Page 38 of Fake Fiancée, Real Baby
You’ve got to tell him you’re going to leave.
Her mind was made up. She couldn’t go on like this, and, with a sense of resolve, she went in search of him, finding him in his apartment watching TV.
“I’m glad you came,” he said, ushering her in.
“I need to talk to you,” Claire replied.
She wanted to get it over with — to tell him before she changed her mind. It was better this way. Better for them both. He looked at her curiously.
“Is everything all right? You’re not ill, are you? You can call Doctor Lambert night or day. I know we said we wouldn’t tell anyone yet, but he’s a doctor. He’s got to keep these things confidential.”
But Claire shook her head. She didn’t need a doctor. She needed to say what she was going to say.
“I’m not ill. Look, Adrien… I’ve been thinking about things, and I really think it’s for the best if… we call the wedding off, and I go back to Detroit. We were going to do it anyway, and given the restaurant can’t happen yet, there’s no point in me staying in Flandenne. I can have the baby quietly. No one needs to know it’s got anything to do with you,” she said.
Her words came out so quickly, it seemed Adrien didn’t entirely take them in. He looked at her in surprise.
“You… What do you mean?” he said, his expression turning to disbelief.
Claire felt awful. He looked hurt — genuinely hurt, and disbelieving, too.
“I mean, I don’t think we should get married. We were never meant to, and now the baby just complicates things, don’t you think? It’s too much, Adrien. This was all supposed to be easy, but it isn’t. I just feel… trapped.”
He shook his head, an imploring look coming over his face.
“No, Claire… we can’t just call it off. Think of everything that’s riding on it. It’ll be a disaster if we do,” he said.
“And it’ll be a disaster if we don’t,” she replied. “Look, I’m not going to demand money, and I’m not going to sell my story to a newspaper. Not now, or in eighteen years’ time when the kid grows up. You don’t need to worry about all that. It’ll be as if none of this ever happened.”
But it was one thing to think the words, and quite another to say them. In breaking what had become, Claire found herself doubting her resolve. To look at Adrien’s expression was to realize his sincerity. If he was acting a part, he was doing a very good job. He looked broken, as though this really was a breakup — a parting of hearts.
“Please, Claire… what is it you want me to do? Is it because of the restaurant? We can find a way with that, I’m sure. The baby doesn’t have to mean an end to your dreams.”
But Claire shook her head, even as her resolve was wavering.
“It’s not just that. It’s everything. I should’ve been honest from the start, but I was caught up in the dream of my restaurant. I wanted something new, but I didn’t realize it was going to be so… intense.”
It sounded glib when put like that, and Claire was finding less reason to believe what she was saying was really whatshe wanted. But to take it back now would mean accepting everything on Adrien’s terms. It was all so confusing…
“It doesn’t have to be. Please, Claire… won’t you reconsider? This is my baby, too. I want it as much as you do. We can work things out. I… I love you,” he said.
Claire was taken aback by these words. It was the first time he’d said as much, and to hear it said brought a lump to her throat. But did he really mean it? Did he love her as she needed him to? Claire had been so caught up in her dreams, she’d failed to recognize her own growing feelings towards Adrien, but as for falling in love with him…
“It feels too soon for that. I’m sorry,” she stammered.
In truth, Claire didn’t know what she was saying. It was all so confusing. She felt torn between what she wanted and what was best. Love was more than a word. It had to mean something. It had to mean everything.
Do I love him? I think I do… but I don’t think I can say it.
CHAPTER 20
ADRIEN
“And then she said it was too soon for all that,” Adrien said, sighing and shaking his head.
He’d sought refuge with Friedrich in his apartment away from the palace on the other side of Flandenne, confiding in him the truth about the baby, for there seemed little point in hiding it now. Claire’s ultimatum had come as a shock. He’d thought it was going to be easy — telling her he loved her, asking her to marry him for real. But to see the doubt in her face, and the obvious pain it was causing her, had cast a shadow over everything. Adrien had never wanted to force Claire’s hand, but now it felt as though she was slipping through his fingers like sand on a beach.
Friedrich looked at him and shrugged. “Don’t you think you need to see it from her point of view? You brought her here, you expected her to fit in, and now you’re expecting her to hide things away and not tell the truth about the baby. It’s your world, and she has to do everything your way — or worse, your parents’ way.”
