"I'm not leaving," Ben said, immediately and firmly. He had missed out on at least a year of Elliott's life before he'd known the boy existed, and was never going to be able to know him in the way Ben desperately wanted to. Even if Melody allowed him to do as he pleased in that regard, it was hardly as though Ben could see him with any sort of regularity for long before someone started asking questions, whether that someone was one of Eliott's family members or a random observer from society or even Elliott himself, when he was older. And, of course, they'd already lost the first baby entirely. Ben had no intention of letting another child of his grow up without him.
After he'd said it, however, bits of his conversation with Art floated back to him. Art thought Ben should divorce her — that she was unpredictable. At the time Ben had jumped on the idea because he fully believed she was capable of taking another potion without telling him, and it was a very small logical leap from there to what Art had suggested: that she could not be trusted with his child. Now that he knew she hadn't gone looking for a potion, though (or at least, she said she hadn't), the idea of trying to divorce her made him distinctly uncomfortable. He knew the way he'd felt when he'd read the letters about Elliott and suspected he'd never have the chance to really know him. He couldn't inflict that on someone else, even on — especially on Melody.
No, divorce was off the table, as far as Ben was concerned. Unless it turned out she'd been lying about the pregnancy to get him home again, but Ben really didn't think that was possible. He'd seen her acting skills at work over the past year; she wasn't a good enough actress to fake this kind of hurt.
But that didn't mean they could keep on as they had been. She couldn't live in such constant fear that she kept her bags packed and ready to go. Ben couldn't be so paranoid that he burnt letters from his friends. This is not normal, you are not okay. Something had to change, but after so long and so many failed attempts Ben didn't know what.
"Unless," he finally said, voice small again. "You'd rather I did."
MJ made this <3
After he'd said it, however, bits of his conversation with Art floated back to him. Art thought Ben should divorce her — that she was unpredictable. At the time Ben had jumped on the idea because he fully believed she was capable of taking another potion without telling him, and it was a very small logical leap from there to what Art had suggested: that she could not be trusted with his child. Now that he knew she hadn't gone looking for a potion, though (or at least, she said she hadn't), the idea of trying to divorce her made him distinctly uncomfortable. He knew the way he'd felt when he'd read the letters about Elliott and suspected he'd never have the chance to really know him. He couldn't inflict that on someone else, even on — especially on Melody.
No, divorce was off the table, as far as Ben was concerned. Unless it turned out she'd been lying about the pregnancy to get him home again, but Ben really didn't think that was possible. He'd seen her acting skills at work over the past year; she wasn't a good enough actress to fake this kind of hurt.
But that didn't mean they could keep on as they had been. She couldn't live in such constant fear that she kept her bags packed and ready to go. Ben couldn't be so paranoid that he burnt letters from his friends. This is not normal, you are not okay. Something had to change, but after so long and so many failed attempts Ben didn't know what.
"Unless," he finally said, voice small again. "You'd rather I did."
MJ made this <3