HOLLY

IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON WHEN AMELIA took them to her place. She wanted to go home; she knew how this was going to end. Somehow, he wouldn’t be able to break off this wedding. She just knew it.

But Robin begged.

She really thought that Robin would hate her forever, but she apologized on the way back to the restaurant where Rod and Jane were waiting for them.

When Holly told Amelia she wanted to go home, it wasn’t just Amelia who spoke nicely, Robin begged too.

She hadn’t met Jamie because of how she’d felt yesterday, and she would do anything to give a chance to spend some time with her niece, so Holly went to Amelia’s place.

She had a beautiful home. It wasn’t the one Holly remembered. The one where Jake and Armand and Robin made signs the night before the walking against abortion run that Amelia and she had joined. 

This one was bigger; it was built for an entire village. Holly felt so sad for Amelia not being able to fill it with little footsteps running in the hallway.

It was a two-story, gray home with stone walls. It had an elegant water feature in the middle of the driveway. Four garages and an ornate wooden door carved into a wildlife scene.

Out back was a swimming pool and a play area, which Jamie thought was just for her.

Inside was big, spacious, decorated with very expensive yet comfortable furniture with family photos, not just of her and Armand but of all her family.

Holly stopped to look at the walls.

The years that she missed.

She found one photo of Jake that nearly broke her heart; she herself had plenty of pictures of his daughter sitting in that same position, just staring at nothing.

Was he thinking of them, or her? Of what life should’ve been like?

A tear rolled down her cheek.

Amelia had a beautiful home. Six bedrooms, a huge granite kitchen, an open floor plan that led into a gorgeous dining room and lounge.

She watched Jamie as she played in the swimming pool with Robin, Armand, and Amelia.

Her mother and Rodney were sitting on the deck chairs outside. Her mother sure enjoyed this luxury.

He had to stop this wedding. It was his turn to fight for her and Jamie now.

She looked at the clock again.

It’d been three hours.

How long did he need to break off a wedding? Mara had already admitted to them that she’d wanted Holly to get the abortion, unless…

Jane tapped her leg. She hadn’t even noticed her mom had come in.

“Stop it,” she said softly. Jamie shrieked out of pure fun.

It was obvious that Jamie was enjoying every minute of her aunts’ and uncles’ company. She wished that she could enjoy this moment, too, but she was dying with worry about what-if again.

Her first what-if had been right, so who was to say that the second one wasn’t right as well? 

“I have a headache. Could you please get Jamie in the bath for me, and then sort her out for bed?”

“I’m sure Amelia would do that happily.”

Holly smiled and give her mother a hug. 

“He is going to come back, Holly.”

Holly’s smile dropped. She got up and left. She wasn’t convinced that Jake would call the wedding off, even after Amelia’s assurances. But if he had, surely he would’ve been back already? She fell onto the bed in one of Amelia’s guest rooms. It was a gorgeous room with a four-poster bed and all its frills. 

An awful feeling crept up inside of her, one that was telling her she would never again call him hers. The day she lost Romalia kept playing through Holly’s mind. She remembered being so scared that because Romy died next to Jamie, the death would somehow be passed along and she’d lose Jamie too. It still hurt so much, like it had happened only yesterday.

She started to cry but somehow forced herself to stop thinking about Romalia. But then it washed over into Jake. She couldn’t help but see him that day when he and Kate were busy in his office. The office changed to his bedroom somewhere in that huge house of his. Kate was stunning, but this morning she showed a side of herself. A strong side, a side that was going to fight for Jake, just as hard as Holly had. Jake had known her longer than he knew Holly.

Then Mara had spat those words out, implying that Holly had become a doctor just to get Jake back. She hated his mother more than anything at that precise moment. 

She cried again until fatigue washed over her.

When she woke, it was dark.

Jake was still not here.

She heard Jamie’s laughter and looked at the clock; it was nine already.

Holly jumped out of bed. She should’ve been in bed already.

Running down the steps, she was ready to tell Amelia there are rules for a reason.

“Amelia, Jamie is supposed…” She paused. Jamie was sitting on Jake’s lap.

“You were saying?” Amelia asked as Jake stared at Holly.

She wanted to cry again. Jake got up and hugged her tightly.

“I’m so sorry about today.”

“Is the wedding off?” She spoke softly in his chest.

“I’m a man of my word, Holly. I’m all yours.” He lifted her chin to look at him. “It’s over.” He kissed her lips softly.

“Her bedtime is eight, eight-thirty at the latest.” Holly spoke in a stern voice and Jake suppressed his smile.

“That goes for you too, Missy,” She looked at Robin and Amelia.

“Yes, Mom,” Amelia joked.

“Do I have to, Mommy?”

“Yes,” Holly said. “Go, young lady.”

Jake shook his head. “How do you do that?” he asked Holly.

“You mean be a parent?” Holly teased. “You are a sucker for her, just admit.”

“Yeah, something clearly only Scallanger girls can do.”

“I’m with you on that one, my boy.” Uncle Frankie’s voice came out of nowhere. Holly and Jake just laughed.

“Where is my kiss, young lady?” Holly asked Jamie and she kissed her mother tonight.

“Can Daddy read me a story?”

“Music to my ears.” Jake acted out and Jamie laughed.

He picked Jamie up and threw her over his shoulder, holding her just by one foot.

He tickled her with the other and she cackled loudly.

Holly could watch them forever She stared at them as they disappeared down the hallway.

Amelia offered her a cup of cocoa.

“He came back about two hours ago. I told you he would break it off.”

Holly nodded.

“Don’t ever do that to us again, Holly. Please.” Amelia had tears in her eyes. Holly hugged her tightly.

“I promise. I will fight.”

****

After an hour, Holly went to investigate where Jake was and found him fast asleep with Jamie on the single bed.

She covered them with a blanket and kissed them softly on each cheek.

The past four days had been hard on all of them.

She could see that he was spent. But tomorrow was a brand-new day. And he was all hers.

She went back to the room where she slept in this afternoon and took a shower.

She didn’t know how long she was in there.

So many things crowded her mind. Charles was one of them. Her father was never going to accept this, but she didn’t give a shit anymore. He had no say in who she decided to spend the rest of life with.

Thoughts of Frank and his relentless questioning over the years filled her mind.

If she’d told him who Jamie’s father was, this would have been sorted out such a long time ago. She would’ve been with Jake from the beginning. Not just if she said his name, but if her mother went with on that one trip, she would’ve met them, and she knew her mother. Her mother wouldn’t have stayed, and the truth would’ve come out sooner.

She realized how many times there were that they could’ve found out, but hadn’t because something happened at the end and they couldn’t be where they were supposed to be. Eventually Jane saw it all as signs that she and Frank shouldn’t be together, but it wasn’t that, it was… not fate. It was a dark power that didn’t want the truth to come out.

Fate, on the other hand, was working her ass off the past five years for this to happen.

Holly was so wrong.

They were meant to be.

Tears streamed down her face.

She jumped as the door opened and saw Jake’s figure getting undressed outside.

He opened the shower door and wrapped his arms around her.

It took a few hesitant seconds, but then she flung her arms around him. She just had to kiss him. “I swear, I’m never going to let you go.” She said, as if he knew exactly how badly faith had tried for their paths to cross.

“I hope not,” he said, kissing her back.

Breaking the kiss, she dropped her head onto his chest. “What happened? A couple of hours after we left, I was worried.”

He stroked her arm gently. “I gave my mother an ultimatum and she took it. She told us everything.”

“She did?”

He nodded, recounting everything his mother had told them as he started to wash her back with a foamy sponge. It felt good but even better that it was her version. She couldn’t believe that Mara had denied it at first. 

“You said you gave her an ultimatum… which was?” she asked as she washed Jake.

“Ten one-hour sessions with a counselor for her to convince me why I need her in my life. My father gave her the same ultimatum.”

“What!” Holly couldn’t believe her ears.

“Yes, I have to admit that that was a shock. I knew my dad was angry, but divorce-her-type-of-angry didn’t cross my mind at all. She told him that his formula didn’t work. That it was because of that that you’d decided to leave and get an abortion. He felt awful that he couldn’t help you—or thousands of other women.”

Holly shook her head. 

“She gave me a pathetic reason for why she’d done it, saying that as you were from a broken home, you would not get anywhere in life, and it would never work between us, that you would drag me down with you and ruin me.”

“What?”

“Holly, don’t believe it for a second. She described herself, really, as she’s the one who ruined me, not you.”

“I should’ve stayed. She would’ve been caught much earlier, and perhaps Romalia would’ve lived.” She felt so angry at herself and just wanted to scream.

“Don’t, Holly. Please, don’t blame yourself. I’m begging you. It’s my fault, okay?” He lifted her chin and kissed her softly.

“It’s not.”

“I’m not talking about when you left. I’m talking about before. You trusted me to give you the right pill…” He stopped talking when her eyebrows furrowed, unsure as to what he was saying. “I didn’t do that.”

“Jake, c’mon, people sometimes get pregnant on the pill, it happens.”

He laughed and stroked his face. “You are going to hate me.”

“Not possible, hooligan.”

He laughed again. “I didn’t give you the pill. I gave you what Amelia was on to get pregnant.”

She gasped. “What?”

“I knew what I wanted the first time I saw you, simple as that. And I tried to pin you down. It backfired. I’m so sorry.”

She just stared at him. How could she be angry with him? Why hadn’t he told her this? She started to laugh.

“You’re not angry with me?”

“You want to tell me that you were the insecure woman in our relationship?”

He chuckled. “I guess that’s one way to frame it.”

“You had nothing to be insecure about, Jake Peters.”

“I know that now. Still, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t, it’s fine.”

Turning to face him, she cupped his face in both her hands and kissed him softly on the lips. It led to so much more.

It was amazing, just like the day before had been. But it was different than all the other times, as if he wanted to show her what she meant to him, even though it ended up being all over the place—rough, gentle, crazy, wanting more, and even more. It was as if he was inside her head, knowing precisely what she needed.

When both of them reached orgasm, well, more than two for Holly, she found herself on the bed, not knowing or caring when they got out of the shower. She just knew she was in his arms again with her head on his chest. She was so tired, but didn’t want to fall asleep ever again.

Zürich was going to be very hard to bear.

Jake kissed her again, and nibbled softly on her stomach. He kissed her scar, stroking it gently as if it was some sort of lifeline.

Holly laughed. It was her lifeline to get back into his life, and to think she’d tried to hide it.

“I dreamed one night that you told me about keeping the babies. I was angry that morning when I woke up, so I got up and left.”

“You dreamed about it?”

He smiled. 

“When?”

“That night we were so tired.”

She huffed, too. “I did tell you about them. Remember when I sent you that message about us speaking and asked if you remembered it?”

“Yes,” he said.

“I changed it to Zürich as I had a dream too, but in mine it was that you didn’t want them.”

“You told me about them while I was sleeping?”

“I was scared, Jake, but I tried.”

“While I was sleeping?”

“Hey, you gave me some sort of baby-making pill and I wasn’t even mad at you, you can’t be mad at me. I tried.”

He laughed and kissed her again.

“I was there the night they were born,” he whispered in her ear.

“What?”

He told her the story Frank had told them. How he’d had to leave Jake’s parents to take care of Jamie and Romalia. He’d been so close, and if his dad had just given his mom a miss that day and gone to the hospital to say goodbye, none of this would’ve happened. They would’ve probably been married by now, had six or seven kids as with their luck they’d all probably turn out to be twins, and no tears would’ve come from this. No heartache, no pain.

“I knew it,” she said, hugging him tighter.

“I was so close.”

“You were there. That’s all that matters.” He’d been there. She kissed him again.

That hallucination of her seeing him coming to her when she flatlined wasn’t just a hallucination. It was his soul letting hers know that he was there, that he’d never abandoned them, and that they’d both gotten screwed over. 

They would make it, she knew it. They would fight, make love, and have more kids. Nothing was standing in their way anymore, not even Zürich. She now knew Jake loved her and she loved him. Everything was as it should be and fate had always been on their side; they just didn’t listen and follow their hearts. But this time, she wasn’t going to run. She would fight, because she couldn’t live without him, not ever again.