Chapter 9 - The Agreement
Nathan arrived with a notebook.
Emma stared at it.
“What is that?”
“You said we needed to discuss what happens after the baby is born.”
“And you brought office supplies?”
“I panic efficiently.”
Emma laughed before she could stop herself.
Nathan smiled.
The moment disappeared quickly, but not painfully.
They sat at the small kitchen table above the bookstore.
Emma had written her own list.
“The baby stays with me.”
Nathan nodded.
“At least initially.”
“Yes.”
“I want you involved.”
His eyes lifted.
“But involvement doesn’t mean access to my home whenever you want.”
“Understood.”
“No taking her to New York without discussing it.”
“Agreed.”
“No media appearances.”
“Absolutely.”
“No Whitmore Foundation photographs.”
“Never.”
Emma hesitated.
“And if we divorce?”
Nathan’s expression changed.
But he answered.
“I want shared parenting.”
“So do I.”
“I don’t want a custody war.”
“Neither do I.”
“If you decide Oregon is home, I’ll make Oregon work.”
Emma stared at him.
“You would live here?”
“I can work from anywhere more often than I pretended I could.”
The sentence hurt because it was true.
Emma looked down.
“You could have done that before.”
“Yes.”
Nathan did not defend himself.
She continued.
“I’m not promising reconciliation.”
“I know.”
“I may file after she’s born.”
“I know.”
Nathan opened his notebook.
“I spoke with a family attorney.”
Emma stiffened.
He immediately raised one hand.
“Not to fight you.”
“Then why?”
“To draft something protecting your right to remain here if we separate.”
Emma stared at him.
“I don’t want you thinking I’ll use money or custody to force you back.”
“Why would you do that?”
Nathan looked at her for a long moment.
“Because six months ago, I might have.”
The honesty chilled her.
Not because she believed he would have taken their child.
Because she understood how easily the old Nathan might have treated location, money, and pressure as negotiation tools.
He slid a document across the table.
It guaranteed Emma full financial independence from Whitmore Global.
It prohibited the company from using investigators to monitor her.
It gave both parents equal decision-making rights while establishing Oregon as the child’s primary residence unless Emma agreed otherwise.
Emma looked up.
“You signed this?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Yes.”
“Then why?”
“Because trust shouldn’t depend on you hoping I behave well.”
He pushed the pen toward her.
“It should survive even if someday I don’t.”
Emma’s eyes filled.
She hated how deeply that affected her.
Nathan looked away to give her privacy.
Then Emma’s abdomen tightened.
Hard.
Sudden.
She inhaled.
Nathan’s head snapped toward her.
“Emma?”
“It’s probably nothing.”
Another contraction struck.
This one stronger.
Nathan was already standing.
“Hospital.”
“I’m not due for another month.”
“Your doctor said immediate evaluation.”
Emma gripped the table.
A third contraction came.
Then she felt warmth.
She looked down.
Water spread across the floor beneath her chair.
Nathan went white.
Emma whispered, “Nathan.”
May you like
He was beside her instantly.
This time, when he reached for her, she grabbed his hand first.
