I look away from the Masters men and bend my head so that Mia can hear me over her cries. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through, Mia. I know that it wasn’t easy to tell me, but thank you for trusting me with this. You have my promise that your secret is safe with me.”
I see Kane’s head bows and his shoulders slump. I wish I could go to him, but he needs to understand that I’m able to handle this without him. Regardless of how badly I want his arms and protection to shield me, I know now that I’m stronger than I had ever imagined. I need him to see that in order to believe what I’m about to say. To have no doubt that I’m now the one who’s ready to take someone else’s metaphorical hand and help guide her to a beautiful future.
Just as he did for me.
“We’re not telling anyone,” I tell the room with conviction.
Mia gasps and both Kane and Kole look over at me with disbelief.
“Willow, you don’t know what you’re saying,” Kole responds, breaking from his own shock first.
“He’s right, baby. This isn’t going to go away. Just because I publicly and undoubtedly confirmed our relationship, the fact that they still believe Mia’s baby is mine is only going to get worse unless we figure out a way to address it without hurting Mia or the baby.”
I shake my head and give him a small smile meant to soothe his worries.
“No. We won’t let this go past this room until Mia wants it to. This is so much bigger than having some rumors and stories printed about us, Kane. So much bigger.”
He moves from the middle of the room and crouches in front of me, his hands splaying against each of my thighs as his eyes implore me to understand him.
“I know you’re worried about how I’ll handle the public backlash that will come with our silence, but that concern is misplaced, Kane. I promise you that I’m not making this decision lightly. I know the reality that we will be inviting by doing this and allowing them to paint me in a light that will not be pretty. But we know the truth. The only people who matter are in this room. And at the end of the day, their lies and speculations will never touch what we have.”
His head drops into my lap, and I reach out with the hand that isn’t holding Mia to me and run my fingers soothingly through his hair.
“If you would have asked me a year ago to allow others to freely judge me, I wouldn’t have believed it possible to be strong enough to handle that. Just the fear of their judgment alone would have had me running, but Kane, if you have taught me anything, it’s that no one else’s opinion matters if I’m happy with myself and my life. This isn’t me taking on someone else’s burden, this is me helping shoulder someone’s pain when it’s so unbearable that the thought of going forward without giving help is more daunting than anything some stupid magazines will say about me. I’m not offering what I don’t want to give.”
“Baby,” he hoarsely mumbles, his hands tightening and his head rocking against my lap. “This will never go away unless we admit I’m not the father. This might follow our lives for years to come.”
“Look at me,” I command, and he lifts his head slowly. “This will go away. It will eventually fizzle until they become bored or someone else does something to get their attention. But even if it doesn’t, the only thing that should matter here is that your nephew is able to live a life that isn’t started with a scandal. I’m strong enough, you’re strong enough—we are so strong together that we’re unbreakable. That is all that we need in order to move forward and power through. So what if it follows us, Kane? It won’t follow him.” I reach out and place my finger on Mia’s stomach, letting what I’m saying to them sink in.
“God, Willow.” His voice is thick with emotion.
“I don’t care what they say, Kane. I know the truth and the only people who matter are this family. We say nothing. You all have given the world so much of yourselves. Your lives have been open for them to rip apart for far too long. Not this time.”
“Willow, you … you have no idea what you’re offering,” Mia brokenly whispers. She pulls her body up, and my hand drops. “You have no clue.”
I soften my expression and turn to address her, letting her see for herself that I mean what I’m saying. “I understand exactly what I’m offering you. I know because I was in your same position of helpless fear not too long ago. I endured, but only because I wasn’t alone. I found my strength again because I had others who helped remove the pain I was living in until I could become tough enough to hold myself up alone. You aren’t alone, and you never will be.”
Her eyes fill with tears again.
“You’re sure,” Kane questions, his tone more steady than before.
“Positive, Kane. This doesn’t define our relationship. No one but us has that power. This only comes between us if we allow it. You showed me what it was like to live a life free of the anxiety. Anxiety that had held me captive in fear that I had been desperate to break free from. I couldn’t see past what was hurting me at that moment in order to see there was something better out there. I had your help to become free of all the pain I had felt in my life, and I’m now able to be the help someone else needs now. The help Mia needs.”
He searches my face, looking for the tiniest hint that I might not understand what will follow if we allow the media to continue assuming that Mia’s child is his and that I’m the other woman. “So what now, Willow?” he finally asks.
“Now, we make sure that Mia has what she needs and all of us move forward in our lives, but we don’t do it alone. They will speculate and they will want us to give them anything if it means their lies can grow. We don’t hide. Mia doesn’t hide. None of us do. We go on and freely enjoy our lives. As far as I’m concerned, they could turn us into the next sister wives, but no matter what, this baby will never have to deal with the kind of stuff they would say if they knew just how he was created.”
“And Kyle?” Kole asks.
“He needs help,” Kane interjects before I can speak. “And honestly, as far as I’m concerned, he is no brother of mine. I haven’t been able to stand to be in the same room as him since Mia told me what happened. I know you deny that he raped you, Mia, but the bottom line is that he forced himself on you when you weren’t in the right frame of mind to voice your objections. Just because you didn’t say no doesn’t change the fact it wasn’t consensual sex. He didn’t believe Mia when she told him anyway, so as far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t matter.”
“What if he changes his mind and all of this means nothing?” Mia weakly inquires. “What if he wants us … the baby?”
“Do you really think he would do that?”
Kane’s question isn’t meant to hurt her, but she flinches anyway.
“No. He won’t. He hates dealing with the media even more than you do, but puts up with it because of Jessica. And we know that he wouldn’t want Jessica to find out that he had been unfaithful. Not when there isn’t a prenup and she would clean him out. Fuck, he’s drunk constantly anyway, so it’s not like anyone takes him seriously.” Kole’s pissed voice confirms what I thought about Kyle.
“And Mom and Dad?” Kane asks his brother.
Kole looks at him, and I know they both hate the thought of keeping this, their grandson, from their parents.
“I think they should know. They deserve to know,” Mia speaks, and we all look at her. “If you’re serious about not letting this be public knowledge, the next biggest scandal to rock Hollywood, then the only other people who should know are them. But that is my load to carry. I refuse to let you guys do that. By keeping this from your parents, it would only hurt them. By not knowing, they would miss out on knowing their grandson and he would miss out on their love. Regardless of how he came to be, it would be heartless to keep him from them.”