{UNEDITED}

        I woke up to the sound of machines and muffled voices of people who were all crowding around me. As I opened my eyes, everything blurred in one huge white mess of things, I wasn’t sure what was happening or why it was happening. I wasn’t even sure where I was or why I was here.

        “Matthew?” I just about managed to say. I couldn’t see him anywhere and I needed to know that he was there.

        “Chloe. You’re awake,” he sounded so relieved that I was awake and I didn’t understand why he was so concerned about me. I felt his hand wrap itself around mine, I never realised before just how much bigger than mine it actually was.

        “What happened?” I asked as I saw someone come over to me and begin poking me with things before writing something on a piece of paper and then checking the machines which were surrounding me.

        “You collapsed,” Matthew replied.

        “I what?”

        “Ah, Miss Parker, it’s good to see you awake. You gave us a bit of scare there,” a doctor said from the bottom of my bed with a smile on his face. He took the piece of paper which the nurse had just written on, quickly scanning over whatever had been written on there. I wanted to ask, but then I wasn’t sure whether I would like the answer, so I decided just to leave it.

        “We were at Braydon’s place and you just collapsed,” Matthew said and I could tell that he was scared, I had actually scared him and he had spent the time at my side worrying about me. He actually stayed to make sure I was okay and there was something sweet about that. He didn’t have to do that, but he did, and I couldn’t feel internal happiness. “He’s waiting outside. He wanted to see you, but you were still out for the count. I can tell him to leave if you want?”

        “No. I want to see him,” I sighed. I didn’t want to see him so that he could apologise to me and neither did I wanted to see him so that he could be sure I was fine. I wanted to see him to tell him to stay the hell away from me and never bother speaking to me again.

        We may have had something once but it was pointless fighting for something the other person didn’t want. He didn’t listen to me, instead he just assumed I was liar and refused to accept any side of the story besides the one my father had already told him. I was an idiot to think that he could get over what I did and just move on with everything, he was never really going to be able to accept that I did because it was always going to be at the back of his mind.

        I couldn’t live with someone like that. He was too unpredictable and there was a whole side to him I had never seen before, it actually frightened me to know he could so easily punch someone in the way that he punched Matthew. I didn’t want someone like that in my life, especially when I was bringing a child into that life too.

        “I’ll just go and get him,” Matthew smiled, giving my hand a quick squeeze before he walked out of the room.

        “Why did I collapse?” I asked the doctor once there was no one else around. I looked at him and at no one else as he put my notes back at the end of my bed.

        “You were under a serious amount of pressure which led to an elevated blood pressure level. You almost lost the baby and, if your boyfriend hadn’t been there for you, then you probably would have lost your daughter,” the doctor said and I could feel the tears silently rolling down my cheeks. The thought of losing my daughter wasn’t one I even wanted to entertain, I would never be able to forgive myself if I lost the baby and I would always blame myself for allowing it to happen. “We are going to keep you in for a couple of days, just to make sure everything really is back to normal, then you need to go home and rest. Another episode like this and your daughter might not be so lucky.”

        “I will be in here for New Year though?” I muttered.

        “Yes. Sorry about that but it’s a precaution we take, especially when you are as far gone as you are. We don’t want you to lose your daughter before you’ve had the chance to meet her. It’s for your health as much as it is for hers,” the doctor smiled and I returned the smile. I didn’t want to be in a hospital bed for New Year, I wanted to be at home with Matthew so that I could be the first person to wish him a happy birthday at midnight, now that wasn’t going to happen.

        I was going to spend the New Year alone. In hospital and without a friend in the world. That’s not how I imagined I would be spending the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015.

        “Has anyone else visited since I’ve been in here?”

        “Your boyfriend, obviously, he didn’t leave your side for the two days you were out for. There was also a girl here, Jodie I think, and your father was here too. He wasn’t impressed, something about missing a wedding dress fitting and he wanted us to wake you up immediately,” the doctor laughed, while I simply looked at him embarrassed.

        Even when I was in a hospital bed, my father could still find ways to make me hate him. He didn’t even stop to make sure nothing serious had happened, he only gave a damn about the wedding and making sure everything was perfect for that, he just wanted to make himself happy over giving a damn about me.

        “Sorry. I can’t believe he dared to turn up here,” I muttered.

        “Your boyfriend saw that he didn’t come back. Threw him out in spectacular style, told him neither of you wanted to see him until the wedding day,” the doctor chuckle and I tried to imagine Matthew throwing my father out of my room, it was a sight which brought laughter to a person every single time. Matthew was the same height as my father and had a lot more muscle than my father, he never really stood against Matthew.

        “Chloe. I’m so glad you’re awake. I thought I’d lost you,” Braydon said, appearing in the room with some speed. I saw from the corner of my eye the doctor with a smile on his face, I was so distracted that I didn’t have the time to stop Braydon from hugging me.

        I don’t know why he think he had the right to touch me after everything he said to me. He called me a slut and told Matthew I didn’t know the meaning of the word love. Perhaps he should take a look in the mirror because, if he really understood what it was to love someone, he would have given me the chance to explain and he wouldn’t have punched Matthew like he did.

        “How dare you touch me? Get the hell off me,” I snapped, pushing his arms off me and forcing him away from the bed just as Matthew walked into the room and took the seat he had previously vacated to get Braydon for me.

        “I, but, Chloe?” Braydon practically begged me. I saw his eyes move to my hand which was, once again, interlocked with Matthew’s as he sat there silently.

        “No. This is your fault. You’re the reason I’m in this bed and the reason I’m not being discharged for another two days. You, Braydon,” I snapped. I was so angry with him and, now I had the chance to tell him exactly what I was thinking, I was going to take that chance and he wasn’t going to interrupt me with his pointless and meaningless words.

        “I’m sorry. I should have listened, I know that now,” Braydon replied, tears rolling down his eyes and I had to laugh at his lame attempt to make me feel sorry for him. I couldn’t give a damn, not when he did what he did. He made his bed and now he needed to lie in it.

        “I don’t want your apology, Braydon, I just want you to understand this,” I paused for a moment, quickly calming myself down before I allowed my blood pressure to get too high again. I didn’t want to lose my daughter just because I had allowed Braydon to get to me again. “I never want to see you again. I never want to hear from you and I don’t want you anywhere near my family, do you understand?”

        “Please. Chloe. Don’t do this to me.”

        “Do what? You did this all on your own Braydon,” I pointed out.

        “Just give me the chance to prove myself. Please. Just, don’t leave me,” Braydon begged. He couldn’t sound anymore pathetic if he tried to be honest, I tried to give him the chance, but he couldn’t cope with the pressure and he caved when he was faced with my father. He believed all the crap which he was fed and didn’t even give me the chance.

        “You didn’t give me a chance when I wanted it. You are mistaken if you think I am going to allow you a chance,” I laughed.

        “I am sorry Chloe. I never meant anything I said, I was just angry, let me prove it to you.”

        “Sorry, but this is boring. Chloe has asked you to leave, so either you leave or I will throw you out. The choice is yours,” Matthew finally spoke up, standing up so that he was at the same height as Braydon now. The bruises were now evident where Braydon had hit him and he was still begging for a chance to prove he was really sorry, despite what he had done.

        I may have hurt him, but I didn’t do it intentionally. He did everything he did with the intention of hurting me and making me feel the very same way I had made him feel. I didn’t have ‘mug’ written on my forehead so there wasn’t a hope in hell that I was actually going to give in to his begging.

        “Just one last question though,” Braydon muttered, looking between Matthew and I, “when you say ‘family’ which family do you mean?”

        “I mean my family. As in, stay the hell away from me, Matthew and our daughter. If I so much as see your face again, you will regret it and if you think I am joking, just try it,” I said bluntly. I didn’t give a damn about the rest of my family, with the exception of Jason but he was old enough to look after himself now.

        If Braydon wanted to become best friends with my father, then he could do that. If he wanted to spend the time chatting with my mother about her cooking, then he could do that as well. If he wanted to visit my grandparents at the weekend, then that was entirely up to him.

        They were none of my business anymore and they could all do what the hell they wanted, they could even jump out of a plane without a parachute and I wouldn’t give a damn. The only family I cared about was the one I was in the middle of creating, even though it was in the most unconventional manner possible.

        “I hope that, one day, you can forgive me and give me the chance to prove how sorry I am,” Braydon muttered.

        “I wouldn’t hold your breath on that. You would be dead before it happened,” I said and, with that, Braydon walked out of the room and didn’t even make a sound when the door closed behind him.

        I guess I should have felt something, we were together for almost four years, but I didn’t feel anything other than relieved. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to keep anyone happy other than myself and I didn’t have to worry about keeping secrets from people, because they were all out in the open. The only thing people didn’t know was about the marriage since everyone, even the people I hated, had long worked out that Matthew was the father of my baby.

        For the first time in a long time, I could breathe easy and know that sleep was going to come easily to me because there was nothing for me to worry about. I was going to allow my father to do what he wanted to do with the wedding, I wasn’t even going to bother arguing about it anymore, and I was going to allow Matthew to do everything he wanted to do. I knew it was only because he cared that he wanted to do it, so I shouldn’t be stopping him.

        “Scarlett came by yesterday. She was gutted that we didn’t make dinner but, when I told her why, she was really concerned. I think she’s going to come by again today,” Matthew said out of nowhere and I took the time to look at him, just looking at him I couldn’t help the smile which appeared on my face. “What you smiling at?”

        “You.”

        “Me?”

        “Yeah. I mean, you didn’t have to stay with me and you did. You’ve dealt with Scarlett, you got rid of that inconsiderate arse that is my father and you’ve even handled Braydon for me,” I continued smiling at him, fully aware that I must look like a total idiot right now, but that didn’t bother me and it didn’t make me smile any less.

        “What kind of fiancé would I be if I left you to deal with all of this on your own?” Matthew chuckled. If he had made that joke last week, then I probably would have reminded him that none of this was real and we were only doing it to please my father, but now it didn’t seem to bother me. It may have all been for show but, at the end of it, I would have my own family and people who I actually love there for me.

        “A terrible one,” I smirked, as I rolled on to my side so I wasn’t twisting my head. I couldn’t help but notice the smile which was also on his face and I found my hands subconsciously moving over the bruises which covered his face, my heart decided at that moment that it was going to do double time and my smile almost faltered. “I’m sorry.”

        “Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for,” Matthew laughed.

        “All of this. None of this would have happened if I just kept my mouth shut like we agreed,” I sighed, my hand coming to rest on his cheek as I found myself looking into his eyes. I don’t know what had got into to me, perhaps it was something to do with all the mad things he made me feel when I was around him.

        He confused me, he made me angry, he made me laugh, he was the reason he smiled, he had been the reason for my tears, he made me feel everything I told myself I never would when I was around him. He actually made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. He treated me like his princess.

        “I’m not sorry this happened. I don’t necessarily want the marriage but, being with you Chloe, it’s changed me. You’ve changed me,” Matthew spoke softly as his hand came to rest on the top of mine and he pushed his face into my hand. “I love our daughter even though she’s not making her appearance for the next four months. I love you Chloe.”