Page 132 of Against All Odds

“No, I didn’t.”

“And I resented you.”

“Yes, you did,” I agree.

“So, after the paperwork was drawn up, I ... couldn’t stop talking about it. That we were going to have a baby, that I wasn’t going to be around, that I wondered if you were okay, and I guess I did it all the time.”

“And she left you,” I finish.

He huffs. “Then she painted me as the villain.”

I sigh heavily. “So you used the baby? Don’t you see how ... unfair that is? If you really cared about me, if you ... were so worried if I was okay, then how could you do that to me—to us?” My hand moves to my belly.

He doesn’t miss the movement, and his eyes go to where it would be. “I think that being a father ... it will fix things.”

“Fix what?” I ask.

“Whatever I need it to fix. I lost roles, Violet. They’re talking about killing my character off on the last movie so I can’t be in the sequel. Do you know what all this is going to do to my career?”

I truly loathe him. The fact that his entire concern is around himself is the entire reason we’re here. He doesn’t care about me or the baby. He cares about his job.

“And what about the child you so want? What about their life?”

Dylan rubs his forehead. “I’ll share custody with you, and we’ll figure it out.”

“Okay, let’s talk it through.” Now is when I’m using the things Catherine suggested. To point out all the ways it won’t work and where it’ll be inconvenient to him. “You want shared custody?”

“Yes, I want the baby with me during the week. We can split time,” he demands.

“All right, then you can have them Thursday through Sunday? Or even Wednesday, if that works better?”

Immediately I’m hitting him with the fact that he will have the child on the weekends.

“I can’t do that. I have to work.”

“I see, well, if I have to be back here, then I’ll have to work as well. I think it’s only fair we split up the weekdays, and since you make more, you can afford to pay more in childcare, don’t you agree?”

“You can keep the baby during the weekends, and I’ll do ... the childcare part. I’ll hire a nanny.”

Another opening. “I don’t want a nanny raising our child. You’ll need to spend the weekends with him or her without someone else taking them.”

“I have to film sometimes.”

“You’ll have to figure that out. Now, what about during the summer? I’ll have off from school, and since your schedule is flexible, I think maybe we should do like every other week. So you can get ample time, and I can have a chance to travel.”

His eyes widen. “This summer I’m filming in France. I can’t come back and forth every week.”

“Dylan, this is your child. The one you said you wanted.”

I can see the frustration mounting. “Yes, but I thought that you’d be more helpful.”

“I am going to help when it’s my time with them.”

“I meant that you can keep the baby when I have to film or travel for premieres,” he says with exasperation. “I’ll pay you so you don’t have to work.”

My voice returns to its original softness. “I can’t rely on that. I’ll need the income on my own, plus benefits. So back to my original point: You’ll have to keep the baby every other week during the summer and then half of the week during school.”

“I can’t.”

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