Chapter Twenty-Eight Fix This
Christian
I ’m sitting in my office, staring at the blank space on my desk where my phone usually sits. I’ve been ignoring it for the last hour, knowing that any call or text that comes through is going to add another layer to the mess I’m already in. My mind’s been spinning ever since I agreed to Theresa’s damn deal, and I can’t seem to make peace with any of it. Haven, Oliver, the weight of everything I’ve lost and stand to lose—it’s all crashing down on me, suffocating.
The sharp knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. Before I can even respond, the door flies open and Garrett storms in, his face red with fury.
"Christian, what the hell are you thinking?"
He doesn’t even wait for me to answer before slamming the door behind him. I stand up from my desk, bracing myself. I already know where this is going.
"Garrett, I?—"
"Don’t," he cuts me off, his voice shaking with barely contained anger. "Marie just told me everything. She told me you’re planning to annul your marriage to Haven and marry Theresa. Theresa, Christian! Are you out of your mind?"
I rub the back of my neck, frustration building inside me. "I didn’t have a choice. You don’t understand?—"
"Don’t you tell me I don’t understand!" Garrett yells, stepping closer, his fists clenched at his sides. "Haven is my sister. You think I don’t know what this is doing to her? She’s wrecked, man. And you’re just going to walk away from her? For Theresa, of all people?"
The guilt I’ve been trying to suppress flares up, twisting in my gut. "I’m not doing this because I want to. Theresa threatened to pull some bullshit in court to take Oliver. She’s got leverage, Garrett. If I don’t agree to her terms, she could win, and I can’t let her have that kind of control over him."
He shakes his head, disbelief in his eyes. "So your solution is to marry her? To give her what she wants? What happened to fighting for what’s right?"
"You don’t know what kind of damage she could do," I argue, my voice rising. "She’s manipulative. She could spin this entire thing, make me look like the bad guy, and drag Oliver into it. I can’t risk losing him. I won’t ."
"So you just sacrifice Haven?" Garrett’s voice cracks as he says her name, and the hurt in his eyes cuts me deep. "You marry the woman who’s been nothing but poison to your life, and that’s supposed to make everything okay?"
"It’s not that simple!" I snap, slamming my hand down on the desk. The sound echoes in the room, but it doesn’t do anything to cut through the tension. "Theresa didn’t give me another option. She was going to take me to court, and her lawyers are good, Garrett. You know how these things can go. It’s not about what’s right—it’s about who can spin the best story."
Gerrett looks at me like I’ve betrayed him, like I’m not the man he thought I was. He steps back, shaking his head slowly. "You’re supposed to be fighting for Haven, not cutting her out. She’s already lost so much—our mom, the life she thought she was building with you. And now this? She deserves better than this, Christian."
His words hit me like a blow to the chest. He’s right. Haven does deserve better. She deserves a hell of a lot more than the mess I’ve dragged her into, but I can’t see a way out of it. Not without risking Oliver’s future.
"I’m trying to protect everyone," I say, my voice quieter now, almost desperate. "I’m trying to make sure Oliver doesn’t end up caught in the middle of something ugly."
Garrett’s eyes flash with anger. "And what about Haven? You think she’s just going to be okay with you throwing your marriage away like it meant nothing?"
I open my mouth to respond, but the words don’t come. The truth is, I don’t have a good answer for him. I don’t know how to fix this. I’m trying to do what’s best for my son, but in the process, I’m losing the woman I care about most in the world, and I know it.
Garrett steps closer, his voice low and dangerous. "If you go through with this, Christian, you’ll lose her. For good. And you’ll lose me too because I’m not going to stand by and watch you destroy my sister’s life."
His words hang heavy in the air, and for the first time, I see the real cost of what I’m doing. Garrett isn’t just Haven’s brother—he’s my best friend, and the way he’s looking at me now, like he doesn’t even recognize me...it makes me realize just how far I’ve fallen.
"I don’t want to lose her," I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. "But what choice do I have?"
Garrett’s jaw tightens, and he takes a deep breath. "There’s always a choice, Christian. You’re just too scared to make the right one."
As Garrett’s words hang in the air, I feel the weight of everything I’ve been avoiding crash down on me. He’s standing there, staring at me with a mixture of anger and disbelief, like he can’t understand how I’ve let things get this far, and the truth is, I don’t fully understand it myself.
Garrett’s voice cuts through the fog in my mind. “Think about what you’re doing, Christian. You’re about to throw away the best thing that’s ever happened to you. For Theresa ? For some twisted deal? That’s not who you are, and you know it.”
I want to argue, to tell him I’m doing this for Oliver, that I’m just trying to keep him safe, but as I stand here, staring at Garrett, the truth hits me like a punch to the gut.
It’s not something I planned, not something I expected when this whole arrangement started, but somewhere along the way I fell for her. Hard. Now, I’m about to lose her because I’ve been too caught up in my fear to see what’s right in front of me. The realization makes my heart race, and I feel like an idiot for not recognizing it sooner. For not admitting it to myself, let alone to her.
Garrett’s still standing there, waiting for me to say something, but I’m frozen, caught in this moment of clarity. Everything I’ve done, every decision I’ve made, has been about protecting my son. But what about Haven?
I don’t just care about her, I want to protect her. The thought of losing her, of watching her walk out of my life because I was too scared to fight for her, feels like a knife to the chest.
Garrett’s voice snaps me back to reality.
“Christian,” he says, his tone softer now, but still filled with frustration. “You can still fix this. You can still fight for her, but if you keep going down this path, you’re going to lose her, and you’re going to lose me. Is that what you want?”
I shake my head, the words catching in my throat.
“No,” I finally manage. “No, I don’t want that.”
Garrett stares at me, his expression softening slightly, though the anger is still there. “Then why the hell are you marrying Theresa?”
I don’t have a good answer for him, because now I see it clearly—I’m not just afraid of losing Oliver. I’ve been running from my own feelings, from the fact that I’ve fallen in love with Haven, and the idea of being vulnerable, of risking my heart again, terrified me.
“I love her,” I say, the words slipping out before I can stop them. It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud, and it feels like a weight lifting off my chest, even though the situation is still a mess. “I love her, Garrett.” I exhale, running a hand through my hair. “I don’t know. I thought I was doing what was best for Oliver. I thought if I could protect him, it wouldn’t matter what happened with me and Haven. But it does matter. I can’t lose her. I don’t want to lose her.”
Garrett watches me for a long moment, the tension between us shifting. “Then fight for her. Don’t let Theresa win. Don’t let her ruin your life again. You have to talk to Haven, tell her the truth.”
The truth. It seems so simple now, but the fear is still there, gnawing at me. “And what if it’s too late?” I ask quietly. “What if I’ve already pushed her too far?”
Garrett shakes his head. “You’ll never know unless you try. But I’ll tell you this—you keep going down this road, and it will be too late. She’ll walk away, and she won’t come back.”
“I have to stop this,” I mutter, more to myself than to Garrett. “I can’t marry Theresa. I have to tell Haven the truth about how I feel.”
Garrett nods, his anger finally fading into something more like relief. “Good. Now go talk to her. Fix this.”
I don’t waste any more time. I rush past Garrett, my heart pounding in my chest, and head toward the door. There’s no time to lose. If there’s any chance of salvaging this, I have to act now. I can’t let my fear or Theresa’s threats control me any longer.
As I step outside, the cool air hits my face, and for the first time in days, I feel like I’m seeing things clearly. I’m in love with Haven, and if I want any kind of future with her, I have to fight for it. I have to fight for us .
And I will.