Page 109 of Daddy's Little Mama Bear

Janie stopped breathing, her eyes going wide, and she felt the blood draining from her face as he said those words. Shit. He had found out.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

JANIE

Janie felt her blood run cold as his words started to sink in. How was she going to get out of this? Was she going to get out of it?

“Th-there’s nothing g-going on,” she stuttered. Janie closed her eyes. She knew that her stuttering wasn't good. It was one of her signs that she was lying and nervous.

“Really?” Mac asked, his voice very calm.

A shiver made its way through her body. This was not good. He was calm which was a sign that he was very mad. Was he trying to be calm since Eleanor was on his chest? Or was he calm because he was truly mad?

“Don't lie to me,” he said.

Janie took a deep breath in and nodded her head. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this.

“Your ex-husband has been threatening you and calling you. That's unacceptable,” Mac said. “Why didn't you tell me?”

Janie took a small step back. Maybe she could leave the room until he calmed down some. She wasn't worried that he was going to hurt Eleanor because she knew he wouldn't. It wasn't like him, but she didn't want to talk about this right now.

“Stop,” he commanded. “Come sit on the couch and explain things to me.”

She stayed in her spot, not really wanting to sit down and talk about it. Who wanted to talk about it?

“Now,” he said, his voice going lower.

Janie slowly walked towards the couch and sat down. She looked over at Eleanor only to find her asleep on Mac’s lap. That was what she wanted to do right now. She didn’t want to be talking about this.

Why hadn’t she taken her phone with her while she was talking to Hedda? Her ex-husband hadn’t texted her for hours and she thought she was safe. But she should have known she wasn’t safe.

“Explain why you didn’t tell me right away that Donald was sending those texts,” he said. “How long has it been going on for?”

“Well, he started messaging me after I shot him down in person. The day you showed up. And then it got worse when the lawyer came, or well after he came.”

“That long? Why didn’t you say anything?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “He wanted me to get rid of Eleanor. Told me to put her on the street and go back to him.” Janie looked at him, tears in her eyes. “You have to know that I don’t want to go back with him. I want my daughter. I love her with my whole life.”

His hand made contact with her hand. “Shhh. It's okay. I know you want your daughter.”

“And I don’t want to go back with him,” she cut him off from speaking more. “I really don’t. I never really loved him and the only good thing that came out of anything related to him was Eleanor.”

Mac continued to look at her and hold her hand. Was he going to say anything or was he just going to be silent thewhole time? Had she lost her chance with him? If he read the messages, he had to see her replies that she wanted nothing to do with Donald.

“I really don’t want him. I want you and I’ve always wanted you! I was worried that if you saw what he was saying, you would agree with him,” Janie said. “I have a daughter that’s not blood related to you.”

“That doesn’t matter. I don’t care that Eleanor and I don’t share blood. I think of her as my daughter and I want her tobemy daughter,” Mac said. “And I would never agree with anything Donald has said. It’s all false. I just wish that you would have come to me about it.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I really am. I was just worried and scared. Not in the right mindset.”

“Which is when you should have come to me. I want to help you through things. I want to be your rock. I love you and Eleanor.”

Her eyes went wide as she stared at him. Hereallyloved her? “I’m scared,” she whispered.

“Lean on me and I’ll take care of you both. I’ll be your rock in hard times. I’ll be your rock whenever you want, even if it isn’t in hard times. I’ll catch you when you fall and make sure you don’t get hurt.”

Tears formed in her eyes and he continued to talk. It all sounded like a dream.

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