Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and rolls it out slowly before continuing. “I told the gynecologist, and after I gave birth to Felix, I got an IUD, but it caused a negative reaction so I went back on the pill. They gave me a different one, in case the one I was on didn’t work with me for whatever reason.”
I’m trying to follow what she’s saying, but I’m not quite sure where she’s going with this.
“Last year, David asked me for another baby, and I said no. From the beginning, our marriage was rocky, and it only got worse over the years. He worked a lot but was also controlling. He didn’t pay attention to Felix and me but didn’t want us around anyone else. I think, in a lot of ways, I stayed with him for Felix, and he knew that. Our marriage was barely hanging on by a thread when we moved here. With Felix going to school, it was only a matter of time until I got a job and became independent. That’s why, even though I said no to having another baby, he went behind my back again and switched out my birth control pills for placebos.”
Her eyes meet mine, and it takes me a second to wrap my head around everything she just said. “Wait, again?”
“Again.” She nods. “I ran into him today. Well, not ran into him since he knew I had an appointment and made sure to run into me.”
“What?” I bark. “Where the fuck was Simon?”
She holds up her hand. “I’m fine. It was my mistake. I left out the wrong door. When Simon realized I was gone, he found me and jumped in and got David away from me, but before he did, David confessed to messing with my pills then and now.”
My head is spinning. “Now? What do you mean now?”
“I mean, David took it upon himself to switch out my pills without me knowing, so this entire time we’ve been having sex, thinking we’re protected, I wasn’t. And now, I’m pregnant.”
She slides a black-and-white image over to me. I don’t know what the hell I’m looking at, but I’ve seen it in enough movies and shit to know it’s a sonogram photo. “You’re… you’re pregnant?”
“Five weeks.” Tears fill her eyes. “I’m so, so sorry, Camden.” She releases a harsh breath, and a couple of tears fall.
“You’re pregnant,” I breathe. “Holy shit.” I pull my chair out and pull hers toward me, so I can see her belly. “You’re pregnant with my baby?” She nods, and I lift her shirt, exposing her flesh. I drop to my knees and kiss just above her belly button. “Holy shit,” I repeat. “I can’t believe it. We’re having a baby.”
When I glance back up at her, she’s looking at me with tears streaming down her cheeks. And then I remember the part about her not wanting to have another baby. David tricked her, and thankfully, she didn’t get pregnant until we were together, but that doesn’t change the fact that she wasn’t given a choice. I’m almost positive that doing something like this is a crime, and he could be charged. Hell, if it’s possible, I’m going to make sure he is charged.
I sit up and take her face in my hands. “Do you want to have this baby?” I ask slowly. If she says no, I’ll be devastated, but I won’t argue. What David did was fucked up. No woman should be tricked or forced into having a baby, so I sure as fuck won’t guilt her into having this baby. If she decides not to keep it, I’ll support her decision one hundred percent.
“I do,” she says. “I really do want this baby.”
I sag in relief. “Then why are you crying?”
“Besides feeling betrayed, I wasn’t sure how you’d feel. I know you love me, but we’re young, and this is still all new, and you’re already taking on a stepson…”
“Whoa.” I pull back slightly. “I’m not taking anything or anyone on. We’re a family.”
She nods. “I know but still…”
“We take it at our pace, do whatever feels right,” I tell her, repeating the very words she said to me in California when she told me she wanted to be with me. “I don’t care that we’ve only been married for a short time. I love you. And while I hate what David did, I fucking love that you’re carrying my baby.”
A smile cuts through the tears, exposing those twin dimples I love. “I do too.”
I take the sonogram picture and glance at it. “I think it looks like a girl. What do you think?”
She laughs, the sound melodic. “I think it looks like one of Felix’s drawings.”
“You’re having a baby?” my mom squeals, throwing her arms around me at the same time Layla’s mom hugs her. We’re not announcing anything until she’s in her second trimester, but we had to tell our families. She was worried they would feel like we’re rushing, but of course, they’re all ecstatic.