Calum's PoV

I didn't know what to do. This had all escalated so quickly and now Poppy was trying to kick them out before we had even eaten.

"That's all you ever do. Kick us out, push us away. I hope calum can handle your attitude problem cos we struggled when you were younger." Her mum shook her head in my direction, trying to add to the already hurtful words she said about her daughter.

"I didn't have an attitude problem. I was fighting with you because you didn't care about me or anything I did! You let my brother eat and drink what he wanted, smoke in the house, have girls over every day and throw parties when I had exams! When I had one friend over because she'd lost her house keys you grounded me for a month! When I wanted a new phone and showed you the make and model I was saving for, you bought it for him the next day. When I wanted new shoes, you said we didn't have enough money but the next week you bought Will three pairs of trainers for drama club. It wasn't fair. Any of it. It still isn't." My wife stood there, looking open and vulnerable, whilst her parents sat comfortably on the sofa as if they were watching some tv sitcom. It shocked me that they could act so unbothered about any of this, yet had the venomous words that cut deep when they finally bothered to answer.

"You're such an over-exaggerator." Her dad's comeback was about as small as it could get for what she had said to them. How could anyone not feel affected by what I was seeing in front of me? I know she was my partner for life and we'd been through a load of crap together but I couldn't bear to watch her standing there, her hands cradling her bump for protection and comfort whilst she opened up about the childhood she'd kept so secret from me. They sat there like she was rehearsing a play, like none of this was real life to them and it made me furious.

"An overexagger-" Poppy shook her head. "No way. This is not becoming my issue again." She turned her back to us all, pacing away to create more distance between her and her parents.

"Look, we get it. The story fits better if you claim your parents were bad to you and that's why you fell into the wrong crowd. We brought you and Will up the same way and look how different you both are. He's an overachieving superstar, you're an attention seeking fake celebrity." Her mum's insults flew out of her mouth in such a sweet tone they could be missed initially. I watched as Poppy straightened where she stood and finally my brain caught up with the insulting remarks her life giver had just made.

"I'm sorry, I think that's uncalled for." I tried to say my piece but barely got a sentence out without her parents staring me down.

"He worked hard to get to where he is. She married you and caused loads of trouble. It's hardly rocket science. I'm sure even a rockstar like you can piece that together." Her dad turned the insults on me, trying to belittle my intelligence. I opened my mouth to retaliate but my beloved got there first.

"Don't you dare speak to Calum like that again." She seethed. "We met in strange circumstances but we grew as a couple, everything about us that you see here is real. Not what the paps say, not what the magazines print. This. And the problem is that you two aren't the least bit bothered with being kept out of that." She finally turned around, her facial features softening for a second as she looked over at me for strength. "You've not tried to get to know Cal, or me, yet you chose to believe the shit in the papers. We are expecting your grandchild yet you're not the least bit excited. Everything you talk about is related to Will and how successful he is but we both studied at uni, we both achieved our dreams, mine was just less glamorous. You never said you were happy for me." She walked back over to me and sat beside me, letting out a soft breath as she rubbed her knees, looking pained. Clearly this whole evening was taking it out of her and the last thing I wanted to do was watch as she broke down mentally and physically. The baby was one thing, but the newly diagnosed cancer and how bad it was must have been swimming through her mind with this awful encounter just adding to it.

"Happy for what? You nearly went bankrupt whilst studying, you lived with a prostitute and drug addict, you couldn't save her, you couldn't save the guy at the restaurant, you had drug addict contacts trying to kill calum, you got run over, you couldn't even fight for your relationship properly, you spread your cancer news to the world and then tried to play up on it for events and stuff. What's good about that?" Her mum listed this stuff off in a perfect recital as if she'd practiced it for a while. My fists clenched under the table as the list finished, picking out the tiniest holes in our lives. I couldn't hold back for another second, even if it meant these two hated me forever. I glanced at Poppy once more, offering her my signature smirk before I began.

"Actually, I see a woman who went through hardships and a lack of support finding her feet through a really hard period in her life. I see one who was so good at her job that she helped fix my broken ankle and a collapsed lung. She tried to save a man who was in a bad state and gave him the best she could. I see someone who has helped nearly all my friends with medical issues without a second thought, who puts others before herself and who dedicates her life to helping others. She is overqualified and under appreciated in this world. I can't believe I was lucky enough to find someone like her snd welcome her into my life. So if some 'dumb rockstar' can see all that and you can't, what does that make you?"