Page 46 of Billionaire Enemy's Baby
“I can’t believe…” he gasps. “I didn’t know… I didn’t…”
“Wyatt, what are you talking about?” This is starting to feel like a weird game that I don’t know how to play. “I told you. Don’t you remember? Five years ago? Not long after I graduated from high school, I came to you and gave you a letter to send to Josh about the baby.”
The more I talk; the blanker Wyatt’s face looks.
This isn’t going well, is it? “He was in London at the time and I didn’t have any way of getting in touch with him…”
Wyatt starts shaking his head. He’s looking sicker by the moment. “Oh my God, Lexi. I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Five years ago, I was a mess. My life was a mess. To say that I spent most days high as a kite is an understatement. I don’t know anything about any letter. I never knew that you and Josh even spoke to one another, never mind that you slept together back then. I thought this was a new connection!”
My blood runs ice cold as a horrible realization washes over me. What if me and Josh have been speaking two different languages this entire time? I thought he knew about Mya which is why it was always weird to me that he didn’t want to talk about her.
But what if he never knew? Was it possible he never abandoned me for London, and he hasn’t abandoned Mya now? Me, yes, but not Mya.
That does change things a little.
“So, if you don’t ever remember any letter, then you probably didn’t send it to London?” I ask Wyatt, but I’m not really looking for an answer because I already know. “And Josh never knew about his daughter, which is why he left for New York City now…”
Wyatt’s head falls into his hands. “I don’t know what to say, Lexi. This is all so horrible and it’s my fault because I was too fucked up to help you guys out. I should have been better.”
“No this isn’t your fault.” I shake my head adamantly. “No way. This is just…”
How do I put this? How do I word any of this? “It’s a misunderstanding.”
A big one, yes. A massive life changing misunderstanding, but it does clear shit up. I suppose if I look back now, we were never totally clear when talking. It was always kind of in code. He probably thought I was asking him to meet my child, without any attachment. That does make a difference, it really does.
“I can clear this up,” Wyatt insists. “I can sort this out because it’s my fault. If I was more sober then I would have sent that letter and changed things. I would have made it so much better because Josh would have known all along and you guys… you might have had a chance.”
Tears fill my eyes. I don’t want to get too caught in that thought. If I wonder about what might have happened then I will truly lose myself.
Nothing will ever be able to go back to normal because I’ll always be worried. He didn’t reject me; Josh didn’t just ignore the fact that I was pregnant because he didn’t want to be a father. He just didn’t know.
“Or he might have freaked out because he didn’t want to be a father, and he might never have come back,” I sniff awkwardly. “We will never know what might have happened. But this isn’t for you to sort out, Wyatt. It’s for me. Maybe.” I pause for a moment. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to ruin his time in New York, and I don’t want to stop him from going to the city if that’s what he wants to know.”
“But he should know the truth,” Wyatt insists. “He should help you.”
I smile weakly back. “I don’t need his help, I’ve done things by myself so far, and we’ve been fine…”
“But you don’t need to do things that way forever. You don’t need to do things alone. Not if Josh knows. I think he should know.”
I shrug because now I’m even more unsure than before. I don’t know what any of this means for me and Josh, and for Mya but I really need some time.
My head is a mess.
“You know what, Lexi? Take the rest of the day off,” Wyatt insists. “But don’t leave me. I want you to keep working here. I don’t want to lose you.”
I nod gratefully at him. Truth be told I’m not going to achieve much today anyway because my head is everywhere and I don’t know what I should do next.
I do know that whatever decision I make will be the most important choice ever for me and my family.
ChapterTwenty-One
JOSH
Home again. At long freaking last.
It’s actually kinda nice to be in Beaufort and to really think of it as home. I think I might have always felt that way, but I’ve tried to push that thought away because of my ambitions. There has always been a voice in my brain telling me I need bigger and better things. But when New York City was in the palm of my hand, I chose to walk away.
That’s important. To know that I have something better and more important waiting for me here. It brings a big smile to my face.
