Chapter 41 Freddie
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Freddie
I’m wiping down the table after breakfast, Penny playing in her room, when I see her through the front window.
Ivy.
She’s moving fast, head down, hood mostly covering her. Even from here, I can tell something’s wrong. Her shoulders are all hunched up around her ears, bracing for impact.
She doesn’t even look at me. Just brushes past into the kitchen, drops her bag on the floor, and stands there shaking.
“Hey,” I say carefully. “Everything okay?”
“No,” she snaps, as she grabs a cup off the counter.
I watch her for a second. The way her jaw keeps clenching. The way she won’t look at me.
“What happened?” I ask, keeping my voice low. Gentle. “Talk to me.”
She lets out this sharp little laugh, but there’s no humor in it. Finally, she turns to face me, eyes glassy with unshed tears.
“Your ex happened,” she spits. “Trina.”
I blink. “What?”
“She showed up at the park. Used your phone to text me so I’d think it was you. She…” Ivy cuts herself off, swallowing hard, the words physically hurt. “She said some shit, Freddie. About me. About you. About… everything.”
My chest tightens. “Wait, wait.” I hold up my hands. “Back up. She has my phone?”
Damn it. I thought I must have left it at the store.
“Shit,” I mutter, running a hand over my face. “I must’ve left it at the café. I’ll get a new one after work.”
“She said you left it, and she took it,” Ivy says, voice brittle. “She said… she said you’d fold for her. That you’d always fold for her. That I’m just playing house. That I’m having too much fun at work…”
Her voice breaks on that last part. She turns away fast, busying herself pouring a glass of water, like if she moves quickly enough, I won’t see her crumble.
But I see it.
All of it.
I step forward, close enough that I can smell her shampoo, that warm citrus scent that’s been lingering in my house for weeks now.
“Hey,” I say, softer. “Look at me.”
She doesn’t.
So I touch her wrist, gentle. Just enough pressure that she finally turns, eyes brimming. Tears hanging there, not falling, she refuses to give Trina that satisfaction.
“She kissed you,” Ivy blurts suddenly, voice shaking. “In the café. She kissed your cheek. Like she owned you.”
And there it is.
The memory slams back. Trina leaning in, her lips brushing my cheek. Me flinching away. Ivy in the doorway, frozen. Then gone before I could even stand up.
“Oh no,” I whisper, everything in me twisting. “Ivy, no. No. That wasn’t… she kissed me. I didn’t want her to. I didn’t even know she was coming back. She was talking about money, about leaving town. I was telling her to go to hell and then… you walked in right as she pulled that shit.”
Her eyes search mine, desperate and scared and stubborn all at once.
“You didn’t… you’re not getting back with her?” she asks, so quiet it kills me.
“No,” I say firmly. “Absolutely not. Never again.”
She exhales, just a shaky little puff of air, but it sounds like her lungs are finally working again. I reach up and cup her cheek, and she leans into it, too tired to hold herself up.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. “I should’ve chased after you. I should’ve explained.”
She shakes her head. “You tried. I ran. I just… I didn’t want it to be true.”
“It’s not,” I promise. “None of it. She’s poison. I was stupid for ever thinking she wasn’t.”
“She knows,” Ivy whispers, almost too quiet to hear.
“Knows what?”
She hesitates, swallows, then meets my eyes. “That I’m pregnant.”
The world stops. Everything inside me goes still. The hum of the fridge, the clatter of plates in the kitchen, the hiss of the milk steamer, none of it registers. Just her. Her and those words.
My chest tightens, but I force myself to breathe. To stay calm. To stay here, with her, where she needs me.
“Pregnant?”
She nods.
“How… how far along are you?” I ask gently.
“Almost twelve weeks,” she says. “It’s… it’s triplets.”
Triplets.
Holy shit.
I blink, processing. Three. Three little people.
“And you don’t know if…” I start, but she’s already shaking her head.
“It’s you, Mitchell, or Timothy,” she says, voice trembling. “I don’t know, Freddie. I wish I did. I told them, and Tim was good about it, but Mitchell… he freaked out.”
Silence falls between us. Heavy. Thick. But underneath it, there’s more. Something warm and flickering and terrifying.
Hope.
I take her hand, wrap my fingers around hers, and squeeze. She looks up at me, eyes wet and tired and so fucking beautiful it hurts.
“We’ll figure it out,” I say. My voice comes out rougher than I mean it to, but I don’t care. “Okay? Whatever happens. We’ll figure it out.”
Her chin wobbles, and a tear finally spills down her cheek. I catch it with my thumb.
Silence falls between us. Heavy. Thick. But underneath it, there’s something hot and flickering and terrifying.
Determination.
Because Trina knows. She’s using it. She’s trying to dig her claws in again, trying to poison everything I care about, and this time… this time she’s not getting away with it.
I feel something cold and sharp settle in my chest. A promise.
“I’m going to deal with her,” I say, my voice low and firm. “I’m going to put an end to this. No more games. No more showing up and threatening you. No more showing up and threatening me. This ends now.”
Ivy blinks at me, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Freddie…”
I don’t let her finish.
I step forward, cup her face in both hands, and kiss her.
Soft at first, just a brush of my lips against hers, but when she exhales that tiny, broken sound, something in me snaps. I press in harder, deeper, pouring every vow I can’t say out loud into the way I kiss her. Every I’ve got you, every I’m not going anywhere, every you’re safe with me.
Her hands curl into my shirt, holding on like she’s scared I’ll disappear.
But I’m not going anywhere.
Not now.
Not ever.