home for family matters. They were understanding and handed me my assignments ahead of time so I could turn them in on schedule.

James is picking me up this afternoon. He and Olivia have been bonding, their love for each other is evident. He’s been spending a lot of time at our place too.

He’s trying to make up for the time he missed. I get it, so he’s been looking after Olivia while I’m at work. He even has his own room now—our living room.

I’m not exactly thrilled about sharing my bed with the guy who shattered my heart. I know he didn’t mean to, but the hurt is still there.

~Being friends with an ex is just plain weird and painful.~

I’ve come to terms with how things unfolded, and he doesn’t hold it against me since I couldn’t reach out to him. But I know his parents will be a different story.

He’s grateful that I wanted to tell him as soon as I saw him, and he gets how taken aback I was when I first saw him.

I wanted to gently break the news to him about, “Hey, I had your baby three years ago,” but I guess the way it happened works too.

I can still picture his face when he first saw her. He was stunned, but the moment he looked into her eyes, he knew she was his.

I saw the guilt in his eyes, and that’s something I can’t accept. He made a choice when he was young, a choice that propelled his life forward. And I respect that.

Sure, I had a tough time, but I made it work. I never blamed him—or maybe I did, but after seeing how he is with her and with me, I know he would’ve been there if he had known.

Right now, I’m in business class, trying to focus. The door swings open. I glance to my right and see James standing there.

“Mr. Brown?” the professor asks, surprised to see him.

“Hi, Professor. I’m here to pick up Anna.” Her eyebrows furrow. She’s probably wondering why he’s here to pick me up, but she decides to let it go.

“Alright. Anna, you can go.”

I gather my things and notice my little girl standing next to him. What is she doing here? I give him a questioning look but he avoids my gaze. I make my way down the auditorium stairs, and she spots me.

“Momma!” she yells, waving at me. The class gasps.

I close my eyes, trying to keep my emotions in check. There it is, my secret is out. I’m not ashamed—I would never be ashamed of being a mom.

But I wanted to protect her. My beautiful little girl.

“Momma?” I turn to the professor and see realization dawn on her face. She covers her mouth with her hand.

“Come here, baby!” I call to her as I crouch down. I don’t care about the whispers. She runs toward me.

“Hi, Lovebug,” I greet her as she jumps into my arms.

“Hi!” I stand up and press my forehead against hers. This is our way of letting each other know that we’re in this together.

“Why don’t you say hi and wave to the other kids?” I suggest to her, and she does. She turns around with a big smile and starts waving.

“Hi!”

Shock ripples through the class. I set her back down.

“Go to Daddy. Momma has to talk to the teacher for a minute,” I whisper in her ear.

She heads to her daddy as I give him the “why?” look again. Since he knows me so well, he starts explaining.

“She saw me walking past the daycare and she started crying. I tried to come here first, but Claire came running out, telling me that Liv was scared I would leave her.

“She was hysterical, A. I couldn’t leave her,” he pleads.

“Oh, baby.” She looks at me, and her red eyes tell me that she has been crying.

“Daddy, up,” she demands, raising her arms. As I head to the professor, I smile as James lifts her into his arms and wraps her in a hug.

“Daddy…?” I hear the class murmur. I roll my eyes.

~Yes. Yes, my baby daddy is him. So what?~

“Hi, Professor. Any other assignments?” I ask her as I hand in the assignment due for the next class. She shakes her head.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks.

“I didn’t see a reason.” She raises her eyebrows at me. It wasn’t a matter of trust, or shame—I just didn’t think it was relevant.

I’m a mom. So what? I make it work, and I don’t need their pity. James wants to be in her life, and my life, so we’ll make it work.

“I could’ve helped you. I have little girls myself—I know a thing or two.”

I shrug. “I’ve made it work,” I tell her proudly.

“It all makes sense now. The past, and the James thing.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I apologize.

“It’s fine. So when Claire came in here, something was wrong with her?” I nod.

“She had another bout of pneumonia. That’s why I have to go back home. I need to see my parents. My doctor wants the family history since he can’t figure out what’s wrong with her.”

She covers her mouth again. “Oh God, I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“Cancer has been ruled out. I know there are other diseases, but hearing that it isn’t cancer was a relief.”

“I can only imagine. Go, and good luck,” she says as she makes her way out.

I head toward James and Olivia, when a voice rings out, “Anna! Slut! Whore!”

James looks ready to explode, but before he can react, I swivel my head toward the source of the insult.

The girl who just called me out, Ferrah, is known as the campus mattress. Just because I keep to myself doesn’t mean I’m oblivious to the gossip.

“Me?” I question her. “Half the guys in this room have been bragging about sleeping with you. Some even claim they caught STDs from you.”

“Ouch!” echoes around the room.

“I can count my sexual partners on one hand. Can you?” I challenge her. She blanches.

“Thought so. Next time, Ferrah, know your audience before you open your mouth.” With that, I exit the classroom.

“Let’s go.”

JAMES

Picking up Anna was a struggle. I tried to ignore Olivia, but it was like a punch to the gut. I knew Anna didn’t want her secret out, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the need for such secrecy.

She explained that she didn’t feel the need to announce to the world that she’s a mom, which I can understand. I value my privacy too.

When Olivia rushes up to her, my heart swells with pride. God, I’m so proud of her. She’s an amazing mom.

I’ve watched her with Liv, and it just lights up my world. I can’t remember the last time I was this happy. Or if I’ve ever been this happy.

I told my parents I’d be coming over with a surprise. The surprise will definitely shock them, and Mom might be a bit upset, but once I explain everything, she’ll come around.

I never told them about the breakup or what I did to try and move on from Anna. It’s entirely my fault they don’t know Olivia. If I had kept my promise, they would’ve known her.

I’m anxious, to be honest. My mom will chew me out. And Dad… I just hope he won’t disown me. I was brought up to “be responsible.”

“If something happens, man up and take responsibility,” they always preached. If they knew how I had changed my phone number without telling Anna… God.

The drive to Sun Peaks is nerve-wracking. My beautiful baby girl is asleep in the back. We’ll be there within the hour, but my nerves are shot.

I try to hide it, but I guess I’m not doing a great job. Anna keeps shooting me these sideways glances, and those glances confirm my worst fear. She knows how nervous I am.

“You okay?” Anna eventually asks me.

“Yeah, just nervous,” I confess. There’s no point in hiding it; she knows me too well.

“Nervous? About what?”

I sigh, shifting my focus back to the road.

“They do know we’re coming, right?” she asks me.

“Well, I told them I was coming and I have a surprise.”

“You did what?!”