Chapter 91 : No Secrets – Everyone at the Table
New York, Queens – Alex's POV
The room holds steady.
No one rushes to fill the space after that last exchange. Not because there's nothing left to say—but because what comes next needs structure, not emotion.
I take a breath and lean forward slightly.
"Okay," I say. "Let's put the options on the table. From my point of view."
Both of them look at me. Gwen attentive, grounded. MJ tense again, but listening—really listening.
"First," I continue, "if you decide you're not ready to keep the child, that's a valid choice." I keep my voice even, deliberate. "You don't owe anyone motherhood before you're prepared to live it."
MJ's shoulders loosen a fraction. Gwen doesn't flinch. That matters.
"But," I add, without softening it, "there are limits to what I'm willing to consider."
MJ's gaze sharpens slightly.
"Adoption is not one of them," I say.
No anger. No edge. Just certainty.
"I won't abandon my children," I continue. "Ever. That's a line I don't cross."
The words land with weight—not as pressure, but as a boundary.
MJ absorbs that in silence. She doesn't look offended. If anything, she looks relieved to know where the ground actually is.
"If you decide to keep the child," I go on, "then there are multiple paths. None of them are simple. All of them have consequences."
"Logistics. Public visibility. How you live. How involved I am, how visible that involvement is." A pause. "How this affects you. How it affects Gwen. How it affects the rest of the harem."
Gwen nods once. She's already tracking the implications.
"This wouldn't be something you handle alone," I say to MJ. "But it also wouldn't be something we pretend is easy."
MJ exhales slowly. "That's… a lot," she admits.
"Yes," I say simply. "It is."
I let that sit for a moment, then add, carefully, "And there's something else."
Both of them look at me again.
"Before we go any further," I say, "there's someone else who should be part of this conversation."
"Before we go any further," I say, "there's someone else who should be part of this conversation."
Gwen's posture shifts almost imperceptibly. She doesn't react emotionally—but her eyes sharpen, searching mine. She has an idea of what I mean. Not certainty. Just a direction.
MJ, on the other hand, stiffens.
"Someone else…?" she asks. There's a flicker of worry there, fast and instinctive. "Like—someone whose opinion matters?"
"Yes," I answer simply.
Her fingers curl into the fabric of the cushion. "And… what if she thinks this is a mistake?" The question comes out quieter than intended. "Or worse—my fault?"
Before I can respond, Gwen leans slightly toward her.
"Hey," Gwen says softly, firmly. "You're not walking into a firing squad."
MJ looks at her.
"If Alex thinks she should be here," Gwen continues, "then it's because she's involved—not because she's here to judge you." A pause. "And whatever she thinks, you won't be facing it alone."
That lands. MJ's shoulders drop just enough to show she heard it.
I nod once. "I won't bring her in unless everyone here agrees."
Silence. Then MJ swallows.
"…Is she even available?" she asks. "And would she actually agree to come, knowing what this is about?"
"I don't know yet," I answer honestly. "But I can check. I'll only need a few minutes."
MJ hesitates, then nods. "Okay."
Gwen gives me a small, reassuring look. "Go."
I stand, grab my jacket out of habit, and move toward the door.
The hallway outside feels colder, quieter. Familiar. Grounding.
Two doors down.
I knock.
A second passes. Then the door opens.
May Parker freezes.
Her eyes widen the instant she recognizes me—surprise crashing straight into panic.
"Alex—?" she blurts out, voice jumping an octave. "What—hi—what are you—"
She stops mid-sentence.
I see it in her face before she says anything else. The panic isn't confusion. It's recognition. Her hand tightens on the edge of the door, knuckles whitening, breath shallow like she's bracing for impact.
Because she already knows.
Not about MJ.
About herself.
"Hey," I say calmly, keeping my voice low, steady. "It's okay. Nothing bad just happened."
That doesn't help. If anything, it makes her more nervous.
"Okay is… vague," she replies, forcing a weak half-smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "You don't usually show up unannounced to tell people things are okay."
Fair.
I don't push past the threshold. I don't lower my voice conspiratorially either. I give her space.
"Are you free right now?" I ask. "I'd like you to join a conversation. One I'm already having."
Her stomach drops. I can see it. Her gaze flicks down, then back up, breath hitching.
"…A conversation about what?" she asks carefully.
"Something that concerns you," I answer. "And me." A pause. "And the harem."
That's enough.
Her lips part. She swallows hard. "Now?" she asks.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Across the hall. At Gwen's."
May exhales, shaky, then lets out a short, nervous laugh. "Of course it is."
She hesitates, fingers twisting together, thoughts clearly spiraling faster than she can control them.
"…Can you give me two minutes?" she asks. "Just—two."
I nod. "Take them."
She retreats into the apartment without another word, the door closing softly but not fully—left ajar like she might change her mind.
I wait.
One minute.
Then two.
The door opens again. May steps out, jacket half-zipped, hair hastily adjusted, eyes bright with tension. She avoids my gaze for half a second too long before forcing herself to meet it.
"I'm coming," she says quickly. "I'm just—nervous."
"I know," I reply.
She nods, swallowing again, and steps into the hallway beside me.
The walk back is short. Too short for nerves to settle. May's tension radiates off her in tight, contained movements—hands clasped, shoulders stiff, eyes forward like she's walking into an exam she didn't study for.
I open Gwen's door and step aside to let her in first.
The room reacts instantly.
"May?" Gwen says, surprised—but not alarmed.
MJ looks up from the couch, confusion flashing across her face. "Aunt May?"
May freezes for half a second.
"M-J?" she replies, just as surprised. "What are you—?"
Everyone stops talking at once.
There it is.
Two people realizing, in the same breath, that they were invited to the same conversation for reasons they don't yet understand.
"Hi," Gwen says gently, instinctively taking control of the social temperature. "Come in. You're not intruding."
May nods, a little stiff, and steps fully into the living room. I close the door behind us.
Introductions happen quickly—polite, slightly awkward, layered with things unsaid. May sits on the armchair opposite MJ. Gwen remains close to me, grounded, observant.
MJ's eyes flick between May and me.
"I don't really understand," she says carefully. "Why… why does Alex think you should be here?"
May opens her mouth, then closes it again. She looks just as lost. "I was about to ask the same thing."
Gwen, meanwhile, is very still.
Her gaze moves from May's posture, to MJ's guarded tension, then back to me.
And I see the moment it clicks.
Not shock. Not anger.
Recognition.
I take a breath and speak before the uncertainty can spiral any further.
"I brought May here," I say evenly, "because this conversation isn't just about one person."
Both of them focus on me now.
"It's about the harem," I continue. "And about consequences we didn't plan for—but still have to take responsibility for."
MJ stiffens.
May's hands tighten in her lap.
I keep going, calm, deliberate—giving them something solid to hold onto.
"This conversation is about the members of the harem I've gotten pregnant," I say. "And what we do next."
Silence.
Not heavy.
But sharp.
MJ's breath catches. Her eyes widen slightly, then flick to May. "Wait—"
May pales. "Alex—?"
Gwen speaks before either of them can spiral.
"You're both safe," she says firmly. "And you're both included. No one's being cornered here."
MJ looks back at me, heart clearly racing. "You're saying… she too?"
"Yes," I answer.
May stares at me, eyes wide, a thousand questions crashing into each other at once. "I—I didn't tell you," she says quickly. "I haven't told anyone. How do you—?"
I raise a hand, not to stop her, but to steady the moment.
"The how isn't what matters right now," I say calmly. "We can talk about that later if you want. What matters is that we're here to decide what we do now—and how we move forward."
She searches my face, trying to find judgment.
There isn't any.
That disarms her more than anger would have.
Gwen leans slightly toward her, voice gentle but clear. "Before you came in, we were talking about options," she says. "MJ just found out she's pregnant. She's leaning toward keeping the baby, but she's scared—about timing, about consequences, about forcing a role on Alex when he's officially with me."
MJ nods slowly, eyes lowered but present.
"Alex made one thing clear," Gwen continues. "He won't abandon his children. Ever. Adoption isn't on the table. And no one is being pressured into a decision they're not ready to make."
May's breath stutters as she absorbs that.
"And," Gwen adds, meeting her gaze, "I don't blame either of you. I'm surprised by the timing—but that's all."
That lands.
May swallows, eyes glossy. "Okay…"
I take the opening.
"There's one more thing I want to propose," I say, looking at all three of them.
They turn to me.
"There's another member of the harem," I continue. "She isn't pregnant. She isn't directly affected in the same way—but she is part of this dynamic."
I glance at May.
"So no one feels like they have to hide something," I say gently.
Then I turn to MJ.
"And so no one carries guilt alone—for being pregnant, for being unsure, or for not knowing what they're allowed to want."
I look back to Gwen last. She's already thinking ahead, weighing outcomes rather than emotions.
"Having her here means transparency," I continue. "It means pregnancies don't become secrets, and they don't become burdens either. We talk about them openly. We deal with them together."
A pause.
"And we make sure no one ends up isolated because they didn't know how to say it out loud."
A pause.
"I won't invite her unless everyone here is okay with it."
May fidgets, then nods slowly. "I… I'd rather not pretend everything's fine when it's not."
MJ hesitates, then exhales. "If we're doing this," she says quietly, "I don't want secrets."
Gwen gives a small, approving smile. "Then I think it's a good idea."
That's enough.
I step slightly away from the living room, not to isolate myself, just to keep the call clean. I pull my phone out and tap Darcy's contact.
She answers almost instantly.
"Alex—oh my god, hi—wait, you're back, right? You didn't die? Please tell me you didn't die, because that would be very inconvenient emotionally and I feel like I would have noticed a cosmic ripple or—"
"Darcy," I cut in calmly.
She stops. For half a second.
"…Okay. Yep. Sorry. Hi," she says again, slower this time. "You sound serious. That's… new. What's up?"
"I wanted to ask if you're free right now," I say. "And if you could come over to Gwen's place."
There's a pause. Not long—just enough for her brain to switch tracks.
"Oh," she says. Then, immediately, "Wait, like… right now right now? Because I can be right-now free. I'm technically free. Emotionally unprepared, but free."
"Yes. Now."
"And Gwen's there?" she asks, already suspicious.
"Yes."
"And MJ?"
"Yes."
Another beat.
"…Okay, that's officially a thing," she says. "Is this a 'we're hanging out' thing or a 'sit down, Darcy, your life choices are about to be contextualized' thing?"
"It's a conversation about the harem," I answer plainly. "All the members are here. It's important."
Silence.
Then—very softly:
"Oh."
I wait.
"…Okay," she says again, this time steadier. "Okay, yeah. That's… that's important. I'm in. I mean—obviously I'm in. You wouldn't call me like this if it wasn't serious-serious."
"I'll send you the address."
"I already know it," she blurts out, then winces. "I mean—uh—not in a creepy way. MJ mentioned it once. Casually. Like a normal human conversation."
I don't comment.
"I'm grabbing my jacket," she continues, words speeding up again. "I'll be there in—like—fifteen? Ten if traffic behaves? Which it won't, because New York hates me personally."
"That's fine."
"And Alex?" she adds quickly, before I can end the call.
"Yes?"
"I'm… really glad you called me," she says. Less chaotic. More sincere. "Thanks for not… you know. Leaving me out."
"You're part of this," I answer. "That's why."
There's a small, audible inhale on the other end.
Then she clears her throat.
"Okay," she says. "I'm on my way. Don't start without me. Or do—but, like, not the scary parts."
The call ends.
I slip the phone back into my pocket and return to the living room.
All three of them look up.
"She's coming," I say.
May's nerves spike again—visible, contained. MJ shifts slightly, uncertain but grounded. Gwen just nods once, already recalculating.
Good.
No secrecy.
No isolation.
No one left alone with guilt, panic, or questions they don't know how to ask.
This conversation won't be easy.
But it will be complete.