You Always Have Me

Part 17

"Stevie! Stevie, wait please!" Beth saw her leaving Jeremy's room in tears. 

"What?" Stevie asked weakly, wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. 

Placing her hands on Stevie's shoulders, Beth said. "You can't give up like this. I don't know what you and Dad were arguing about, but I'm sure some of it had to do with my Mom. Yes, I love her, but you are my father's wife. You have every right to be here by his side." For someone so young, she was making a lot of sense. "Take a deep breath, calm down and go back to Dad and talk. I understand that you're angry, but give him a chance, please?"

Thinking for a moment, Stevie then nodded, sighing. "You're right, you're absolutely right. I just wasn't expecting this at all."

"It came as a shock to me as well, I had no idea that when my Mom said she had a new patient, she was talking about my own father." Looking around, Beth leaned in closer. "My Mom is not a bad person, but I know she loves Dad... I'm pretty sure Aunt Evelyn has a lot to do with this arrangement."

"She does." Stevie confirmed. "Your Dad told me it was her who called your mother."

"I didn't know she was that malicious. My parents hadn't even been together for that long after I was born, when they realized things weren't working out. What is she trying to prove now?" Beth asked rhetorically, shaking her head. "Maybe I'll talk to Mom later and get something out of her."

"You don't have to do that, she'll only think it's me making you ask questions." Stevie waved it off. "Like you said, I need to calm down, before I say something more that I'll regret later."

"You do that." Beth nodded. "Are you going to go say hi to grandma? She's with Lily, they're getting to know each other." She chuckled and so did Stevie, as they linked arms and climbed the stairs up.

Approaching Martha's room, they could hear Lily telling a fascinating story, which Martha listened to very carefully, smiling at the girl's enthusiasm, at the same time wondering, why would Jeremy hide her from the family. Martha looked up, noticing Stevie and Beth in the doorway. 

"Well, hello there." She smiled warmly. "Come on in, we were just having a little chat."

"Oh, we heard." Stevie said, bending over to greet Jeremy's mother, who then showed her to sit down. 

"Lily here is a delight!" 

Lily suddenly got shy, when all eyes settled on her, moving to sit on Stevie's lap. "She's my greatest joy. I love her so much and it's been such a short period of time. I can't imagine not having her in my life." Pressing a kiss to the back of Lily's head, Stevie also hugged her, gently squeezing.

"Would it be okay if we continued with your story a little later, sweetheart? I want to have a word with your Mommy, please." Martha asked and Lily gave a small nod, taking Beth's hand, as they left, closing the door too. "Was it her who already made you cry?" 

 Frowning, Stevie didn't really understand. "What makes you say that? And who made me cry?"

"My daughter." Sighing, Martha continued. "She's mine and I love her with all my heart, but she's been up to no good. When Thomas and she brought Jeremy here, she told me things like you're happy he's been taken off your hands, that you're relieved, that you don't even love him to begin with." Stevie gasped, unable to believe this. "I don't know what it is she has against you, but she doesn't like you and I'm so sorry, because I think you're a great woman and by the looks of things, a wonderful mother." Taking a moment, Martha was deciding whether to say what else she knew. "Nicole being here is not a coincidence. I wasn't meant to eavesdrop, but... from what I understand, Evelyn is trying to turn Jeremy against you, so he and Nicole can get back together. My daughter and that woman had been good friends for years, but I'm not sure if she's doing this to help Nicole or to break you and my son up. Stevie, you have to do something if you want to save your marriage."

Speechless, Stevie was trying to process everything she had just heard from Martha. She knew something fishy was going on, but she definitely did not think Evelyn was trying to ruin her and Jeremy's relationship. 

"What do I do? Where do I start?"

"Honestly, I think we should wait a little, to make sure if Evelyn is serious about this and how far she's prepared to take this. Maybe, just maybe things aren't exactly as I understand them to be, I wouldn't want to cause any more problems."

"So, you're saying I should watch my husband being taken away from me?"

"No, I'm saying let's not jump to conclusions."

"But you've just told me-" Stevie was cut off by the door opening and Beth coming in. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Dad's begging you to come see him."

Looking between Martha and Beth, Stevie got up, excusing herself. She needed to think about everything she was told, before she acted on it. Thankfully, Stevie didn't run into Evelyn on her way to Jeremy's room, because if she had, she wasn't so sure she could have kept her cool. 

"Baby..." Jeremy said almost inaudible, once he saw her standing in the doorway. "Please, come here." Not saying anything, Stevie did that, approaching his bed and sitting down by his side. "I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me for yelling those things at you and not telling you about Nicole. I know I've made a mistake and I am truly sorry. I don't know what came over me. Please, Steph, I love you so much..." He was on the verge of tears and it was breaking her heart.

"I love you, too." She finally said, smiling a little.

So much had happened already since Stevie and the girls arrived only several hours ago. There was definitely a lot to think through, but one thing Stevie knew for sure - she was not going to let Evelyn win. She believed that her and Jeremy's marriage was strong and she was going to show everyone that nobody could come in between them.