I nodded, taking his hand. “Let’s go upstairs.” Hopefully, on the way to my apartment, I would figure out how to explain why I hadn’t told him he was going to be a father. I mean, I knew why, but would he understand?
Once inside, I guided him to my plain blue couch. Much smaller than the one in his dorm that Ret had spilled his beverage on. Though I didn’t have anyone living with me. Not until this baby came, at least.
“Would you like something to drink?” Anything to buy me more time.
“I’m good.” Genj patted the cushion beside him. “Sit. Let’s talk. First of all, how far along are you? How has your pregnancy been?”
I sat, staring at my hands in my lap. As much as I’d dreamed about him being here with me throughout my pregnancy, this wasn’t the way I’d expected things to happen. That again was my fault. “I’m just past twenty-two universal weeks along. Over halfway. It’s been that long since I visited you. And things are okay now that I’m not sick all the time.”
Genj lightly touched my shoulder before pulling his hand away. “You were sick? From being pregnant?”
I glanced over at him for a brief moment, the concern etched in the soft wrinkles around his eyes. “Yeah. Some days were really rough. That’s why I stopped talking to you. If I wasn’t in the bakery, I was throwing up, or trying to sleep in between.”
“Oh.” He shuffled across the floor. “I, um… I thought you changed your mind about me. That your crush was over after we were together, and you’d decided to move on.”
“No!” I put my hand on his lap and squeezed his thigh. “I would never. I just…I was pregnant before.”
He nodded slowly. “Yes. Vawn said that.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Talking about that time in my life was still hard, but I had to make Genj understand. “I was with an alpha named Werd.”
“Werd Thompkins?”
I gasped. Did he know him? I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Chewing on my bottom lip, I nodded. “Yeah. He didn’t claim me, but we were living together for a while.”
Genj’s jaw tightened, and he crossed his arms. Great, something else for him to be mad at me for. Though it wasn’t as if he ever indicated he was interested in me at any time during those star cycles.
“I was on suppressants, but I guess I still went into heat and got pregnant.”
Genj nodded, not looking at me. Stars, why was I telling him?
I pushed his leg and stood. “Just go. I don’t need this. You have no right to get mad at me for being with someone else. Seriously, how many people did you sleep with before me? Or after me?”
He quickly got to his feet and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry. Yes, I’m mad, but not at you. It’s Werd. He and I weren’t exactly on friendly terms in school. And he knew. He knew I had a crush on you and used to tease me about it. I never thought…” He stroked his palm over my hair then kissed the top of my head. “You were pregnant with his child?”
I nodded against his chest, the threat of tears already burning the corners of my eyes. “I was so excited, even if we weren’t mated. And he seemed happy, too. But then I miscarried.” The tears fell, and I lost the ability to speak. Talking about this, reliving it all, hurt so much.
Genj held me tighter and rubbed my back. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Several minutes passed before I was able to calm myself to speak again. Though the next part was a knife to the heart at a much different level. “He blamed me. Said I wasn’t a good omega, that I didn’t take care of him or myself properly. Said he was glad he’d never claimed me. Then he tossed my few belongings out of his place and told me to get out and never return.”
Genj held me tight as sobs wracked my body. Rubbing my back, he never said a word, simply comforted me in a way no alpha ever had.
When I’d managed to calm myself again, I glanced up at him.
His eyes were red and glassy as he stroked his fingers along my cheek. “I get it. I understand why you didn’t tell me. But know that I want to be here for you. Good or bad. No matter what happens. There’s been no one since you. And when we were together, it was all I could do to resist claiming you. I didn’t know if it was too soon, if you wanted me the way I’ve always wanted you.”
More tears fell, but they held joy this time rather than sadness. When I finally pulled away from Genj’s broad, comforting chest, his shirt was soaked across the front. “I’m sorry. I know you’re not Werd. I shouldn’t have assumed you’d be like him, but I was scared.”
“And I get it. I do.” He nudged my chin up before leaning down to give me a soft kiss. “But let me be here for you. Even when I’m on Eurebly, I want to support you as much as possible. We’ll figure this out. We’ll make it work.”
I nodded as my heart clenched. He wasn’t going to stop racing. And I couldn’t expect him to. Though after seeing Ojokun involved in a near-fatal crash that ended his racing career, I couldn’t help but worry about Genj every time his team raced. I’d stopped watching the races, only caught the results after with a sigh of relief. Once we were parents, I would worry even more. I remembered what Vawn went through when his first alpha died.
“I…I should get down to the bakery.” As much as I wanted to stay in his arms and wished time would stand still, I knew it wouldn’t, and I had a business to run. “Your nieces are probably trying to eat everything.”
He chuckled. “Definitely. But, hey, can I help you out? Maybe work for you in exchange for a couch to sleep on for the next few days? I didn’t exactly plan anything when I abandoned my team on Harasa.”
I nudged my shoulder into his arm. “Of course you can stay with me, and I’ll let you share my bed if you want.”
