Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Hazel was the first to break the silence. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
Getting right to the point, I asked, “How do you know it’s mine?”
She wasn’t taken aback by my question. It’s as if she expected it. “You think I’d be here if it wasn’t?”
“I don’t know what to think. The woman I knew wouldn’t have fucked me over after riding my dick.”
She glared at me. “I warned you that you didn’t know me anymore, but you were never one to listen.”
“I’m listening now, so answer me. I have very little patience left. Especially with you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she mocked, looking offended. “Let me spell it out for you. You’re the only man I’ve been with in the past six months.”
“I thought you had a roster,” I reminded.
“It doesn’t mean I fucked them, but thanks for thinking so highly of me.”
“What do you expect after the bullshit you pulled?”
“It’s not so nice when you’re on the other end of someone’s pain, now is it?”
I scoffed. “You’re unbelievable.”
“I’m unbelievable?! You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Keep your voice down.”
“Why? Chance knows I’m pregnant, and it’s yours, so we have nothing else to hide. Thanks to you, everyone knows now. You couldn’t have just talked to me privately like I wanted.”
“What do you expect from me? You played me.”
“What goes around, comes around.”
“Chance is—”
“News flash! My brother doesn’t run my life despite how he runs yours.”
“That’s not fair.”
“None of this is fair, Ledger! If it were, I wouldn’t be having your baby, asshole!”
“You’re the one who fucked me over, and I’m the asshole?”
“Yeah! To get back at you!”
I snidely remarked, “How’s that working out for you?”
“I’m pregnant with your baby. What do you think?”
“How sure are you that you’re pregnant?”
She reached into her purse, pulling out what appeared to be a photo before slamming it onto my chest.
“This sure.”
It was only then I realized it was an ultrasound picture.
“I’m only here to tell you that I’m pregnant and it’s yours.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “It’s the right thing to do.” She hesitated briefly before adding, “I don’t need anything from you, okay? That’s not why I’m here. I don’t need your money or for you to even be involved if you don’t want to be. I can handle this on my own. I already have it all planned out. I hired a live-in nanny who will help me with everything, and you can be present as much or as little as you want. I’m not here to trap you. I’m just as surprised as you are, and I’m just trying to move forward with this unexpected situation we’re in, but you don’t have to claim this baby if you don’t want to.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I breathed out. “You really think I’m capable of that?”
“I’m just saying, you’re free to come and go as you please. I’m not holding you hostage. The last thing I want is for you to think I did this on purpose. Yes, we didn’t use a condom, but I was on the pill and never missed one. I wasn’t having sex with anyone for the six months prior to you, and I still stayed on it, taking it regularly. Believe me, having a baby without being married wasn’t exactly in my plans, but I guess you have super sperm, and we’re in the seven percent category. So congratulations, Ledger. We’re now a cautionary tale.”
Trying to control my temper, I continued. “It’s only one baby?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “Thank God! It was my first question to my doctor. Thankfully, there’s just one in there, which is already hard enough.”
“How far along are you?”
“Three months.”
“And you’re just telling me now?”
She raised her arms in the air in a surrendering gesture. “Give me a break. I had to get over the shock first before I told you. I’ve only known for a little over a month.”
“You should have told me the second you thought you were pregnant. I’ve missed so much already.”
“Ledger, the only thing you’ve missed is me peeing on an obscene number of pregnancy tests that literally turned positive the second I peed on them and then my doctor confirming what I already knew. Other than your baby torturing me on my stupidity of wanting revenge on you, I’ve spent the last six weeks throwing up everything I tried to eat, and the smell of anything floral makes me want to puke. There,” she sneered, “you’re caught up on everything.”
“Is that why you look like you’ve lost weight?”
“Yes, but don’t worry, I’ll gain it all back and then some.”
Not wanting there to be any misunderstanding on my part, I made myself crystal fucking clear. “Hazel, I’m not missing another second of this pregnancy.”
“I’m not asking you to. Like I said, you can be as involved as you want. I’m not pressuring you or taking this baby away from you. It’s as much yours as it is mine. I know that, and I’d never want our child not to know its father. We both come from two loving parents, and that’s all I want for our baby.”