Three Months Pregnant, I Left With His Twins Chapter 09

Three Months Pregnant, I Left With His Twins Chapter 09

“There’s a guy standing at the building entrance who doesn’t look like he lives here. Want me to go down and check?”

Julian’s text came through.

I walked to the window and pulled the curtain back a little.

Nate stood by the small garden in front of the building.

Black overcoat, hands in his pockets, looking up.

He had lost weight.

I closed the curtain and put Eden back in her bouncer.

My phone buzzed again.

Nate’s message.

“I’m downstairs at the entrance. Can you come down?”

I stared at it for a long time, then replied:

“Come up. Second floor, first door on the left.”

When the door opened, his eyes landed on my face first.

Then they moved past my shoulder into the apartment.

Two bouncers sat side by side in the living room.

Iris had just woken up and was waving her hands.

Eden was still asleep.

He stared at the two bouncers for a long time, his throat moving.

“Twins.”

I nodded.

“You went through the delivery without me there?”

“Yes.”

He stood in the doorway for a few seconds.

I stepped aside.

He walked in slowly, crouched beside the bouncers, and looked at Iris.

Iris wasn’t shy. She grinned at him.

He reached out a finger.

Iris grabbed his index finger and held on tight.

His eyes turned red.

I went to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and set it on the coffee table.

He stood up, voice hoarse.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“That it was twins.”

“That I was coming to Vancouver.”

“Where you were living.”

“If I told you, then what?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it.

I sat on the couch and motioned for him to sit too.

He didn’t.

He stood there, one hand hanging at his side.

“When did you give birth?”

“Four months ago.”

“Yeah.”

“Who was with you?”

“Vivian.”

The corner of his mouth tightened.

“You gave birth, and I wasn’t there.”

I didn’t respond.

He took a deep breath, walked over, and crouched down beside the coffee table so we were eye to eye.

“Sloane, I was wrong.”

“I found out everything about Elodie later.”

“I found out about Margaret too.”

“I didn’t know about the things they did while you were pregnant.”

“But that’s no excuse.”

“I failed to protect you.”

I looked at him.

His eyes were red. His voice was soft.

He had probably rehearsed these words many times.

“The things you said before you left. I thought about them over and over afterward.”

“You said in those few seconds I hesitated, you had already figured everything out.”

“I thought about those seconds a lot.”

“I understand what you meant now.”

I waited.

“You meant my first instinct wasn’t to protect you.”

“It was to try not to upset anyone.”

I gave a small nod.

He slowly sank to his knees.

Not dramatically.

Like he couldn’t hold himself up anymore.

One hand braced on the floor.

“I can wait for you.”

“As long as it takes.”

Eden made a small sound in her bouncer.

I looked at him kneeling there and remembered so many things.

The way he said I should calm down first.

The gentle tone in his voice when he answered Elodie’s call on the balcony.

Margaret setting down that envelope in the hospital while he wasn’t even there.

The night he texted that he would pick me up tomorrow morning and stayed at Elodie’s until two.

Each thing on its own wasn’t enough to break someone.

Together, they were a mountain.

I didn’t want to carry any of it for him anymore.

“Nate, get up.”

He looked up at me.

“You don’t need to wait.”

His face froze for a second.

“This isn’t about punishing you, Nate.”

“I’m just done.”

His face went still.

“Done with what?”

“Done waiting for you to weigh everyone else first, then remember I was supposed to matter.”

Silence stretched for a long time.

Birds chirped outside.

Afternoon sunlight leaked through the curtain gaps and fell across the bouncers.

Iris let out a tiny yawn.

He stood up, voice low.

“Who was the guy pushing the stroller for you downstairs earlier?”

“Someone who works for Vivian.”

“What is he to you?”

“The guy who pushed the stroller.”

His brow tightened, like he was holding something back.

I walked to the door and opened it.

“You’ve seen the babies. They’re doing well. You know where I am now. You don’t need to keep looking for me.”

He stood in the middle of the living room like he was nailed in place.

“Sloane.”

“Can I come see them?”

I thought about it.

“Yes. Just let me know ahead of time.”

He walked to the door, then looked back at the two bouncers.

Iris was kicking her legs.

Eden was still sleeping.

His gaze lingered for a long time.

“What are their names?”

“Iris Hart.”

“Eden Hart.”

Hart.

Not Westbury.

The moment he heard the names, his face tightened with pain.

But he didn’t say anything.

“Good names.”