Chapter 41 When the Past Knocks
The next morning stretched out quietly. Knox had insisted I stay home, and I had pushed back at first, telling him I was fine, that I could go to work like nothing had changed.
He didn’t argue, just pointed out that it was Friday, that I could turn it into a long weekend, that I needed rest. That stress wasn’t good for the baby. And that he would work from home too.
I hadn’t had a good counter to that.
Sometime before lunch, a knock echoed through the house.
Titan lifted his head from the rug, ears pricking as I set my glass down and padded toward the hallway. Knox had stepped out about twenty minutes ago to pick up muffins, leaving just the two of us in the quiet.
“It’s okay,” I murmured automatically, even though I wasn’t sure it was.
Another knock.
I paused at the security panel and tapped the screen, pulling up the camera feed.
My breath caught.
Nick.
He stood on the front step, hands in his coat pockets, shoulders slightly hunched against the cold.
For a second, I thought I was imagining it. That my mind was playing tricks on me.
I hadn’t seen or spoken to him in years. Not since I decided that cutting all contact was the only way to finally let him go. Not since the last time we saw each other face to face, when everything between us had shattered for good.
Seeing him now, standing on my porch, hit me like a punch to the chest.
He looked different.
Older.
The boyish charm he used to wear like a second skin was gone. His jaw was sharper, his eyes tired, his shoulders heavier. In my past life, I had never seen him grow this old.
Another knock.
Titan moved closer to my side, his body pressing against my leg.
I swallowed hard and opened the door.
Nick’s eyes lifted to mine, and for a moment he just stared, like he wasn’t sure I was real.
“Ashley,” he said quietly.
My name in his voice sent a crack straight through my chest. I hadn’t heard him say it in years.
Titan stepped forward slightly, placing himself between us, his massive body a clear warning.
Nick’s eyes dropped to the dog, then back to me.
“You got a guard dog,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Can I come in?” Nick asked after a moment. “It’s cold, and… I don’t think this is a conversation for the front step.”
I hesitated. Every instinct told me to say no. To close the door and lock it. To keep the past exactly where it belonged.
But in the end, I stepped back.
“Come in,” I said quietly.
Titan didn’t move. His massive body remained planted between us.
“It’s okay,” I told him softly. “Titan. Move.”
He didn’t look convinced. His dark eyes flicked between Nick and me, reluctant.
“Titan,” I repeated more firmly.
After a second, he obeyed, stepping aside just enough to let Nick pass. But he stayed close to me, brushing against my leg.
Nick stepped inside slowly, his gaze moving over the house as if taking in every detail. He shrugged off his coat and held it in one hand, a little awkward, like he wasn’t sure where to put it.
“Nice place,” he said.
“Thanks.”
I gestured toward the living room and we moved in, Titan glued to my side the entire time. Nick sat on the couch while I took the armchair across from him, keeping a deliberate distance between us.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
“It’s been a long time,” Nick said finally.
“Yeah.”
“You look… different.”
“So do you.”
He gave a small, humorless smile. “Guess that happens.”
Silence settled again, awkward and heavy.
“I saw the news,” he said. “About yesterday. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
He nodded, but his eyes searched my face like he didn’t quite believe me.
Another pause. His fingers tapped once against his knee, hesitant.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
I didn’t answer, but he took my silence as permission.
“I’ve been hearing things,” his voice was careful. “Are you… with Knox?”
I glanced down at my hands in my lap. When I looked back up, he was staring at my left hand. At the diamond ring on my finger.
He went still.
I drew in a slow breath. “Yes,” I said.
Nick didn’t look at my face. He was still staring at the ring, like he couldn’t look away.
“You’re engaged?” he asked hoarsely.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to.
“I was hoping that wasn’t true,” he said quietly.
I frowned. “Why?”
He let out a humorless breath and leaned forward slightly, his forearms resting on his knees.
“I kept an eye on you,” he admitted.
“You what?”
He met my gaze. “I knew you weren’t dating anyone,” he said. “Not seriously. Not casually. Nothing.”
I stared at him, stunned. “You were watching me?”
“I wasn’t stalking you,” he said quickly. “I just… made sure you were okay. Made sure no one hurt you.”
Titan shifted beside me, pressing closer.
Nick continued, his voice rougher now.
“I thought you needed time,” he said. “After everything. After what Apple did.”
His jaw clenched.
“She ruined everything,” he added. “I’m sure of it now. She drugged me that night. And the pregnancy…” He shook his head. “She was never pregnant.”
I cut in before he could continue.
“Were you celibate?”
Nick blinked, thrown off. “What?”
“If you were waiting for me,” I said. “Were you celibate?”
He hesitated. Thought about it. His jaw shifted.
“No,” he said carefully. “But I didn’t have anything serious with anyone.”
I leaned back in the chair. “So how exactly were you waiting?”
Frustration flickered across his face now.
“They didn’t mean anything,” he said. “I’m a man, Ashley. Those were just…” He exhaled sharply. “It was never about them.”
His voice softened. “Your face was the only one I saw,” he said. “None of them ever slept in my bed.”
Silence settled between us.
Nick exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “You cut me off because of Apple. Because of a mistake. Because she schemed. You never even gave me a chance to explain.”
His eyes hardened.
“But now,” he pushed on, voice rising with emotion, “you’re with Knox. And Apple is pregnant with his child. How is that different? Why didn’t you give me a chance, but you gave him one?”
Before I could say anything, the front door opened.
Titan’s head snapped up. His whole body went alert.
Knox stepped inside with a paper bag in one hand, cold air trailing behind him. He set the muffins on the entryway table without looking away from us, his eyes narrowing the moment he saw Nick sitting on the couch.
He didn’t say a word at first. He just walked toward the living room with slow, controlled steps.
I watched him the entire time, my pulse picking up.
Knox stopped beside my chair and his gaze flicked to Nick.
“Who is this,” he asked.
Nick straightened on the couch immediately, his posture stiffening, his jaw tightening like he refused to appear smaller sitting down. A second later, he stood.
They were both tall. Both strong. Both accustomed to calling the shots in the boardroom.
I swallowed. “This is Nick. Payton’s brother. From my hometown.”
Nick’s expression tightened, like the introduction stung.
Knox didn’t offer a handshake. Didn’t pretend to be polite.
“So,” Knox said after what felt like a long moment, “what brings you here.”
His arm slid to the back of my neck, his hand settling there like it belonged. I glanced up at him, wondering what he was thinking, but he wasn’t looking at me. His gaze was locked on Nick.
Nick’s shoulders were tense, jaw set tight. His eyes flicked to Knox’s hand on me, and something twisted in his expression. Hurt. Accusation. Disbelief.
“Are you for real right now, Ashley?” he said, voice thick with disbelief. “He is having a baby with Apple.”
I felt like groaning. “Nick, will you just let it go.”
His brows shot up. “Let it go,” he echoed. “I could have handled losing you to someone who’d be good to you. Someone who’d love you and give you everything you need. I could have handled that, because at least I’d know you’d be happy. But Knox Sinclair—”
Knox cut in, his voice calm but edged with steel. “Careful.”
Nick’s head snapped toward him.
Knox didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t move. He didn’t need to.
“You are in my home,” Knox said. “Speaking about my woman. Watch your tone.”
Nick looked between us, his breathing uneven, like he couldn’t reconcile what he was seeing with the version of me he had kept in his head all these years.
“If you have something to say,” Knox said calmly, “say it.”
Nick didn’t hesitate.
“You got Apple pregnant,” Nick said. “And now you’re here playing house with her sister.”
Knox didn’t react immediately. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t rush to defend himself. His thumb moved once against the back of my neck, slow and grounding.
“That rumor doesn’t make it true,” he said.
Nick scoffed. “She said it publicly.”
“And she lies publicly,” Knox replied. “You of all people should know that.”
Nick’s jaw flexed. “You won’t keep her in the long run,” he said. “She’ll see who you really are eventually. Then she’ll leave you.”
Knox tilted his head slightly, studying him with mild curiosity. Like the idea itself was foreign.
“Now why would you think I’d let her do a thing like that?” he asked.
Nick recoiled slightly. “You can’t force someone to stay with you.”
“Ashley knows I’d never let her go,” he said.
Nick’s expression hardened. “She’s just a possession to you,” he insisted.
Knox didn’t deny it.
“My most prized possession,” he said calmly. “And I have every intention of keeping her.”
The certainty in his voice made my pulse stumble.
“Deal with it,” Knox continued. “Accept it. Leave her alone. Get rid of whatever fantasy you’ve built in your head about a future with her. It isn’t happening.”
Nick’s eyes flickered with something raw.
“She deserves better than you,” he said quietly. “You don’t deserve her.”
Knox’s gaze sharpened. “And you think you do?”
Shame crossed Nick’s face, brief but unmistakable. “Maybe neither of us do,” he admitted. “But—”
“There are no ‘buts,’” Knox cut in. “ You can quit banking on me messing up and losing her. I’d never let someone so important to me walk out of my life.”
Nick’s jaw tightened. Then he looked at me. His eyes searched my face, desperate and disbelieving at the same time. “Are you okay with this?” he asked. “With everything he’s saying?”
I drew in a slow breath. “I am,” I said.
Knox's hand on my neck tightened a little.
Nick blinked, stunned.
“You hurt me,” I said quietly. “More than you ever understood. And I’m not going back to that. I’m not reopening old wounds.”
Nick swallowed hard, his throat working.
“I’m happy,” I said. “And I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Knox stepped forward, placing himself slightly between us, not blocking my view but making the boundary unmistakable.
“You’re done here,” Knox said. “You’ve said your piece. She listened. She said her piece. Now leave.”
Nick stared at him, then at me, like he was trying to memorize something he’d just lost. He nodded once, shoulders sagging as the fight drained out of him. He looked defeated.
Then he turned and walked out.
When the door clicked shut behind him, Knox turned toward me. His eyes swept over my face, checking me, assessing me. The possessiveness from moments earlier hadn’t faded. If anything, it had sharpened.
“Are you alright,” he asked quietly as he crouched in front of me.
I nodded, though my pulse was still uneven.
Knox’s gaze softened just a fraction. “Come here.”
He pulled me into his chest, one arm around my waist, the other settling at the back of my neck.
“He thought he had a chance with you,” Knox said, voice low. “He thought he could walk in here and take something that isn’t his.”
I slid my hands up his shoulders, grounding myself in the solid warmth of him.
“He was wrong,” I said softly.
Knox’s grip tightened just a little.
“I chose you,” I continued. “Not because you claimed me. Not because you’re… you. But because I want you. Because I feel safe with you. Because you’re the one I want in my life.”
His breath hitched, barely noticeable unless you were pressed against him like I was.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “Not because you won’t let me. Because I don’t want to.”
Knox leaned back just enough to look at me, his eyes darker, something fierce and vulnerable flickering beneath the surface.
“You mean that,” he said quietly.
“I do.”
His thumb brushed my jaw, slow and reverent, like he was memorizing the moment.
“Good,” he murmured. “Because I’m not losing you. Not to him. Not to anyone.”