Forbidden Passions

60|| We Deserved Better

|Xavier Conway|

"I thought you weren't going to wish her after all," Sebastian said, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, the dim light from inside casting shadows across his face. There was a coolness in his tone, but I could see the tension in his posture—the way his jaw tightened slightly.

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of my absence over the past few days settle heavily on my shoulders. "I didn't know if I should come," I admitted, my voice low. "With everything that's happened..."

Sebastian stepped aside, motioning for me to enter, but the threshold felt like a chasm. I hadn't seen Elena in days, hadn't faced the reality of what I'd done—or what I hadn't done. "She's been waiting, you know. It's her birthday," he said, his gaze unwavering. "She misses you."

The mention of her name twisted something inside me. I wanted to reach out, to bridge the distance I'd created, but the guilt clawed at me. "I know," I said, almost pleading. "But how do I explain this? I'm—I'm scared, Sebastian. Scared of what it means."

I'd been for days, and even now, I couldn't bring myself to think about what would become of us. I hated myself deeply for even considering such a decision, one that would be cruel and unfair to everything we'd shared from the day I met her until I broke her heart.

"Scared?" He echoed, disbelief mingling with concern. "You think she's not scared too? You ghosting her like this, it's not just hurting you. It's hurting her." His voice softened, and I could see the understanding in his eyes—a flicker of empathy I hadn't expected.

"Her sister's unborn baby could be mine, Sebastian," I confessed, my heart racing. "I can't just pretend that doesn't change everything."

I had no control over the situation. Delilah was confident that the baby was mine, and ever since I felt her heartbeat, something inside me had shifted. A great part of me felt she was mine, and the conflicting thoughts it pressured into my mind had been driving me nuts for hours.

Sebastian's expression shifted, the weight of my words sinking in. "And you think the best way to handle it is to disappear? She deserves to know what you're feeling, even if it's complicated."

"I didn't want to hurt her," I replied, frustration boiling over. "But it feels like a bomb dropped in the middle of everything. I can't—"

"You have to," he interrupted, a firm edge to his voice. "You two had something special she cherished and is still clinging onto, whether it's a mistake or not. You owe her that much. You owe yourself that much."

I hesitated, feeling the swell of emotions I had tried so hard to suppress. The weight of the choices I'd made, the tangled lines between us, felt unbearable. "What if I've ruined everything?"

I had. There was no doubt about that. I'd failed us and made things even worse by failing to communicate with her.

Sebastian took a step closer, lowering his voice. "You won't know until you try, and just so you know, she met her dad today, so her feelings might be all over the place. Don't give up on her too easily. She deserves that much from you."