A Love Restored

Chapter 187

We walked inside the store, finally arriving at the section with the haby stuff. Julian stopped in front of a small, pink crib. It was really pretty. I could see it in my baby’s room.

“That’s nice,” he said. And I agreed. It really was.

“It’s pretty. But I don’t want to put in any gendered colors, you know?”

He frowned. “Pink seems fine to me.”

“Maybe, but the room can’t be all pink.”

Julian looked down at me disapprovingly. He mised his eyebrows and I gave a challenging stare back. He sighed in defeat.

“What’s wrong with pink?” He asked.

“Nothing!” 1 pointed at the pink sweater I was wearing. “I love pink. I just don’t want to reinforce gender stereotypes.”

I walked on ahead, and Julian was slow to follow behind. “Progressive parenting, huh?” He commented, I rolled my eyes. “Maybe a little. Is that an

“Not really,” he said, “But we should talk about this stuff. The kind of parents we want to be, you know? I think we should have a good cop, bad cop situation. I’ll be the good cop”

1 gaped at him. “Why? No fair!”

He chuckled as he led me out of the store. “I’ve always imagined myself as a dad who pampers his little girl too much.”

My heart melted. I could see that. He would definitely be that kind of father.

*1 know, and I just know you will be. You’re going to spoil her rotten.”

“Damn right I am.” He looked down at me. His eyes softened. “You both. I’m going to spoil you both rotten.”

I didn’t say anything to that. I didn’t know what to

“You want to get something to eat?” I asked, after I felt my stomach slightly grumble.

“Sure. What do you want?”

“Can we please do fast food?”

He chuckled, shaking his head, but agreed. We went to a nearby Five Guys. Five Guys was definitely one of my favorite fast food joints, but I was kind of partial to McDonalds.

But I ordered a burger and fries and a strawberry shake and cheese dog. Julian probably judged me for it, but I didn’t care. I was eating for two.

As I ate, Julian watched. He had only gotten himself a burger and a small drink. I didn’t think anyone could look this good while scarfing down a cheeseburger, but he made it

look so effortless.

Sometimes the time I spent with Julian felt like a fever dream. It didn’t feel real. Sometimes it felt like I was having an out of body experience, or like 1 was in a dream, or maybe that I was high. He was so beautiful, his presence was so overwhelming, it all felt unreal.

Unreal that this was happening to me.

Unreal that he had chosen me. That the baby I was carrying was his

“Hey,” I said softly, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it, darlin‘?”

I smiled when he said that. I always smiled when he said that.

“We should talk finances.”

He cocked his head to the side as he looked down at me. I took a long sip of my strawberry shake. It was so cold it almost gave me a brain–freeze.

“What is there to talk about financesTM

“Um, you know,” I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. This was not a conversation I wanted to have at all. It was too awkward. “How much we’ll both be contributing. Monthly expenses. All that. I’m planning to move out by the end of this month, so I need to budget smartly.”

His brows furrowed. He looked at me incredulously, like I had somehow said the stupidest thing he had ever heard. “Budget? Ginevra, don’t do this to me. You know I’ll take care of you both, 1 thought that was understood.”

I shook my head. “Not me. Her, you can. But not me.”

“Why?”

I looked down at my food, unable to look him in the eye. “Why would you? We’ll co–parent and I’ll take care of myself. You can send money for her and spend it on her as much as you want, But not me.”

“We’ll co–parent for a while.” He stressed. “And then you’ll both move in with me. You can take however long you want. But while we’re living apart, I’m going to take care of you. I’ll pay your rent and buy you stuff and take care of any expenses, Ginevra.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he spoke before me. “It’s not up for discussion, Ginevra. Non–negotiable. Now finish your food.”

how he

react to this.

I stayed silent as I ate. It was futile to argue with him. I should already have known how he would react to

He spoke to me like I was a child. I hated it sometimes. But I also knew he meant well.

Julian drove me home. On the way, we listened to music he had researched that was good for the baby. It was classical music that neither of us seemed to enjoy, but we listened to it, still I didn’t know how true this hypothesis was, but Julian seemed to really be invested in it. So, 1 humored him. He was being so sweet and lovely: How could I

take that away from him? More importantly, how could I take that away from myself?

He walked me right inside the door and told me to take care of myself. I told him I would. He told me he would look for some places for me to move into. I protested, but it was in vain. I agreed, giving into him. As if I ever had any other choice

I could only now tell him thank you.

That night in bed, I felt hopeful for the future. And in my heart I knew that, finally, finally things were going to be okay. Julian was going to turn over a new leaf. I was going to be smarter and more mature. And together we would begin this new chapter in our lives.

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