Preview to Chapter 42! And 41 will be posted Tomorrow!

Meanwhile, back inside the room, MJ is reeling by this revelation. Gwen knew in the end who Peter was.

"Gwen, you knew?" Mary Jane whispered, her voice barely audible over the mechanical hum of the medical equipment.

Gwen nodded, her hands fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. She looked smaller than MJ remembered, thinner. “I heard everything,” she said, her voice brittle as glass. “The Goblin shouting, Spider-Man—Peter—his voice, that look in his eyes. I was still conscious when he caught me. I could see the terror on his face. I just couldn’t…” The words broke off; Gwen’s mouth moved, searching for a phrase that wouldn’t come. Finally: “I couldn’t make it make sense.”

MJ’s hand hovered, then settled on Gwen's wrist. She remembered when Gwen would always joke about her own wrists, how they were “spaghettini” compared to MJ’s toned forearms from dance practice. Now, they looked even more fragile, as if a strong enough question might shatter them.

“I’m so sorry,” MJ said, meaning it in a way that reached down through every layer of guilt she had ever accumulated—her own, Peter’s, maybe even Harry’s. It didn’t solve anything, but it was the only honest thing she had.

"I don't understand," Gwen continued, her voice growing stronger. "Why didn't he tell me? We were together for so long, and he never trusted me with this?"

"It wasn't about trust," MJ said softly, reaching for Gwen's hand. "It was about protection. He was terrified of what might happen if his enemies ever found out who he cared about."

MJ thought of her own years with Peter—how many times she’d come close, how many times she’d almost demanded the truth, only to pull back for his sake, for hers. How many times had she, too, been a party to the deception? She’d let Gwen believe they were just friends, let herself believe that Peter could be everything to everyone, especially to the ghosts of his own past. If Gwen hated him now—if she hated both of them—then MJ couldn’t blame her.

Gwen's eyes narrowed. "Like what happened to my father?"

The question hung in the air between them, sharp as broken glass. MJ felt her chest tighten. This was the crux of it all—the terrible knot of grief and guilt that had nearly destroyed Peter.

"Did you hate him?" The question slipped out before MJ could stop herself, her voice barely audible. But it was an important question that needed to be asked, for Peter’s sake.

Gwen's eyes widened, fresh tears welling up. "I don't know what I felt in those last moments. Everything was chaos. I was falling, and then..." She shuddered. "And then there was light. So much light."

"How long have you known?" Gwen asked, her voice fragile but steady. "That Peter is Spider-Man?"

MJ swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry. "Since before you... before the bridge. Before I even met Peter." The admission felt like betrayal, though she wasn't sure to whom.

Gwen's fingers tightened around the thin hospital blanket. "And you never told me."

It wasn't a question, but MJ answered anyway. "It wasn't my secret to tell." The excuse sounded hollow, even to her own ears. "He didn’t even know that I knew."

The doors to the room hiss open, revealing Felicia standing there, somewhat awkwardly.

Gwen stares at her in confusion, “Who are you?”

“This is Felicia,” MJ tells her, before she fumbles the next part, “She’s a friend.”

She can feel the eyes of Felicia, but her focus is on Gwen. MJ doesn’t want to overwhelm her with any more information that can send her for a loop. She doesn’t think dropping more bombshells on thin ice is the best option right now.

She watches as she stares at Felicia, looking her up and down, before turning her sights to Mary Jane, and doing the same.

Gwen looks at the redhead curiously and inquires, “Were you on a date with her?”

MJ flinches as she realizes that her and Felicia’s attire points to that obvious conclusion. Only problem being is that it’s more complicated than that.

“We were,” Felicia chimes in, making the supermodel worry she’ll spill the beans, “But we came rushing as soon as we got the call.”

“I honestly thought that you and Peter would be together.” Gwen shares.

MJ grimaces, “Things aren’t simple with Peter,” she states, not wanting to lie to her friend, ‘What we have is complicated.

Gwen was staring at MJ with new intensity. "How long has it been, really? Dr. Richards told me years, but... everything feels so strange. Like I just closed my eyes for a moment."

MJ hesitated, then said gently, "It's been a little over ten years, Gwen."

Gwen pulls her knees up to her chest, “I need a minute.” Gwen tells her, in a quiet voice.

MJ nods and stands up, “Take all the time you need.” She says before she pats her friend on her knee, “I’ll be close by if you need me.”