“I’m not scared anymore. I’m finally doing what is right . . . for both of us.”
Tanner couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “And the baby? What about what’s right for our child, Melanie?”
“Our baby will know love, from both of us,” she assured him. “We just won’t be living together.”
Tanner wasn’t going to stand there and argue with her. He wasn’t going to let her give up, either. He wasn’t lying when he said he’d finish this fight.
Neville Prescott was about to meet his match, and not in the form of a woman he could blackmail, abuse, or threaten.
Without another word, he stepped from her room. Leaning on the wall across from him were Cash and Jax. They met his eyes and Tanner gripped his fists at his sides and crossed to them.
“We need to talk privately.”
Because he needed the help of his best friends, and there was no way he was going to let Melanie go through this alone. She was going to need Livie and Jade as well.
Chapter Nineteen
It’s not who you think you are that holds you back,
it’s who you think you’re not.
—Mel’s Motivational Blog
“I’m really fine,” Melanie stated for the fifth time in what seemed as many minutes. “Just do whatever you guys would normally be doing.”
She settled back on the sofa in her house. Well, Livie’s old house. Jade and Livie had picked her up once the doctor had given her the all-clear earlier that morning. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit a piece of her heart had utterly crumbled when Tanner had walked out and hadn’t come back today. He hadn’t called or texted. Livie and Jade hadn’t mentioned him, either.
Melanie had pushed him out to keep him protected—isn’t that what she wanted? Above all else, she had to protect Tanner and their child. Neville didn’t just toss around idle threats. He would ruin Tanner the first chance he got. But Melanie only hoped that if she proved they weren’t together, then there would be no more threats against him. And if Neville couldn’t use Tanner against Melanie, then he wouldn’t have any way to blackmail her into another hellish marriage.
Because, in the end, Melanie would go public with her pictures and documents if she had to. That was the last thing she wanted. Yes, the harm would be on Neville, but she’d be putting herself out as a victim, and she’d sworn she’d never be that woman again. Showing such vulnerability wasn’t something she wanted to do, but again, she’d do anything to protect Tanner and the baby.
“I’m actually going to send a few résumés out later today,” Jade stated. “I found several places where I think I’d be a good fit, and I need to move on with my life. I can’t be here forever.”
Melanie sat up straighter. “You’re leaving Haven?”
“Well, there’s not much here for me to do.” She lifted one slender shoulder in a shrug and plopped down in the leather accent chair. “Not as far as work. I need to get back to feeling like I’m contributing, and the longer I go without a job, the more I feel like I’m mooching off Livie.”
Livie laughed and propped her hip against the opposite end of the couch, where Melanie sat with her feet propped up.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Livie stated. “This house needs to be lived in. I can’t bear the thought of selling it.”
Melanie recalled a time not so long ago when that was exactly Livie’s intention. She’d wanted to sell anything to do with her past, but instead she’d chosen to embrace it.
“Well, I’m staying.” Melanie attempted to find a comfortable spot, but with the damn sling she just looked like a bug on its back trying to maneuver. “So this house won’t go empty as long as you don’t care I’m here. I don’t care to mooch.”
Jade rolled her eyes. “You’re not mooching. You’re pregnant and you’ll be at Tanner’s when—”
“When what?” Melanie asked.
Jade and Livie exchanged a look as silence joined their party. Melanie’s stare volleyed back and forth, but her friends remained tight-lipped.
“Spill it,” she demanded. “What is going on?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Livie stood up and grabbed her keys from the table by the front door. “I need to get back home.”
“Sit down.” Melanie pointed to the couch with her good hand. “Nobody is going anywhere until I know what you-all know. I should’ve realized something was up when neither of you mentioned Tanner this morning.”
“What you need to focus on right now is getting better,” Jade said as she reached over and patted Melanie’s leg.