I open my mouth to interject, but Erica cuts me off. “Does Jason know you’re here?”
“Look,” the woman says again, more insistent this time. “I know what we did was wrong, but I had no idea he had a fiancé. And I’m willing to accept the responsibility of our child. And I don’t expect anything from Jason or you. But I thought you should know.”
I turn to leave the room, overwhelmed by what’s happening. It’s like I’m on autopilot as I walk toward the room Jason is getting ready in. I take a deep breath and open the door, the woman—Andrea—and Erica following close behind.
“Catherine? What’s going on?” Jason says.
He stops in his tracks, his eyes widening as he takes in the woman standing behind me.
“Jason, Andrea claims to be pregnant with your child. She says she works with you. Who is she, and is this true?” I ask.
The woman gives him a sad smile. “I’m here to tell your fiancé the truth since you’ve been avoiding me. She has the right to know, Jason.”
Jason’s face pales, and he steps back as if he received a gut punch. He looks from the woman to me, his expression full of guilt and regret. “I… it isn’t true,” he stammers, his voice barely audible over the silence. “Catherine, you know me better than anybody. Would I ever do something like this to you?”
I want to run into his arms and tell him I know he would never hurt me like this. But Jasonhasbeen spending a lot more time at work lately, and something’s been off for months in our relationship. He even stopped pressuring me to abandon my plan to stay a virgin until marriage.
“Catherine,” he insists when I don’t respond. “Can we please talk about this after our wedding?”
“Are you freaking serious right now?” I say, tears streaming down my face as the truth sets in.
The fucking asshole.
“We need to talk about this right now.”
“Are you telling me you believe her?” he asks.
“I don’t know what to believe,” I reply. “Does she work with you or not?”
“Yes.”
“You really have no shame, Jason. I definitely believe it now.”
His eyes widen. “What? You don’t even know her.”
Erica steps closer to us and lays a gentle hand on my shoulder. “We’ll give you two a moment alone to talk,” she breathes, her voice full of compassion.
I nod and turn away, completely crushed by this twist of events. Erica gestures for Andrea to leave with her, glancing at me one last time before they leave me alone with Jason.
I take a few steps toward him. “Just tell me the truth,” I say, my voice barely a whisper. “Is what she said true?”
He looks up at me with anguish in his gaze before finally nodding. “It’s true, Catherine.”
“Why?” I choke out through the lump in my throat. “Why would you do this to me?”
Jason hangs his head low again, composing himself before peering back up at me. “I don’t know,” he says, his voice filled with shame. “I’m a man, Catherine. I have urges. I don’t get why you’re so adamant about remaining a virgin if we already plan on spending the rest of our lives together. I wouldn’t have done it if we had a normal sex life.”
I turn away from him and shake my head, unable to believe what he’s saying. He has no right to blame me after he just betrayed me in the worst way.
I take in a sharp breath as the reality of his words hits me like a freight train. “All this time, you’ve been lying to me, betraying my trust in you. You said you were working late because of overtime shifts, but it turns out it was because you were withher.”
Despite the anger and hurt that I’m feeling, a part of me still wants to believe in him and our relationship.
“I know it was a mistake,” he says softly. “And I’m so sorry for hurting you. But please, think about us, Catherine. Think about all the love we have for each other and how much we both want to get married. Please don’t let this one mistake ruin everything.”
My breath catches in my throat. “You already ruined everything, Jason. What do you even plan on doing with this woman and your baby?”
His lips part, and I can see that he’s struggling to find the right words to say, but he is at a loss for them. He knows there’s nothing he can do or say to make this situation any better. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” he admits. “But whatever it is, I’ll make sure it gets taken care of. I swear. Let’s just get married, and we can talk about this later.”
