Chapter 33
33
JARED
M y life flashed before my eyes the moment Amelia said those words.
“I’m having a baby.”
The world seemed to stop spinning, the noise of the beach fading into a dull roar.
I stared at her, my mind racing.
And then, like a switch flipping, I saw red.
Gemma was still smirking.
It was like a shark smelling blood in the water.
“Who’s the father?” she asked, her voice sharp.
“Do you even know?”
“No one likes you, Gemma,” Amelia said.
“That’s what I know.”
My mind felt like it was stuck in mud.
Maybe this was one of those weird dreams where you knew it was a dream, but you couldn’t wake up.
You had to just ride it out.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Couldn’t believe she was here, telling everyone like this.
It felt like a punch to the gut—one I hadn’t seen coming.
“You look a little old to be getting knocked up, Amelia,” Gemma said with a sarcastic laugh.
“You’re a scientist; you haven’t figured out how these little accidents happen?”
Amelia crossed her arms over her stomach.
I could see the steel in her eyes.
“I don’t think of my baby as an accident.”
“Bet your parents are proud.” Gemma smirked, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
“I bet yours aren’t,” Amelia shot back.
“Why are you even here?” Clair cut in.
“Thought I heard you were banned from campus.”
Gemma turned on Clair with a glare.
“Guess not, if I’m standing here. Are you her little attack dog?”
“If you think I won’t bite you, try me, bitch,” Clair said, smiling to show her teeth.
I could see Amelia’s hands shake slightly as she tucked them under her arms. She was trying so hard to be brave.
To act like Gemma’s words didn’t bother her.
“Well…” Gemma dragged out the word and looked around at the crowd that had started gathering around us.
“Aren’t you going to tell us who knocked you up? Inquiring minds want to know.”
Amelia stood taller, meeting my eyes for just a second before looking back at Gemma.
I was beginning to wonder if I had lost my tongue.
No matter how badly I wanted to say something, words wouldn’t come out.
“It doesn’t concern you or anyone else.” Amelia’s voice never wavered.
I knew how much strength it took for her to stand firm like that.
Gemma took a step forward, opening her mouth again, but I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Back the fuck off, Gemma.” The words came out louder than I intended, my frustration boiling over into anger.
She turned to look at me, eyebrows raised in feigned innocence.
That shark-like grin returned as she looked me up and down.
“Oh, come on, Jared. Don’t tell me you’re actually buying this? She’s probably just?—”
Gemma didn’t get to finish.
Shawn, who looked like he’d been hit by a truck a minute ago, probably a similar expression to mine, stepped forward with surprising fire in his eyes.
“Give it a goddamn rest, Gemma,” he spat.
“I don’t know if you have to work to be so unpleasant or if you were just born that way, but you are literally the fucking worst.”
She turned to him, mouth open in shock.
It was rare for anyone to challenge her, let alone Shawn.
Shawn was one of the world’s last nice guys.
He was goofy and lovable and never talked shit to anyone.
But like the old saying went, beware the anger of a gentle man.
“This is what you do for fun? Make people miserable?” He took Clair’s hand, pulling her closer as if shielding her.
“You need a life, you loser.”
“Didn’t realize you cared so much,” Gemma shot back, crossing her arms. I could see her calculating, deciding her next move.
“You heard him,” Clair added, voice fierce.
“Get lost.”
Gemma’s smile thinned.
She looked around at the circle that had formed—a dozen or so eyes watching the scene unfold.
I saw the moment she decided this wasn’t a fight she’d win.
“Whatever,” she muttered, flicking her hair and giving one last contemptuous glance in my direction.
“This place is lame anyway.”
“It will be vastly improved by your absence,” Amelia said.
Gemma stalked off toward the parking lot, two of her friends trailing behind her like stray dogs.
As soon as she was gone, the tension hung in the air like a fog nobody knew how to clear.
I grabbed Amelia by the arm.
“With me, now,” I muttered.
“I’ll take your stuff back to your condo,” Clair called out.
I led Amelia up the beach, my grip firm but not painful.
She didn’t resist, her face pale, her eyes wide as she stumbled along beside me.
Neither of us said a word.
I was still trying to figure out what to say.
I knew what I thought I wanted to say, but I had a feeling that would be the wrong thing.
No matter what I said, it was going to be wrong.
I led her up the stairs to my house and opened the sliding glass doors.
I turned to her, searching her expression for any kind of answer.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m pregnant. It’s not that complicated. I’m having a baby.”
I stepped closer, my voice low.
“Is it mine?”
Her eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked like I’d slapped her.
“Are you serious? Of course, it’s yours.”
I felt a flicker of relief, but it was quickly overshadowed by a wave of panic.
A baby. I was going to be a father.
The thought sent a jolt through me, and I didn’t know how to process it.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, my voice louder than I intended.
She shook her head. “When was I supposed to tell you, Jared? When you were too busy avoiding me? Or maybe when Gemma was hanging all over you in your office?”
I flinched, her words hitting hard.
“Gemma doesn’t mean anything to me. You know that.”
“Do I?” she shot back, her eyes blazing.
“Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re more interested in her than you are in me. Every time I turn around she’s trying to climb you like a tree. And that’s fine. You do you—or her—but I’m not the one bed hopping.”
I ran a hand over my face, my frustration mounting.
“Amelia, I’m not sleeping with Gemma. I haven’t touched her since I caught her in bed with another man. Besides, this isn’t about Gemma. This is about us. About… this.” I gestured vaguely between us, my mind racing.
“A baby changes everything.”
She laughed, the sound hollow.
“Yeah, no kidding. But you don’t have to worry about it, Jared. I’m not asking you for anything. I don’t need your help, or your money, or… or you. I know you don’t want a relationship. I think your words were something along the lines of, you can’t . Which we both know means you just don’t want to.”
Her words stung, but I pushed the feeling down.
“You think this is easy for me?” I snapped, my voice rising.
“You think I can just flip a switch and suddenly be ready for a baby? For all of this? Amelia, this is… it’s not what I planned. It’s not what either of us planned.”
“No, it’s not. But life doesn’t always go according to plan, Jared. But I forgot, when you’re you , it’s easy to walk away from a situation like it’s someone else’s problem.”
“I’m not walking away,” I shot back, though even as I said it, I felt the weight of my own words.
I hadn’t exactly been present, had I?
“Could’ve fooled me,” she muttered, turning away from me.
Her shoulders were tense, her hands gripping her elbows like she was holding herself together.
“You need to know that this isn’t just about you. I have my own life to figure out, and I’ve already made up my mind.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, my stomach tightening.
She turned back to me, her eyes hard.
“It means I’m leaving. I regret ever taking this stupid job. I did it because I thought I could help my mother. She died before I ever got the chance to make any headway. I dragged her across the ocean so I could pursue my dream of working here. What a fucking disaster. Don’t act like this pregnancy is a huge inconvenience to you .”
“You’re right,” I said.
“We both have busy careers. And for what it’s worth, you should have told me about your mother.”
“It was none of your business.”
“Your research was based on your mother’s situation?”
“Yes! But it doesn’t matter now.”
“Amelia, I’m sorry. I didn’t… I didn’t know.”
She looked at me, her eyes filled with tears.
“You didn’t want to know. You pushed me away, Jared. You made it clear that I didn’t mean anything to you. And now I’m just another problem for you to deal with. But I’m not going to be. I’ll do my research somewhere else. I don’t know if it will do anyone any good. But you don’t have to worry about me and my pregnancy getting in the way of your life plan.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” I said firmly, my voice low but steady.
“This isn’t just about you anymore. It’s about us. About the baby.”
She let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head.
“Don’t act like you care, Jared. You got what you wanted, didn’t you? You slept with me, and now you’re done. I don’t need your help. I don’t need your money. And I definitely don’t need you.”
“That’s not what this is about,” I said, stepping closer to her.
“You think this is just about sex? That I only cared about getting you into bed?”
“Isn’t it?” she shot back, her eyes blazing with anger and hurt.
Her voice cracked slightly, betraying the emotion she was trying to hold back.
“You made it pretty clear that you weren’t interested in anything more than that. So don’t stand here now and pretend like this means something to you.”
I clenched my jaw, frustration and guilt simmering beneath the surface.
She wasn’t wrong—I had pushed her away, kept her at arm’s length because I was afraid of letting anyone get too close.
But hearing her say it out loud made it feel a million times worse.
“Look, we’re not going to get anywhere like this,” I said.
“Go chase your girlfriend,” she hissed.
“I’ll be out of your way, and you will be free to continue your relationship with her. My child and I will be just fine.”
“I’m not fucking with Gemma!”
She snorted.
“Fucking with her is probably an appropriate term. I don’t care, Jared. You can do whatever with whomever you choose. I just don’t have to stick around and watch it happen.”
I stared at her, my fists clenching at my sides.
“You’re not leaving,” I practically growled.
I didn’t care if it sounded like an order.
This wasn’t just about her anymore, or even about me—it was about the baby, about the work she’d poured her heart into.
“This is your dream job, Amelia. You don’t just walk away from that. You fought to get it. Don’t let Gemma take that from you.”
She whirled on me, her eyes blazing with a fire that made me step back.
“There’s more to life than this,” she snapped, her voice trembling with anger.
“And it’s your own damn fault for not seeing that. You’re so obsessed with your career, with your control, that you can’t even see what’s right in front of you. You pushed me away, and now you want to act like you care? Like this all matters to you? Don’t.”
I blinked.
Her vehemence took me by surprise.
Before I could respond, she was already storming out, the door slamming shut behind her.
I stood there, frozen like a dumbass.
She always did that to me.
She always left me feeling at a loss for words.
That never happened to me.
I always knew just what to say.