One More Night (Niall Horan)

Chapter Thirty-Two: Ditto

“What is she doing here?” Molly asked, her eyes darting around the room, but we all know she was focusing on me. She cradled her baby’s head, pressing her against her body, as if trying to protect me from the baby.

“We came here because we found something out.” Liam speaks first, and then gestures for her to sit down, but Molly stays right where she is.

“Well get onto it then.” Niall says, he too seems panicked, and I want nothing more than to tell him there’s nothing to tell to protect him from this pain he will soon feel. How are you supposed to tell a father that he’s not a father? Molly had no right to do this to him.

“Molly.” I say, her name tasting bitter in my mouth. This woman… who I’ve spent far too long hating. With good reason, yet I still did not feel an inch of pity for her. This was all brought on herself. This is not my fault. “Are you going to tell him? Be decent for once?”

“What are you talking about?” She asks, but I can smell her lie in the air.

“Don’t be like this. This is hard enough as it is.” I get to my feet, restraining my hand from dragging her blonde hair and throwing her to the floor. “Do you not care about anyone or anything about yourself and fame? Is this all for fame?”

“No!” She takes a step backwards, stroking her daughter’s hair. “I didn’t mean-I don’t- I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I take another step towards her, but a hand on my wrist stops me, and I turn to lock eyes with Niall, his eyes full of confusion, hurt, maybe even humiliation that this all had to come out with others in the room.

“I’m so sorry.” I tell him, “I hate being the one to say this, but the baby isn’t yours. It’s Seth’s.” I hear Molly cry out and then the baby starts to let out a cry too, but I watch as Niall’s face falls. His eyebrows furrow, his eyes almost close yet well up with tears until the first tears spills over the surface, his mouth is contorting into one straight line, yet the tears rolling down his cheeks are the only sign that he’s really fully understanding what is going on. The daughter who he had grown to love was not his daughter.

His hold on my wrist falls slack until it moves down towards my hand, and then slowly our fingers interlock as I run my thumb over his skin to try and calm him, to offer some comfort. Yet I know I can’t overstep the line.

"Don't just say it like that!" Molly yells, and she places Pippa in a cot beside the TV, "I was scared, so scared!"

"Scared of what? All of this coming out?" Niall asks, his cheeks growing red in anger and I squeeze his hand tightly to show that I'm here.

"No! Seth was a rubbish boyfriend, and then when you two broke up after you and I... well when we got together, I ended things for good with Seth, I had absolutely no idea that I was pregnant, just as I didn't know I was pregnant when we were together. Then... when I found out I was, who was there? Seth refused to answer my calls and was off in Dubai doing 'soul-searching' and you two were off running away together. So... When I finally got hold of Seth he told me to get lost even after I told him I was pregnant, then I flew out to America when I found out that you two were there and I told you the baby was yours because it was my only option. I couldn't provide for Pippa! I didn't want her growing up without a father because of my stupid mistakes, I just wanted what was best for her, and I knew that-"

"That Niall would look after you and your baby." I finish, "You're disgusting. You used him to provide for a daughter that isn't his."

"it wasn't like that! But then... when Seth got back everyone was buzzing about Niall Horan's baby and he came back, and told me he wanted to be there for the baby. But I said it was too late for him to be a father to my baby, that Niall was there for her." She shakes her head, "Then I fell back in love with him and it became more and more difficult to keep shutting him out for Niall's sake, so I agreed to him being there, as... as a friend or something for the time-being. So I named her Pippa after-"