Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
And yet…
I bite my bottom lip and scurry to the adjoining en suite, reminding myself not to stress. After all, I’m literally on chemical birth control, so the chances are near zero. But my hands shake as I retrieve a pregnancy test from the bottom drawer, and after I pee on the indicator, I realize that my heart’s racing.
You’re on birth control. It’s going to be fine, I remind myself through gritted teeth. Yet why do I feel nauseated? Maybe the Depo didn’t work? Oh God.
I set the pregnancy test on the counter, set a timer, and continue pawing through my vanity drawers for God knows what. Tampons? Pads? I can’t think and my mind is buzzing.
But then, my phone alarm chimes, and I grab the little stick, still shaking a bit.
A blue plus sign.
I squint, disbelieving for a moment, but then my fingers go numb and the indicator clatters to the floor.
I’m pregnant.
But how can this be? The world seems to spin on its axis, and I sit down hard on the cool tile floor, my back against the tub.
“What the hell?” I mutter, staring into space. “What the hell?” I repeat in a louder voice, an echo reverberating in the tiled chamber.
After I’m not sure how long, I hear a knock on the door.
“Harlow?” my man’s deep voice calls. “You okay? I just got home.”
Am I in shock? I wonder absently, not bothering to answer. But then I get myself together because this is not the way to talk about an unexpected pregnancy.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I call in a mostly steady voice. “Just give me a sec.”
“Okay,” he growls, pausing for a moment. “I’ve missed you today,” he adds in a low voice full of promise. Oh shit. We’d talked about trying out that new toy in bed, and it sounds like he wants it before dinner, and not after.
But that’s going to have to go on the back burner because we have more important issues to discuss. Slowly, I get up off the bathroom floor and splash my face with cold water. Okay, I’m still pale, but I look more or less normal. Then, I let myself out of the suite and head downstairs to the living room before taking a seat on the couch.
A few moments later, Sam comes bounding down the stairs.
“Hey hon,” he growls after dropping a kiss on my head. “You look beautiful as always.”
I don’t say a word. Instead, the pregnancy test is clutched tight in my hands, and I hold it up.
“What is that?” Sam asks, but then his expression drops. “Oh shit, are you…?”
I nod grimly.
“Seems like the Depo-Provera didn’t work,” I say in a controlled tone. “So yep. You’re going to be a daddy.”
I expected my man to scream, yell, laugh, cry, or do something, but instead, he just stands there. “Sam,” I say through gritted teeth. “You heard me, right? Even though we used contraception, I’m pregnant. So yeah, surprise.”
But Sam doesn’t looked shocked at all.
“Actually, Harlow, I didn’t give you the Depo,” he says in an easy tone.
Now it’s my turn to stare at him. “What?” I ask, numbness creeping across my body. “Come again?”
Sam doesn’t look perturbed, his handsome features calm.
“It was a placebo. I gave you a fake injection.” He takes a seat next to me, way too calm for what’s happening.
“You… what? Excuse me?” I intend to scream the question, but instead it comes out quietly, almost like a whimper.
Sam shrugs. “I love you, baby, and I want to have a child with you, Harlow. You’re everything to me.” He says this statement so matter-of-factly that I’m not quite sure how to respond at first.
He loves me, I repeat to myself. And yet he lied to me.
My heart pounds, the pieces beginning to break thanks to this man’s unforgivable betrayal. I stare at him, completely shattered.
“I know I shouldn’t have done it,” he continues to speak. “But I love you so much, Harlow, and … well, I’m happy, baby,” he confesses with a smile. “Holy shit, we’re going to be parents.”
But the rage is unstoppable, and it boils in my chest, making my face go red.
“Love?” I scream. “What the fuck is wrong with you? What about your actions say love to you? You fucking betrayed me!”
He nods, looking down at his hands.
“I know, Harlow,” he says in a quiet voice. “Trust me, I get it.”
But I’m not done yet.
“You should never have made such a life altering decision for me! What the hell is wrong with you? Have you gone insane?”
Hot tears stream down my cheeks before I even realize that I’m crying, but I don’t care because I’m too incensed with the scope of his betrayal. I love this man, but how can you stay in a relationship with someone who does this?