Fleur gave him a sympathetic look as she came into the room, heading over to the couch by the window as Jason closed the door. She sat down, putting her bag beside her and crossing her legs. She looked more composed than Jason felt. He hovered by the door.
“How is Elena?” he asked.
“She’s managing. She’s keeping her appointments at the hospital.” Fleur gave him a gentle smile. “The pregnancy is progressing nicely. They’re expecting to induce her by thirty weeks.”
“Thirty weeks? I thought it was forty for a pregnancy.”
“For one baby, yes. Not six.” Fleur paused. “She’s been thinking up names. We won’t know the gender of any of them for a while, but she’s thinking of what to call them.”
Jason’s chest tightened. He swallowed.
“I’ve been thinking about names as well.”
“You have?”
“Yes. I came up with a few, and I wanted to pick up the phone and call Elena to ask her opinion. But then I remembered that she wanted space, and I stopped myself.”
“Maybe you should have done that.”
Jason frowned. “But Elena told me to wait until she contacted me. I didn’t want to break her trust.”
“It might have made her feel better.” Fleur sighed and shook her head. “She puts on a brave face, but she’s just miserable. I know she wants to go back to you, but she can’t bring herself to be second to the team. That’s not fair on her.”
“I get that.” Jason crossed the room and sat heavily on the bed. “I’m not about to let that happen. I will always put her first.”
“You’ve come to that decision.”
Jason stared at the floor. He felt like a boy facing his mother for a scolding.
“I think that was always the decision for me, but when I found out I was going to be a dad to multiple children without warning…the panic took over. It made me withdraw to something I could cope with, which was my business. And that was the wrong thing to do.”
Fleur grunted. “At least you’re acknowledging that.”
“I wish it hadn’t taken this long.” Jason sighed heavily. “I love Elena. I think I always have. And what I did was stupid. I want her back. I want us to be a family. But…”
“But your pride got in the way.”
Jason winced. “Something along those lines.”
“Damn right. You let your pride get in the way, and you were unable to swallow it back and admit you were wrong when the time came.” Fleur sat forward. “Jason, Elena loves you. She didn’t need to tell me for me to know. It’s pretty clear at the mere mention of you, and that was before she told me that she loved you.”
“What?” Jason looked up. “She actually said that?”
“She did. She wasn’t too happy about it, though, due to how you were sneaking around so much.” Fleur shook her head. “Honestly, Jason, surely you know this by now with your other businesses. People are not always going to like you. There are always going to be groups saying bad things, mostly because they’re dicks and they can’t ever be happy. The way you deal with them is to just ignore them. As long as the players are happy, and you feel like you’re doing the right thing, then you don’t need to care what anyone else thinks.”
“Even if it’s the fans and supporters?”
“Even then. There are always going to be people afraid of change. To get concerned about that?” Fleur scoffed. “Not worth your time, if I’m honest. Now Elena…she is definitely worth your time. She deserves to be at the top of the list. Everyone else can fuck off.”
Jason was still stuck on finding out that Elena loved him. It took a while for the words to sink in. She loved him. And he felt like he didn’t deserve her.
Fleur was right. He couldn’t please everyone, and he shouldn’t care what people thought anymore. It was a waste of time.
He was only just realizing that now, after he had allowed Elena to walk away without a fight. Jason wondered if Elena really would forgive him; he didn’t want to be alone for the rest of his life. He wanted Elena Duncan with him.
Her and their six children.
“So,” Fleur was still watching him. “What are you going to do? Do you want to talk to Elena tomorrow? Maybe after the game?”