Chapter 12
Cal
The conference room on the twenty-third floor smelled like stale coffee and Ron’s expensive aftershave.
Floor-to-ceiling windows showed the Strip glittering like it didn’t give a fuck about the bomb we were about to drop.
Ron sat at the head of the table, sleeves rolled up, legal pad in front of him.
Jake slouched in a chair, scrolling his phone.
The room felt smaller than usual.
Maybe because everyone was in it. Maybe because the air smelled like stress and overpriced cologne. Or maybe because I already knew this conversation was about to be a train wreck and I was standing right on the tracks.
Holland leaned back, arms crossed. Kei stared out the window like he was counting the lights.
Sydney sat next to me; thigh pressed against mine under the table.
Hadley was on my other side, hands folded tight in her lap, ring still on.
Eli wasn’t here; Zariah had taken him to the arcade downstairs with strict instructions to keep him away from this.
Ron tapped his pen. “Okay. We’re all here. Cal, you said this was urgent. Talk.”
I cleared my throat. Felt like sandpaper. “Hadley’s pregnant.”
Silence hit like a brick.
Ron’s pen stopped. Jake looked up slow. Holland’s arms dropped. Kei turned from the window. Sydney’s hand tightened on my knee, hard.
Ron leaned forward. “You’re sure?”
Hadley answered before I could. Voice quiet but steady. “Three tests"
Ron exhaled through his nose. “Jesus Christ. Timeline?”
“Conception was the night in the chapel,” I said. "Three weeks.”
Ron dropped his tablet onto the bar. “Jesus Christ, Cal.”
Sydney laughed. Sharp. Mean. “Of course it was. Perfect timing. She gets knocked up right when the annulment clock starts ticking. How convenient.”
Hadley flinched. Barely. I felt it more than saw it.
Ron held up a hand. “Sydney. Enough.”
“No.” She leaned forward. “This isn’t coincidence. She saw dollar signs the second she woke up in his bed. Trapped him with a ring, now trapping him with a kid. Classic gold-digger playbook.”
Hadley’s voice cut in, low. “I didn’t plan this.”
Sydney turned on her. “You didn’t have to. You just had to spread your legs and wait.”
“Watch it,” I snapped. But it came out weak. Half-hearted.
Sydney rounded on me. “You’re defending her now? After everything?”
“I’m not defending anyone. I’m stating facts.”
Jake looked between us. “Okay, hold on. Nobody panic. People have kids. This isn’t the apocalypse.”
Sydney laughed under her breath.
"Easy for you to say. It’s not your career hanging by a thread.”
Holland shot her a look. “Syd...”
“No, Holland,” she cut in, voice sharper now.
"We need to be realistic. This girl came out of nowhere, married him drunk, and now suddenly she’s pregnant? You really want me to pretend that doesn’t look suspicious?”
" I said stop it Syd "
Sydney lifted her hands like she was innocent.
“I’m just saying what everyone is thinking.”
“I’m not,” Jake muttered.
Ron sighed. “Sydney, tone.”
“She trapped him,” she said flatly.
" Let’s call it what it is.”
Hadley finally looked up. Her eyes were glassy but steady. “I didn’t trap anyone.”
Sydney tilted her head. “Then explain the timing.”
“Enough,” I snapped.
The room went still.
Ron rubbed his temples. “Options. We need options. Fast.”
Sydney leaned back, crossing her arms. “Fine. Solution? She terminates the pregnancy.”
The words landed like a slap.
Hadley sucked in a breath.
Jake straightened immediately. “Whoa. That’s not..."
“It’s practical,” Sydney said. “Clean. You get the annulment. Career saved. End of story.”
Ron didn’t answer right away. That was worse.
Finally, he said, carefully, “It would… simplify the legal situation.”
I stared at him. “You’re serious?”
“I’m saying it would reduce long-term damage.”
Ron nodded slow. “It’s… practical. The label will cover costs. Therapy. Whatever. No one has to know.”
Jake shrugged. “If that’s what you both want.”
Holland stayed quiet.
Kei spoke then. Calm. Measured. “Cal’s not fit to be a father right now. We all know it. He can barely take care of himself. Abortion’s the kindest thing for everyone...including the kid.”
I felt the words like a slap. Stood up so fast my chair scraped. “Fuck you, Kei.”
He didn’t flinch. “You know I’m right. You’re still drinking every night. Still running from everything. You think you can raise a child?”
“I’m not killing my kid.”
My voice came out rough. Final.
Sydney snorted. “Your kid? You didn’t even want her until five minutes ago. You don’t even know if you want it.”
"That not your fucking call"
Ron lifted both hands. “Okay. Everyone breathe.”
I turned to Hadley. She hadn’t moved. Hadn’t spoken. She just looked… hollow.
“Come with me,” I said.
She hesitated. Then stood.
She didn’t fight me. Let me pull her into the small bathroom attached to the conference room. Door shut. Locked.
She leaned against the sink. Arms crossed. Eyes red but dry.
I paced the tiny space. Two steps. Turn. Two steps.
“You heard them,” I said.
“I heard.”
“What do you want face. I need your opinion.”
She blinked slowly. “On what?”
“On… the abortion.”
She looked at me. Really looked. “It’s my body.”
“I know. That’s why I’m asking.”
She swallowed. “Do you want the baby?”
I rubbed my face. “I don’t know.”
She nodded like she’d expected it. “I don’t want an abortion. I can’t… I can’t do that. But I also can’t have a baby if the father isn’t present. I’m not stable right now. Financially. Emotionally. I can barely keep Eli fed and safe. Adding a newborn? I’d drown.”
Her voice cracked on the last word. First time I’d heard her sound small. Vulnerable.
I stepped closer. Saw the way her shoulders shook. Saw the dark circles under her eyes. Saw how thin her wrists looked.
Something twisted in my chest. Not love. Not even close. But… something.
I lifted my hand. Touched her cheek. Thumb brushed her skin. She didn’t pull away.
I leaned in. Kissed her.
Soft. Slow. Her lips parted. Tasted like salt and coffee and exhaustion. For a second the noise outside disappeared. Just her. Just this.
I pulled back. Pressed my forehead to hers.
Put my hand on her stomach. Flat still. But not empty.
“I want to be present,” I said. Voice rough. “I want the baby.”
She searched my face. “You sure?”
“No. But I’m not walking away.”
She nodded once. Slow.
We went back out.
Everyone stared.
I kept my hand on Hadley’s lower back. “We’re keeping it.”
Chaos.
Sydney stood up. “You’re joking.”
Ron groaned. “Cal....”
“No discussion,” I said. “It’s done.”
Sydney laughed. Hysterical. “You’re going to ruin everything. For what? Some girl you met one night? Some kid you don’t even know how to love?”
Holland finally spoke. “Syd. Sit down.”
She didn’t. “No. This is insane. He’s going to be a father? Him? He can’t even commit to a tour schedule without getting wasted.”
Kei rubbed his jaw. “She’s right. This is a disaster.”
Jake just shook his head. “Your call, man. But the label’s gonna flip.”
Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’ll need new PR. Prenup. Press release. Therapy. Christ. We’re going to need everything.”
Hadley stayed quiet. Let me do the talking.
We wrapped up eventually. Ron barking orders. Sydney storming out. Kei and Holland following. Jake last, clapping my shoulder once. Hard.
Then it was evening.
Suite quiet. Eli asleep in the second bedroom. Hadley in the shower. I stood alone in the living room, staring out at the city. Poured myself a glass of red from the minibar. Swirled it. Didn’t drink.
We were leaving Vegas this weekend. Back to LA. Meaning Hadley and Eli were coming too. No choice. Paparazzi still camped outside her old apartment. No going back there.
I was going to be a father.
The word tasted foreign. Wrong. Like it belonged to someone else.
I thought about the kiss earlier. How her lips had trembled. How she’d let me touch her stomach like it meant something.
It did mean something. I just didn’t know what.
The door opened behind me.
Sydney.
She stepped in quiet. Closed it soft.
I sighed. Set the glass down.
She crossed the room. Wrapped her arms around me from behind. Chin on my shoulder.
“Hey,” she whispered.
“Hey.”
I turned. Hugged her back. Tight. She smelled like citrus and hairspray. Familiar. Safe.
I told her everything. The test. The doctor. The conversation in the bathroom. The kiss. How I’d put my hand on Hadley’s stomach and said I wanted to be there.
She listened. Didn’t interrupt. Just held me.
When I finished, she pulled back. Looked up at me.
“You can’t be with her,” she said. Soft. Firm. “Not really. She’s not us. She doesn’t understand.”
“I know.”
“You need to protect yourself. Draw up a prenup. Ironclad. After the divorce, after the baby, she doesn’t get half your money. She doesn’t get to bleed you dry.”
I nodded slow. “Yeah.”
She took my hand. Led me to the bed.
We lay down. Her head on my chest. My arm around her. Familiar. Easy.
She kissed my jaw. Then my mouth.
I didn’t stop her.
I kissed back. Harder. Desperate.
Wanted to erase Hadley from my head. The way she’d looked at me in the bathroom. The way she’d trusted me when I didn’t deserve it.
Sydney’s hands went under my shirt. Mine went under hers.
We’d done this before. All of us. Drunk nights. One time—years ago—blackout drunk, all four of us with her at once. No jealousy. No shame. Just family. Just us.
This felt like that.
And this time I didn’t pull back.
I let her climb on top. Let her take my shirt off. Let her hands roam. Let her mouth move down my chest.
I flipped her under me. Kissed her neck. Her collarbone. Lower.
She moaned my name. I didn’t think about Hadley. Didn’t think about the baby. Didn’t think about tomorrow.
I just fucked her.
Hard. Fast. Like I could outrun everything.
When it was over we lay there tangled. Sweaty. Breathing heavy.
She curled against me. Kissed my shoulder.
“You’ll always come back to me,” she whispered.
I didn’t answer.
I stared at the ceiling. Hand on her back. Mind blank.
Hadley didn’t matter right now.
The baby didn’t matter right now.
None of it did.
I didn’t give a fuck.
And that was the point.