Seed Between Us

Chapter Three: Colin's Commitment and Penelope's Doubts

The rain had started to pick up, casting a soft, rhythmic patter against the windows as Penelope sat by the fire. Her mind was a storm of its own, torn between the overwhelming weight of what Colin had said and the uncertainty that lingered in her heart.

He had returned—a part of her could scarcely believe it. The adventurous Colin Bridgerton, the man who had roamed the globe for years, had chosen to come back. He had always been so restless, always chasing the next place, the next adventure. And she had watched him leave, time and time again, like a forgotten note in his life. What made this time different? oh wait probably because they have always been best of friends, never more than that, to her there was always more but she has never confessed those feelinfs.

Penelope had spent so many years loving him in silence, always on the edges of his life, content with the shadows of their friendship. But now? Now that they were here, standing on the precipice of something new and fragile, she couldn't shake the fear that he would leave again—when things got hard, when the call of the world tugged at him once more.

She had never expected him to stay.

Another knock sounded at the door, pulling Penelope from her thoughts. It was Colin.

Her pulse quickened as she slowly stood, her hands betraying her nerves by twisting at her sleeves. This was the moment—the moment she had both wanted and feared for so long.

Penelope opened the door, finding Colin standing there, dripping wet from the rain, his expression a mixture of resolve and uncertainty. He had come here for a reason.

"Penelope," he greeted her softly, his voice carrying a gravity she wasn't used to. "We need to talk."

The air between them was thick, loaded with everything left unsaid, every lingering doubt and desire. Colin stepped inside, and for a moment, the two of them just stood there, the familiar weight of their friendship now charged with something new. Something that neither of them had quite expected.

"I've been thinking about everything, what's happened between us," Colin began, his voice quiet, yet steady. He hesitated, then continued, "And I've realized that I don't want to run anymore. I don't want to leave. I want to be here—for you. For the baby. I want to be part of this."

Penelope's chest tightened, the words she had longed to hear sounding foreign in her ears. He wanted to be here? To stay? Her heart jumped at the possibility, but then the cold hands of doubt clutched at her. She wasn't sure she could trust this. She wasn't sure that this was enough.

"You say that, but—" Her voice faltered for a moment as the knot of emotion inside her grew heavier. "How do I know you'll stay, Colin? How do I know you won't get restless, the way you always do? How do I know that when things get hard, you won't just disappear again?"

Colin's eyes darkened, a mixture of confusion and concern crossing his face. "Penelope, I understand your fears, but I'm not going anywhere. I want to be here, with you. I'm not going to run."

"You say that now," Penelope said, her voice catching slightly. "But what if you get that itch again—the itch to explore, to go somewhere new? You've always had that pull, Colin. The world has always called to you, and I've always been here, waiting for you. What if I'm left here—again—on my own, waiting for you to come back?"

Penelope swallowed hard, feeling the sting of emotion welling up. But this wasn't about just being physically alone. She could raise this baby on her own if she needed to. She had done it in her mind a thousand times over, even before she had known this moment would come. The truth was, Penelope didn't fear being alone in a practical sense. She feared being emotionally alone—the helplessness of loving someone who wasn't truly there, even when they were standing right in front of her.