Chapter 4 - The Eleven Days That Changed Everything
Violet did not answer immediately.
Beckett sat beside the bassinet with both hands resting on his knees.
No command.
No demand.
“I want to hold her,” he repeated quietly. “But only if you think it's okay.”
That last sentence surprised her.
Beckett rarely asked permission.
His entire adult life had rewarded certainty. Rooms opened when he approached. People adjusted their schedules. Problems moved because Beckett expected them to.
But now he waited.
Violet looked at Celeste.
The monitors showed a steady rhythm.
Finally, she nodded.
“Wash your hands.”
He stood immediately.
He washed them longer than necessary.
Twice.
Violet almost laughed.
“You're going to remove your fingerprints.”
“I don't know what I'm doing.”
It was the second time that day he had admitted uncertainty.
Violet lifted Celeste carefully.
“Sit.”
He obeyed.
“Support her head.”
“I know that.”
“You just said you don't know what you're doing.”
“Fair point.”
Violet positioned the baby against his chest.
For one terrifying second, Beckett didn't move.
Then Celeste settled into the bend of his arm.
Everything changed.
Violet saw it happen.
His entire face softened.
The hard lines around his mouth disappeared.
His shoulders lowered.
He stared at the little girl as if someone had placed the universe in his hands and forgotten to provide instructions.
“She weighs nothing.”
“Six pounds, four ounces.”
“That's nothing.”
“She's bigger than when she was born.”
Beckett looked up.
“How much?”
“Five pounds, eleven.”
His eyes changed.
Another fact he had missed.
Another moment he could never recover.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Time?”
Violet frowned.
“What?”
“What time was she born?”
“2:14 a.m.”
“Which hospital?”
“This one.”
“Were you alone?”
The question was quiet.
Violet looked away.
“My friend Claire was with me.”
“But I wasn't.”
“No.”
He looked back at Celeste.
“I should have been.”
Violet's throat tightened.
“You didn't know.”
“Because you didn't tell me.”
The softness vanished slightly.
There it was.
The wound beneath everything.
She crossed her arms.
“Don't do this while you're holding her.”
“I’m not starting an argument.”
“You are.”
“I’m stating a fact.”
“Facts are your favorite weapons.”
He looked at her.
“Then give me yours.”
“My what?”
“Your facts. All of them. I want to know exactly what happened after you left.”
She almost refused.
Instead, she sat.
Maybe she owed him that much.
“Eleven days after I left, I found out.”
He glanced down at Celeste.
“Where?”
“My apartment.”
“You already had an apartment?”
“I rented it two days after leaving.”
“With what money?”
Violet gave him an incredulous look.
“I had my own money.”
“I know. That came out wrong.”
“Yes.”
He sighed.
“Continue.”
“I took four tests.”
“Four?”
“I thought the first three might be defective.”
The corner of Beckett's mouth lifted.
“That sounds like you.”
“It absolutely sounds like you.”
He almost laughed.
The sound surprised both of them.
Violet continued.
“The next morning, I made an appointment.”
“Why didn't you call me after the doctor confirmed it?”
“Because I was scared.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep acting like fear is irrational if you don't personally understand it.”
He absorbed the criticism.
“Okay.”
Violet blinked.
“Okay?”
“I’m trying to understand it.”
She looked at him for a long moment.
Then she told him.
About morning sickness so severe she had once fallen asleep on the bathroom floor.
About quitting her old clinic because Beckett knew everyone there.
About moving twice after one of his investigators came too close.
His head snapped up.
“You knew I was looking for you?”
“Yes.”
“And you intentionally avoided them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew if they found me, you would find me.”
“That was the point.”
“I wasn't ready.”
“You were carrying my child.”
“I was carrying my child too.”
He fell silent.
Violet continued more gently.
“I kept thinking I'd contact you once I had figured out what I wanted to say.”
“And?”
“I never figured it out.”
Beckett stared at Celeste.
“You could have said two words.”
“What words?”
“I’m pregnant.”
Violet's eyes burned.
“And then what?”
“I don't know.”
“Exactly.”
He looked at her.
“I would've had a right to know.”
“Yes.”
The immediate agreement surprised him.
Violet's voice trembled.
“You did have a right. I know that now. Maybe I even knew it then. But every time I imagined telling you, I saw your face at that restaurant.”
He closed his eyes.
“I hate that man.”
“You were that man.”
“I know.”
“No. I don't think you do.”
His eyes reopened.
“Then help me.”
Violet stared at him.
Beckett looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
For years, she had wanted him to ask her exactly those words.
Help me understand.
She never expected him to say them while holding their daughter.
“My father left when I was six,” Violet said.
Beckett knew that.
But she had rarely discussed it.
“He called every few months. Birthday cards. Christmas checks. Promises to visit. My mother never said anything terrible about him. She didn't need to.”
Beckett listened.
“I remember waiting by the window when he said he was coming. Every car made me think it was him.”
Violet looked at Celeste.
“I promised myself I would never give my child a father who considered her optional.”
Beckett's face tightened.
“You thought I would.”
“I thought you already had.”
He looked devastated.
Before he could answer, Celeste moved.
Her face scrunched.
Then she began crying.
Beckett panicked.
“What happened?”
“She's a baby.”
“Is she hurting?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that's her hungry cry.”
“She has different cries?”
Violet couldn't stop herself.
She laughed.
For the first time in eight months, she laughed in Beckett's presence.
He stared at her.
And for one brief second, they were themselves again.
Then Violet took Celeste to feed her.
Beckett stood beside the window.
His phone remained dark.
He eventually switched it on.
Forty-three missed calls.
Seventy-eight messages.
His COO.
His attorney.
His board chairman.
His assistant.
The merger partner's CEO.
One message sat above all the others.
MERGER TEAM HAS WALKED OUT. STOCK IS FALLING. WE NEED YOU NOW.
Violet saw his expression.
“Go.”
He looked at her.
“Beckett, go.”
He stared at Celeste.
Then at the monitors.
“I’ll come back.”
“You don't have to.”
His expression sharpened.
“Yes, I do.”
He put on his jacket.
At the door, he stopped.
“When?”
Violet frowned.
“When what?”
“When will they know about her heart?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll be here.”
Then he left.
Violet watched him go.
She had heard promises from men before.
She had built her life around not trusting them.
What she didn't know was that Beckett was about to walk into the most important corporate meeting of his career—
May you like
and make a decision that would prove exactly what his promise was worth.
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