Poppy's PoV

I tried to hide my smile as my parents straightened in their seats at Calum's really nicely worded insult. They focused on the negatives but he turned it round, let them know there was a positive side they couldn't see. Or chose not to see. Whichever fitted better.

"You haven't had to put up with her that long, just wait." Dad chuckled, half joking half venomous. Calum sighed, I could tell he'd dropped the picture perfect son-in-law persona. He really wanted to try and impress them, to get to know them and have a good relationship with them but my parents weren't having any of it. They didn't care about him, our relationship, life or baby so he didn't care about them. I could tell he'd had enough.

"Look, this was supposed to be a meeting to try and work on our relationship with you. Not an insult game. Poppy wanted to give it a try to repair this before our baby was born. We are all grown adults, it shouldn't be this difficult. We've gone through a lot and having your support would really help but if that's not something you're willing to give then fine." He said strongly, his hand holding mine under the table as he spoke. I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles as always. My parents exchanged glances before standing up.

"I agree, but this is unfixable. She has caused too many issues." Mum began. "So I'm afraid we can't help. We'll see ourselves out." They shuffled out of the room without another glance or a good luck or anything. This was exactly why I had never wanted them around anymore. This was it all day every day. I'd get insults like that and Will would get all the praise. He'd get boasted about and every minuscule thing he did was broadcast to the whole family whereas no one knew anything of what I did. Whenever we'd meet up for events, they'd always been years behind on information; most of them not even knowing I had studied to be a nurse. My parents didn't even bother to turn up to my graduation because Will had an audition that day. They'd driven him up to it and waited around the town until he'd finished instead of seeing me graduate and finally be able to call myself a nurse. That didn't even bother me though, by that point I could already guess what was going to happen. As soon as Will had told me he had an audition that day I knew not one of them would be there to support me. I celebrated alone. I went home whilst everyone else partied, ordered myself a takeaway and watched some action films until I fell asleep. They got home in the early hours of the morning and by the time they'd woken up the next morning, I was at my first day of work. They didn't really congratulate me either, because the amazing news of Will getting a part in the show he'd auditioned for took over everything. The wash of pure exhaustion had engulfed me at the dinner table that day and that same feeling was back today.
Suddenly, I couldn't hold back the flood of emotion anymore. I gripped the edge of the table as I let out a sob so guttural it made calum spin round to me in an instant. His arms were around me within a second as he soothed me.

"Hey, it's okay. It'll be okay. You did the best you could. They're not worth these tears." He practically whispered into my ear, his forehead pressed against the side of my head as his hand soothed my back. But it wasn't just that. It was everything. There was too much going on for me to handle and once again I was getting overwhelmed. That was probably the last I'd see or hear from them, the end of one part of my life just like that and then suddenly, the terror of fighting this cancer and leaving Calum with a newborn baby really struck. I'd have three less people to help him and Calum's family lived on the other side of the world. He'd be alone, struggling but not wanting to admit it because he'd think I was going through worse. I couldn't have that. I needed to make sure the support group was there no matter what happened with me. This was my new focus.

"I love you." I breathed out as I finally calmed myself down, wiping my tears away before pulling Calum into a hug and really appreciating everything in that moment. He was there for me, supporting me and even proving points against my parents despite normally wanting to please everyone. He was honestly the best I could ask for and more than I deserved.

"I love you too." He spoke into my neck. "Don't let anything they said play on your mind. We've got bigger and better things to focus on right now." His hand moved to my stomach, stroking the bump with a delicate touch. We pulled apart and smiled at each other, letting the silence speak volumes as we appreciated everything in front of us. With my mind whirring, I changed the subject swiftly.

"We need to start decorating the nursery." I said bluntly, looking down at my growing stomach. "We don't have long now. We need to order the furniture, paint it, get toys, bedding, clothes. We need to buy toiletries and nappies and stock up as if the world is ending because babies go through them like no tomorrow. We need to make sure it's ready before I-" I cut off my own sentence as I gulped down the sick feeling. Calum nodded without another word.

"It's getting late and you're tired. Let's start planning all this tomorrow. I'll start looking for a decorator now and-" I shook my head before he'd finished.

"Absolutely not. I want to decorate it myself."

"But you'll get tired, you'll be hugely pregnant and the symptoms could get worse..." Calum knew he was treading on thin ice bringing up the cancer but I knew he was only worried about me.

"Then I'd better get started tomorrow then! The quicker we begin the sooner it'll be done and the baby will have something amazing to greet them."