"And what about Rhian?" I asked quietly. "She was your first love. If you had walked into her room that night by mistake... would all these words you just said be meant for her instead?"
My eyes stayed on the photo, but I could feel the weight of his silence behind me.
"After all, she and I were the only ones living on the second floor. Identical doors. Right across from each other."
I finally turned to look at him.
"You're barely home. Mixing them up would make sense. Otherwise, why would you tell us to decide ourselves who should carry your child?"
The hand he had placed on my shoulder tightened slightly.
Samuel let out a quiet laugh, the kind that carried more disbelief than amusement. He shook his head slightly, as if even recalling it now felt absurd.
"I dated her for, what, a few days in high school? We didn't even hold hands. Once we figured out we weren't a good match, that was it. She was a tomboy back then. Honestly, I don't think she even knew if she liked me or just thought of me as one of the guys."
He looked at me carefully, his voice dipping lower.
"Later on, she only started clashing with you out of spite. You know that, right?"
He took a breath, the weight of old choices flickering across his expression.
"When I said what I did, it wasn't because I felt anything for her. I didn't want her to get competitive and stir up drama that would hurt you. I was trying to protect you."
A silence settled between us before he added, almost gently, "Now there are five days left. Whatever happens between you two, I still want you to give me a child."
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes meeting mine—the edge of frustration melting into something more vulnerable.
"You little troublemaker. You got jealous for no reason, made me sit in ice water all night, and then told me you slept with someone else. Do you know what that did to me? I thought my heart was going to fall apart."
On this point, Samuel was not mistaken. When Rhian and Samuel reunited after years apart, I had just started dating him.
When his friends saw Rhian again, with her short hair and tougher-than-most-guys attitude, they immediately began teasing.
"Sam, all those years we kept telling you to go find a woman, and you never listened. I honestly thought you were still hung up on that high school first love of yours."