CHAPTER 3

Thank you to everyone who favorited my story and to those who left such kind remarks. I hope you all like this chapter. I kinda had a difficult time to write, but in the end it got better.

The rest of the notes are at the end of the chapter :)

For a brief moment Rey was completely at a loss for words. Kylos' words echoed in her head, but she did not understand them. She needed some time to process what he was telling her to understand how he was threatening her.

"You're obnoxious!", she slammed her hands against his chest. It felt like it was made of stone. Cold from the winter air and unbreakable. Invincible.

The anger burning in her chest was overwhelming her. The way he talked to made her feel so helpless. The worst thing was, that she knew what he said was true. Kylo knew how to act around the people at court. He knew what he had to say, how he had to act for them to understand his position. Simply because it was his job. He possessed power there and he had money. More money than Rey. He could provide Ivy with anything she would ask him to buy for her, from a doll to a dog.

"How dare you to come here and threaten me?!", Rey tried to push Kylo again to get him further away from her, but he caught her hands with his before they could hit his chest again. His grip was tight, nearly to tight and his hands radiated heat on Reys' cold hands. Kylo held her hands in his for a few seconds, looking into her eyes.

Rey felt small. Smaller than she already was. It seemed as if he could see through her, as if he could read everything racing through her mind. His eyes were dark, darker than she remembered them to be and she wished to see something reassuring her that he still had compassion for her. It was in vain. The expression in his eyes was as cold as it had been when he had first laid eyes on her in the reception area of the Inn.

"Let go of me!", she freed her hands from his grip and crossed them in front of her chest. Her heart was pounding so fast she was afraid it would jump out of her body.

"I'm not threatening you", Kylo said calmly, "I'm her father, Rey. I know that you probably ignored the fact for the time that has passed since you left me, but now is the time when you need to accept it. I'm her father, I'm here and I will get to know her, one way or another. It's my responsibility and I will fulfill it, no matter what you do".

Rey just looked at him unable to move or to speak. She was impressed by what he had said, about the way he seemingly wanted to care, even though his choice of words intimated her at the same time. He had been right when he said that she had tried to ignore the fact that he was Ivys' father. She had tried and failed miserably every time she had looked at her daughter. Him being here was another point on the list, that made it impossible for her to forget about her daughters' father.

Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she tried to keep them from rolling down her cheeks. She would not give Kylo the pleasure of seeing her cry. Not after the four years that had passed since she had seen him for the last time.

"Listen, Kylo, Ben, whatever your name is", Poe had watched Kylo and her fight from a safe distance but came up to them now. He must have seen the despair in Reys's eyes. As he stood between Rey and Kylo, she was finally able to in- and exhale again, even if it was just flat. The tension that had build up in her body over the last minutes, stayed with her nonetheless.

"You better leave now", Kylo had opened his mouth, but Poe was the faster one to speak. He was not much taller than Rey, so he had to raise his head as well in order to look at Kylos' face.

Rey could not see the expression of Poes', but Kylos' made it clear how much he disapproved of Poe stepping in. The way he frowned at him instantly reminded her of Ivy.

"Listen, Poe", answered Kylo, after he had read the name tag Poe wore on his sweater, "it's Kylo Ren".

Kylo grabbed something from the inside pocket of his jackett. It was a small card, grey with his name, his phone number from work and his private number printed on it in black letters. Rey took it from his hand that he had reached out to her, even though her fingers were trembling.

"Call me in the next two days and tell me what decision you made", Kylo told her, putting his coat on in one swift motion. He had nearly reached the door, before he turned around and looked at Rey: "if you haven't decided by Saturday, I'll come back here and I doubt that our child won't be here, like it is the case today. I hate to repeat myself but remember I'll get to know her, no matter what you decide, Rey. I can take whatever I want and if you didn't realize it yet, I want to tell you that what I just said, was a thread".

The door was not completely closed yet, as the world started spinning before Reys' eyes. She felt as if she was drowning, not being able to in- and exhale deeply. The fast pace of her heartbeat made her feel afraid of having a heart attack every minute. The little card Kylo had given her clenched in her fist, she started shaking.

"What a dick", Poe said, stil looking at the door through which Kylo had just exited the room.

"I can't breathe", Rey barely got the words out between her hurried breaths, as Poe turned around, his eyes growing bigger as he realized what was happening, "I can't breathe, Poe".

He took her hands, which had already started get numb and lead her to the dark orange couch standing at the right wall of the room. When he sat down next to her, he put her hands on his chest.

"Focus on my breathing, Rey", he told her calmly, fixating her eyes with his, "I think you're having a panic attack. Just breathe. It'll all be alright".

She wanted to tell him how overwhelmed and intimidated she felt, how anything would not be alright again, but all she could manage were hurried breaths. Her head was pounding so hard, she felt as if she was going to pass out.

"Breathe, Rey".

Slowly but surely she finally managed to concentrate on the way Poes was breathing in and out and the way his chest rose and sank. The world was still spinning around her, but she was able to take a few deep breaths and fill her lungs with air. The burning sensation she had felt a few seconds ago was gone.

She looked at her hands, which she started to feel again and lifted them from Poes chest. He looked extremely worried.

"I don't know what to do, Poe", Rey started, in- and exhaling again, "I don't know what to do".

Tears were shamelessly rolling down her face, dripping from her face down to her black skirt. She did not have to hold them back anymore. Poe took her in his arms. Her thoughts were speeding recklessly in her head, so fast she was not able to follow. Rey had never felt so overwhelmed before, like she did now. She had never imagined in her head what would happen if she would meet Kylo again, but she could not think of any scenario that being worse than the one that just happened.

He had already won. Like he said, he would meet Ivy, no matter which option she would choose. Although she did not have much of a choice. She simply would not be able to afford a lawyer, so good he could win a case against Kylo.

Overwhelmed by her emotions, she cried on Poes chest until there were no tears left.

She could not have wished for a better friend than Poe. After she had cried herself out, he told her to go to her apartment and rest, instead of welcoming new visitors behind the reception desk. He had called someone else, Rey did not hear whom, from the staff, who would handle she tasks Rey usually did. Before she went upstairs, he had given her the little grey card she had nearly forgotten on the couch and had told her, that no matter which decision she would make, he would always help her.

Rey did not sleep at all after she had washed her face, but just laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling helped to get even the last remaining's of her headache disappear. Her thoughts kept screaming at her and a vision of Kylos dark eyes flashed before her eyes every time she blinked, all the way from the apartment to when she drove to Ivys preschool and had picked her up, but she tried to ignore them the best way she could.

As they had finished lunch, which consisted of store-bought mac'n'cheese, Ivy did not want to take a nap, so Rey and her played with some of her dolls. When Ivy finally feel asleep after Rey hold read her at least five books, she felt as if there was not a single drop of strength left in her body, but decided to take a shower anyways.

The hot water was soothing and relaxing. Just what she needed. The tension of the whole day seemed to be leaving her body, while the water was cleansing her skin. Stepping out of the shower, only putting her white robe on, she silently went back into Ivys room. A warm feeling began radiating from her heart, filling her whole body, as she looked at her little child. Ivy was completely tangled up in her blanket, her little limbs spread from her body, like a starfish. Some of her brown locks had freed themselves out of the French braid, were wet with sweat and stuck to her small forehead. The fairy lights, which Poe had put up for Ivy, were sparking and preventing the darkness from completely entering the little girls room. Ivy had been afraid of the dark, like any child her age, but as soon as Poe had put up the lights she had felt safe.

Sometimes when she had a bad dream, she crawled into Reys bed, who instantly pulled her closer and held her in her arms until they woke up in the morning. Rey cherished those nights. They way her child cuddled into her, Ivys sweet scent and the way she looked at her in the morning, with a bright smile, were memories she would never forget.

She did not want that to stop.

Extremely careful of not waking Ivy up she gently stroked the hair out of her daughters face, while she kept looking at her innocent face. She was completely unaware of what was going on around her.

Slowly she walked out of Ivys room back into her own. Her phone, which was laying on the bed made a beeping sound, so she went over and looked at it.

"It'll all be alright. I'm with you". She smiled at Poes massage, thanked him quickly and wished him good luck for his date. When she put back her phone, she saw the little crumbled up card laying next to her on the bed. Images of Kylo flashed before her eyes, followed by those of Ivy tangled up in her bed. Even though her heart felt incredibly heavy and she felt it was starting to pound heavily again, Rey realized she could not outrun the decision, she knew she had already made.

The knot in her stomach grew stronger, while she dialed the second number on the little card. She did not have to wait long before he picked up.

"I just want to talk", Rey said.

I honestly love writing this fic. I have written some little things before, but I've never had that much fun that I have now. The dynamic between Kylo and Rey ist so interesting, in TFA as in ModernAUs and I just dig it so much. Besides that I love to write slow-burn fics and I hope I'm not completely ruining it + I'm hopefully not ruining the characters. I'm trying my best to make them seem realistic. :)

Other characters will also make an appearance soon enough (very excited about that!) :)

I'd love to hear your opinion about the chapter!

And thank you for reading it! :)

(I hope there aren't too many mistakes)