Updated Dec 29, 2025 • ~10 min read
Tessa stared at Liam’s text for three hours before responding.
We need to talk. – Liam
Four words that filled her with absolute terror.
How did he get her number? What did he want to talk about? Did he know? Could he possibly know?
No. Impossible. Julian didn’t know. No one knew except her.
Unless—
Her phone rang. Unknown number. The same number that had texted.
Liam.
Her thumb hovered over the decline button. She should ignore it. Should block the number. Should—
“Hello?” she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Tessa.” Liam’s voice was exactly how she remembered. Low. Warm. Devastating. “Finally. I’ve been trying to reach you for days.”
“How did you get my number?”
“Julian gave it to me. Said you moved across the country and wouldn’t tell him why. Said you’ve been avoiding his calls. Said something happened that made you leave.”
Damn it, Julian.
“I needed a fresh start,” Tessa said carefully. “After graduation, I just—I needed something new.”
“Did this fresh start have anything to do with me?”
Her breath caught. “What?”
“The night before you disappeared, I texted you. Asked if we could talk after graduation. You said yes. Then you vanished. So I’m asking: did you leave because of me? Because of what happened between us?”
Tessa closed her eyes. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t have this conversation. Not now. Not when Leo was sleeping in the next room and her entire life was built on keeping this secret.
“Liam, that was two years ago—”
“Two years I’ve spent wondering if I did something wrong. If I—if I pushed too hard or said something that scared you off. Two years, Tessa. And you wouldn’t even talk to me.”
The hurt in his voice made her chest ache. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“I told you. Fresh start. New job. New life. It wasn’t about you.”
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said bullshit. Because Julian’s been telling me you’re hiding something. And I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re lying. So either tell me the truth or—or at least have the decency to admit you don’t want to.”
God, why did he have to sound just like Julian? Why did everyone in her life have to know her so damn well?
“Fine,” she said, her voice tight. “I’m not ready to talk about it. Happy?”
“No. But at least it’s honest.” He paused. “Can I fly out there? To see you? We can talk in person. Or not talk. I just—I’d like to see you. Make sure you’re okay.”
Panic flooded through her. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Why not?”
“Because—” Because you can’t see Leo. Because one look at him and you’ll know. Because everything I’ve built will fall apart. “Because I’m not ready.”
“When will you be ready?”
“I don’t know. Maybe never. Liam, please. Just—just let this go.”
More silence. Then: “I can’t.”
“What?”
“I can’t let it go, Tessa. I’ve tried. God knows I’ve tried. But I’m back now. Working with Julian. Living in the same city where you used to be. And everywhere I go, I’m reminded of you. Of us. Of that night. And I—I need closure. Or something. Anything except this—this not knowing.”
Tessa’s eyes burned with unshed tears. “That night was a mistake.”
“Stop saying that.”
“It’s true—”
“It’s not!” His voice rose. “Maybe it shouldn’t have happened. Maybe it complicated things. But it wasn’t a mistake, Tessa. Not to me. And I don’t think it was to you either.”
“You don’t know what I think.”
“Then tell me. Stop hiding behind excuses and just—just tell me the truth. Did that night mean something to you? Or was I really just a mistake you needed to forget?”
She should lie. Should say it meant nothing. Should push him away once and for all.
But she was so tired of lying.
“It meant something,” she whispered. “Of course it did. But Liam, that doesn’t change anything. It was one night. Two years ago. We can’t—we can’t build a life on that.”
“I’m not asking you to build a life. I’m asking you to have a conversation. That’s it. Just—just talk to me. Please.”
God, she wanted to. Wanted to tell him everything. Wanted to stop carrying this secret alone. Wanted—
Leo cried out from his room. Just a small sound. But enough to make Tessa freeze.
“What was that?” Liam asked.
“Nothing. Just—my neighbor’s kid.”
“Sounded close.”
“Thin walls.” Her heart was hammering. “I have to go. Someone’s at the door.”
“Tessa, wait—”
She hung up. Dropped the phone like it burned. Stood there shaking.
That was too close. Way too close.
She couldn’t talk to Liam. Couldn’t let him come here. Couldn’t—
Her phone rang again. Liam. Again.
She didn’t answer.
It rang four more times before going silent. Then a text: I know you’re hiding something. And I’m going to find out what it is.
Tessa stared at the message, her hands trembling.
He knew. Or suspected. Either way, he wasn’t going to let this go.
Which meant she had exactly two options:
Tell him the truth. Let him into Leo’s life. Risk—risk everything.
Or run. Again. Disappear completely. Change her name. Move across the country. Start over.
Both options felt impossible.
Both options felt inevitable.
She just had to decide which impossible choice she could live with.
For the next week, Tessa avoided Liam’s calls. Ignored his texts. Pretended everything was fine.
It wasn’t fine.
Julian called daily. Demanding answers. Asking what was going on. Why was Liam so obsessed with talking to her. What happened between them.
“Nothing happened,” she lied. “He’s just being weird.”
“He’s my business partner now, Tess. Which means I see him every day. And every day, he asks about you. It’s getting uncomfortable.”
“Then tell him to stop.”
“I did. He won’t. Says he needs to talk to you about something important. Says it’s personal.” Julian paused. “Did you two hook up or something?”
Tessa’s stomach dropped. “What? No. Of course not.”
“Because that would explain a lot. Why you left so suddenly. Why you won’t talk to him. Why he’s been—”
“We didn’t hook up, Julian. Stop being ridiculous.”
Another lie. So many lies.
“Fine. But Tess? Whatever this is, you need to deal with it. Because Liam’s not going away. And I’m not going to keep playing messenger between you two.”
“I know. I’ll—I’ll figure it out.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
“How soon?”
“I don’t know, Julian! Just—just give me time, okay?”
He sighed. “Fine. But Tess? Time’s running out. Liam’s talking about flying out there whether you want him to or not. He’s that determined.”
Terror flooded through her. “He can’t.”
“Then talk to him. Before he shows up on your doorstep unannounced.”
Julian hung up.
Tessa sat in stunned silence.
Liam was going to come here. To her apartment. Where Leo was. Where all the evidence of the secret she’d been hiding was on full display.
She had days. Maybe a week. Maybe less.
And then her carefully constructed world was going to explode.
Three days later, there was a knock on her door.
Tessa looked through the peephole and felt her heart stop.
Liam. Standing in her hallway. Looking determined and nervous and exactly like the man she’d spent two years trying to forget.
He’d actually done it. Actually flown across the country. Actually—
Another knock. “Tessa, I know you’re in there. Julian told me you work from home. Please. Just open the door. Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.”
She could pretend she wasn’t home. Could hide in the bedroom with Leo and wait for him to leave.
But he’d come back. And next time, she might not see him coming.
Better to deal with this now. On her terms. Before—
Leo toddled out of his room, rubbing his eyes. “Mama? Who’s here?”
Tessa’s blood turned to ice.
“No one, baby. Go back to your room. Please.”
“But Mama—”
“Now, Leo. Please.”
He pouted but obeyed, disappearing back into his room.
On the other side of the door, Liam had gone silent.
Then: “Tessa. Was that—did I just hear a kid?”
Shit. Shit shit shit.
“My neighbor’s kid,” she called through the door. “Thin walls. I told you.”
“That sounded like it came from inside your apartment.”
“You’re hearing things.”
“Open the door, Tessa.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to see you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t care what you believe.”
“Tessa, please. I flew three thousand miles to see you. The least you can do is look me in the eye when you tell me to leave.”
He had a point. A frustrating, inconvenient point.
Tessa took a deep breath. Checked to make sure Leo’s door was closed. Prayed he’d stay quiet. And opened her door.
Liam stood there, looking unfairly handsome in dark jeans and a button-down shirt. His eyes swept over her, taking in her messy hair, her old college sweatshirt, her bare feet.
“Hi,” he said softly.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Probably not. But I needed to see you. To make sure—” His eyes went past her, scanning her apartment. “Tessa. Is that a toddler bed?”
She glanced back. Saw Leo’s bedroom door cracked open. Saw the small blue bed visible through the gap.
Fuck.
“I babysit,” she said quickly. “For my neighbor. Sometimes he naps here.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not—”
“You’re a terrible liar. Always have been. Now tell me the truth. Whose kid is in your apartment?”
“No one’s. I told you—”
Leo chose that moment to peek around the bedroom door. “Mama? Can I come out now?”
Everything stopped.
Liam stared at Leo. Leo stared back with curious dark eyes. And Tessa watched in horror as Liam’s face went from confused to shocked to utterly devastated in the space of three seconds.
“How old is he?” Liam asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Liam—”
“How. Old. Is. He?”
“Two,” Tessa whispered. “He’s two.”
Liam did the math. His eyes went wide. “No. No, that’s not—you’re not saying—”
“Liam, let me explain—”
“Is he mine?” Liam’s voice cracked. “Tessa, is that my son?”
Leo toddled forward, reaching for his toy truck on the coffee table. Completely oblivious to the fact that his entire world was about to change.
And in that moment, as Liam stared at the little boy with dark curls and darker eyes—eyes exactly like his own—Tessa knew there was no point in lying anymore.
“Yes,” she whispered. “He’s yours.”
And just like that, everything she’d been running from for two years caught up to her.
With consequences she couldn’t even begin to imagine.
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