AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I suck in a deep breath that seems to give me the strength to step closer to Briggs, into his space. So close I smell the light scent of his aftershave, and everything that Briggs is. Clean cedar with a splash of citrus. I’d know it anywhere as it lingered in my memory for months after that weekend, and I cursed him daily for changing the way those three things smelled forever.
There were a lot of things that changed forever, after that night.
I lift my chin to look up at him. “I’m not sure what the hell your problem is, or if you think this is some sick joke, but I’ve got nothing to say to you, had I not made that perfectly clear already. I guess I shouldn’t be shocked that you, of all people, can’t take something like this seriously. This isn’t a joke Briggs. This ismy life,my daughter’slife, all of which you decided not to be a part of.” I lower my voice into a hushed whisper, “You made your choice and that’s fine with me. We don’t need you. I just want you to leave us alone, like you promised.”
Briggs’ eyes widen and his face morphs into a mask of shock as his jaw drops slightly. “Wait, hold up-” he starts, but I don’t bother standing here a second longer to hear what he has to say. I hoist my bag up on my shoulder, lift my chin higher and brush past him toward the office.
The entire conversation has shaken me to my core. I’m in complete shock about how unexpected it was to actually come face to face with the man who broke my heart before it was really even his to break. My hand trembles as I press it to my stomach, trying to ground myself. Tears threaten to spill, and I refuse to give him this.
To let him see me cry. He doesn’t deserve my tears.
“Maddison, wait,” he calls after me, but I walk faster, ignoring him.
Just as I’m pulling the door to the office open, a hand envelops my arm and lightly pulls. I look back at Briggs, his eyes are full of... something I can’t place, and I’ve had enough.
“Let me go,” I hiss.
“Please, just give me five minutes. Just five minutes, Maddison, please.” he pleads. “I’m so fucking lost.”
I can’t tell you why I stop, or even why I decide to grant him the five minutes he’s asking for. It’s not as if he deserves it, and it’s not like the anger I just felt isn’t still coursing through my veins. Maybe it’s the fact that somewhere deep down, burrowed and nestled into the dark, singed part of my heart, is a place that’s all his.
Regardless of whether he deserves it or not.
My eyes hold his gaze, searching for something to detect his intentions, whether they’re genuine or not, but in the end, I simply nod. “Five minutes.”
“Five minutes.”
I brush past him to the small bench in the courtyard. I’m desperate to sit for a moment and give my feet a reprieve from these heels. When I sit on the small concrete bench, I don’t expect Briggs to take the seat next to me, but he does.
“Maddison, I didn’t know you were pregnant.”
His words sink in, causing unease and rage to form in the pit of my stomach. “How can you sit here and look me in the eye and lie to me when you couldn’t even look at me when you signed those papers.”
He shakes his head. “What papers? I’m not lying to you. Do you know how long I looked for you? I searched everywhere. I even asked your grandma for your information when I left the inn, and she said that you told her not to give it to me. Maddison, I woke up and you were fucking gone, after the best damn weekend of my life, fuck, it gutted me.” He holds his hand over his heart, and I can see the pain in his eyes.
Or maybe I’m imagining it, wishing that something is there that I don’t really see.
I squeeze my eyes shut, desperately trying to hold onto the control I have built up over the past ten months. Since that night. The wall I’ve formed, clearly separating me from Briggs and any mention of him, seems to be crumbling into a pile of debris at my feet.
“Maddison,” he says softly, and my eyes fly open, locking with his, “I swear to god on everything I love, which is admittedly not much, but still, I swear to you that I had no idea. You’re saying… she’s mine? She’s my daughter?”
A lone tear streaks down my cheek, and I quickly wipe it away, gathering my composure. I wasn’t prepared for this conversation or how much it would hurt if it ever happened.
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. I don’t know how you didn’t know you had a daughter. Your name was on the paperwork. You signed away your rights, Briggs. I read your letter,” I mumble.
Briggs sucks in a shuddering breath before dropping his head into his hands, leaning over to place his elbows on his knees.
“I don’t even know what paperwork you’re talking about, Maddison. I’m just as lost as you are right now. What fucking letter? What the hell is happening?”
I’ve always been a good judge of character. A trait that has been passed down from my dad, and the way that Briggs looks right in this moment, makes me truly think something shitty has happened. That his bastard of an agent had everything to do with what happened.
“Your agent,” I whisper, my words full of realization.
“Conrad? You metConrad?”
I nod. “I think… I think he’s what happened.”
