Whispers of Deceit.

Chapter 4

The car hummed along the motorway, the only sound punctuating the silence between us. Fifteen minutes to his parents' house, and not a single word had been exchanged. The weight of our unspoken conflict hung heavily in the air, and irritation bubbled beneath my skin. It felt pathetic that we couldn't even manage a civil conversation for one night. I could almost hear Helen's delighted cackle in my head, revelling in the idea that we were at odds.

"Am I allowed to talk to you tonight, or should I just steer clear of conversation altogether?" I finally broke the silence, my voice sharper than intended.

He scoffed, the sound cutting through the tension. "Don't be such a child."

"Really? In what world am I being the child right now?" I shot back, my patience fraying. "You've ignored me all day. You're blunt, cold... I get it, you're upset. But for one night, can we just act like adults and put this behind us? You want something you can't have, and I feel like you're punishing me for it. I'm not trying to ruin your life; I just want you to see things from my perspective!"

He let out a frustrated sigh, his knuckles gripping the steering wheel tight. "I guess you're right. I haven't asked you why you don't want children. Do you have a specific reason?"

I turned my gaze to the window, the scenery blurring by as I contemplated how to articulate my truth.

"Honestly? I'm selfish. I love how things are between us. We both have careers, a beautiful home, and most importantly, we have time for each other. When my friends started having kids, I'd hold their babies, and I didn't feel that rush of maternal instinct everyone talks about. I don't want to force myself into something I don't feel. I'm sorry if it hurts you, but I can't pretend to want kids when I don't. I worry that if I did have children, I'd end up resenting them for the changes to my life and body."

Silence enveloped the car again, but this time it felt different. I glanced over at him, watching as he processed my words, the tension etched into his face slowly beginning to ease. It pained me to lay it all out like this, but he needed to understand that my feelings were firm.

"Okay," he finally said, his voice softer.

"Okay?" I echoed, surprised.

He nodded, turning his gaze toward me, sincerity in his eyes. "Yes, okay. I will never force you to do something you don't want to do. I won't bring it up again. If you ever change your mind, just know I would jump at the chance. But you're right... it is your body. I understand now. What I said earlier was unfair. I could never resent you for this. I love you, Lia. A life without you is no life worth living."

My throat tightened as tears prickled at the corners of my eyes. I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, overwhelmed with gratitude for his understanding. "Thank you. I'm so grateful for you."

A smile broke across his face, and the tension in the car began to dissipate like morning mist. As we continued our journey, light conversation flowed between us like a long-lost melody returning. I felt a weight lift from my shoulders, relief washing over me. We had navigated through the storm, and I was glad to leave that god-awful topic behind. Kids were for boring couples or those looking to patch up a faltering marriage—end of discussion.

When we pull up to Jared's parents house he presses the code into the gates and they open. The driveway up to his parents house is a two minute long drive. Beautiful trees and hedges covering both sides of the drive.

I roll my eyes at the amount of cars in their driveway. A few people round my ass. Jared struggles to park our range rover in the already very busy drive, there are already at least 15 other cars in the drive.

Jared's dad Patrick owns an architectural firm, taken over from his father and his father before. They built some of the most prestigious skyscrapers and residential buildings all over the world. You would not believe the clients he's had and the amounts of money the company has brought in since it was established in 1953, lets just say its sickly money.