I knew Callum's game; he always had one. But this was different; it was more than just a show of force. It was about my son.
I quickly read through the clauses, each one more ridiculous than the last, until one caught my eye.
I read out loud, "Clause 12: Callum Dane will have full custody of the child, but Juniper Blake will have primary care and parental rights." The words made my blood boil.
What did that mean? Full custody, but in his name? My heart raced.
I looked over it again, hoping I had missed anything. But no. The ink was easy to see. Callum would be in charge of everything, but I would be the one to raise our son.
Is it really possible for me to agree to that?
I threw the paper down and ran my fingers through my hair. The stress inside me grew like a storm I couldn't get away from. On the one hand, the offer meant I would have money and a sense of safety I hadn't felt in years. But on the other hand, it meant giving up control. My freedom is gone.
I stared at the paper, and my mind was racing. I couldn't sign it, could I? But what other option did I have? I needed this. I had to make sure my son had all he needed.
Callum was promising protection, but at what price? Power? My freedom? It made my chest hurt just to think about it.
Not yet could I make up my mind.
The moment the contract hit the table, I felt its weight in my chest. But Callum wasn't finished. He didn't give me a chance to breathe before coming closer, and his voice was lower than I'd ever heard it before.
"I didn't come here to control you, Juniper," he murmured, his eyes dark and serious. "I came because I want to keep him safe." "Our son."
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "Keep him safe? You think you can just waltz back into our life, set the rules, and all of a sudden you're the one who's going to protect him?
His jaw got tighter. "It's not like that. I didn't know anything about him. I wasn't sure if I would ever be a part of his life. I wasn't ready, but I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere.
I could hear how desperate he was, yet something about it didn't feel right. "Callum... you went away. I accomplished it all by myself. I stopped and said, "You think that I," my voice thick with emotion. "I had to raise him without you, and now you want to come in, sign a contract, and make everything better?"
He shook his head and walked closer. "You think I don't realise I messed up? You think I don't wish I hadn't left? I deal with that every day. But what I want now is to be there for him. For you. "I won't mess this up again."
What he said hurt more than I thought it would. For a moment, the walls I had created fell down. In some respects, he was right. He had harmed me, yet now he was here. He wanted to be in our son's life. That raw, weak aspect of him that I had never seen before made my heart hurt.
But then fear hit me, like a frigid wave slamming over the warmth of his words.
"What about me?" I said in a whisper. "What's my place in all of this?"
Callum didn't answer right away. He was still staring at me, as if he could see every break in my soul. His silence was louder than any words.
My heart raced as I looked at Callum. There was a lot of raw emotion and uncertainty in the air between us. My heart raced as I weighed the horror of what might happen if I agreed to his request against the tiny optimism that this might work.
I murmured gently, "You're asking me to trust you," and the words tasted bad. "After all that. The way you walked away.
Callum's jaw got tighter, but his eyes got a little softer. "I don't expect people to trust me. Please give me an opportunity to show you. To show you that I can be there for him. For both of you.
I swallowed hard because I was worried about what this would entail for my future. "And what about the news? The news? For years, people have been looking closely at your life. Do you believe they'll let this go without a fight?
He said in a low, forceful voice, "I don't care what they think." "We'll keep it a secret." No one else knows about this. "Not until it's needed."
"And you want me to live like this?" "Are you hiding?" The thought made me feel trapped. "I've fought for my freedom, Callum." For my boy. "This contract... it feels like I'm being boxed in again."
His face got a little harder, yet there was something else there, maybe guilt. "I'm not asking you to be stuck. I want you to be in charge. Your freedom. But I need the law to back me up. For both of us."
I looked at the contract again. It was so heavy that it was hard to breathe. But Callum was right about one thing. I'd be safe if I signed this. For Ben. For me.
"Are you sure this stays between us?" I enquired, looking him in the eye.
"Of course. No one knows.
I took a deep breath, and the finality of the moment hit me. I was nervous when I picked up the pen since I knew I was entering a realm I didn't completely understand.
"I'll sign," I responded in a hushed voice. "But if something goes wrong, Callum, it's your fault." You can't take anything away from me again.
He nodded and looked me in the eye. For the first time in a long time, I saw a glimmer of something real. It may have been remorse. Or perhaps it was something else.
But even after I signed the contract, the aching in my chest didn't go away. Instead, it grew, and the tension between us grew, leaving me unclear if I had just made the worst decision of my life or the only one I had left.
But there I was, in the centre of it all, holding my son tightly to me as if he might somehow protect me from the heaviness of what I had just agreed to.
Callum had insisted, with no room for debate or discussion. He was sure that was the safest place for Ben and me, and even though my stomach was in knots, I had to agree with him. The apartment was like a fortress we couldn't find anyplace else. It had great views of the city and a lot of security.
"I'll stay out of your way," I stated in a calm voice as I looked around the simple room, attempting to find my footing. "I just need a place for him to sleep where no one can get to us."
Callum was beside the door with his hands in his pockets. He looked at me, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. "I'm not telling you to get out of my way. Please stay. For him.
His remarks made me tense up and the air felt heavy all of a sudden. This wasn't merely a place to hide. It felt like something else, something that would last forever, and that scared me. The thought of being here, under his house, with no way out but to sign a piece of paper made me feel small.
I said, "You can't just keep us here like we're a project," and my voice shook even though I didn't want it to. "I said yes to this because it's safer for him." But it doesn't mean I'm ready to be a part of your world again, Callum.
He stepped forward, and his gaze got softer. "I know." I don't think you will be.
I hurriedly turned away so he wouldn't see the anger on my face. My son moved in my arms, disrupting the quiet. I clutched him tighter and told myself that this wasn't about Callum or his empire; it was about keeping Ben safe. That was all that mattered.
I tried to keep myself occupied by putting Ben's things in the corner of the room, but I couldn't stop thinking about him. His presence was like a heavy weight on my chest that pulled me down with every silent second that went by.
Finally, I broke the silence and muttered, "I don't know how this is supposed to work." My voice was just above a whisper.
Callum didn't move or blink. He just stood there, looking at me steadily, and the space between us seemed to crackle. "I don't either," he responded in a hushed voice. "But I'm not going."
I swallowed hard because the rawness of his words made my heart race. It wasn't fury anymore. It wasn't power. It was something more, something I couldn't put my finger on, something I hadn't seen in him before.
I looked out the window, where the city lights blinked like stars in the distance. "I don't know if I can do this, Callum," I said, my voice shaking. "You say you're here for him, but I don't get it. I don't know what you want from me.
"I'm not asking for anything from you," he said, taking a step closer. His voice was low, almost like he was confessing. "I just want to be in his life." A part of your life."
I felt a peculiar pull in my chest, as if his words were dragging me in, even if my head was telling me to hold back. The space between us got smaller, and for a while, I thought about whether I could ever be that open again and trust him with my son and my emotions.
But I wasn't ready to say that yet.
I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts. "I don't know how to be with you again, Callum."
He didn't answer right away; he just stood there and watched me, as if he were waiting for me to say something. But I couldn't. The air was too thick and the stress was too much.
We didn't talk to each other again. And for the first time in years, I didn't know which way to go next.