Page 49 of The Hotel Room

She shook her head, pressing her hand against her stomach. “I understand now, James. When you said you felttrapped? Like your life was already written for you? I get it.”

The confession felt like a weight pressing down on her chest. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but it was the truth.

“This ties us together," she whispered. "Whether I want it or not. Whether I trust you or not. We’re bound to each other for another eighteen years.”

James’s lips parted like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. His face had gone pale, his throat working as he swallowed hard.

"I never wanted you to feel trapped, Kate," he whispered, voice raw. "Not like that. I—"

Her voice wavered, but she held his gaze.

"When you cheated, you made me feel like I wasn’t enough. Like our life was something you needed to escape from. And now...I don’t get to walk away either, even when you’ve hurt me this badly. That’s what feels like a trap.”

The silence between them was suffocating.

James’s chest rose and fell unevenly, his hands flexing at his sides like he didn’t know what to do with them.

"I don't deserve this," he whispered finally, voice breaking. “I don’t deserveyou.I need you to know—Kate, I’m not running this time. I want to be here. For you. For the baby. For everything."

She let out a soft, bitter laugh, shaking her head.

"You don’t get to say that now, James. I’m telling you because you needed to know. Not because I’m asking you to fix anything."

His eyes glassed over, but she kept going, her voice steady even as her heart cracked open.

"I’m going to love this baby. I already do. I will never let them feel unwanted, or like they’re some consequence of my mistakes."

James nodded, his face tight, pained.

“But just because you’ll be a part of their life, doesn’t mean you’ll be a part of mine.”

He looked sobrokenin that moment—but Kate wasn’t sure if it was enough.

She wasn't sure if anything could be enough anymore.

But when he whispered, “I’m so sorry,” it didn’t feel like a plea.

It felt like the truth.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

James

James set the steaming mug of peppermint tea on the coffee table in front of Kate, careful not to spill a drop. The scent of it curled into the air, soothing and warm, but the tension in the room was anything but.

Kate sat on the sofa, her legs tucked beneath her. She wasn’t looking at him, her gaze fixed on some distant point beyond the window, her face unreadable.

James hesitated, his hands twitching uselessly at his sides. Finally, he sank to his knees in front of her, the carpet cushioning him as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his thighs. His heart pounded, but he didn’t look away from her, even though she still wasn’t meeting his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, his voice cracking. “I don’t even know if that means anything to you anymore, but I need to say it. Over and over, if I have to.”

Kate shifted slightly, her hand brushing over her stomach. The small movement felt monumental, and James’s breath caught in his chest.

“I don’t expect anything from you,” he continued, his voice trembling. “Not your forgiveness, not your trust. Not even a chance. But I need you to know I’ll be here. For you. For this baby. For everything.”

Her eyes flickered down to him then, just briefly, and it was like a knife to the gut—because he saw the hurt there. The betrayal he’d caused. He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. He had to see it. He owed her that much.

“I got lost,” he admitted, his throat tightening. “I thought being a husband and a father was...something that kept me from seeing who I really was. I thought I needed to step outside of it to figure it out. And when I did...there was nothing there, Kate. Nothing. Just emptiness.”

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