Why did Lila have it?
She glanced at me before pushing the plate forward. “I thought I heard you. Your mother sends her love. And food.”
I stared at her. “You went to my mother’s?”
Lila didn’t look at me. “Yes. She sent this for you.” I took a seat at the kitchen counter, shovelling the food into my mouth like a man starved.
Good god, I missed home cooking. I ate instant noodles most nights, so this wasdecadent.
“You look better,” Lila said, tilting her head. “Must’ve needed sleep.”
I nodded, my mouth full of food.
Her finger curled a strand of hair around it as she watched me. “I’ll leave you to it.”
I swallowed my food as quickly as I could, wincing as the lump got stuck in my throat. “Lila.”
She stopped, turning to look at me with those beautiful eyes. I wanted to reach out and touch her, but all I could manage was, “Thanks for this.”
“Your mom made it, not me.” Then she walked upstairs, leaving me alone with nothing but spaghetti for company.
The next day we had the scan, and I sat in Lila’s car with a frosty silence between us. I hadn’t expected her to give me a ride—but she’d offered when I was ordering an Uber, and it made sense. We lived together, after all, but she didn’t particularly want to share this moment with me.
She’d rather do it alone, which said everything I needed to know.
I tried not to look at her, but my god, she was stunning. She smelled incredible too, and all I wanted to do was bury my head into her hair and inhale her. I missed her so much I could fall to my knees and beg for her forgiveness, but I didn’t deserve it.
I didn’t deserve her anymore, if I ever had.
We parked and headed inside, and all I saw werecouples.
Happy couples with excitement shining in their eyes, whispering to each other while they waited for their names to be called. There wasn’t a single woman here alone, and I vowed I’d come with Lila to as many appointments as she’d allow me to. I didn’t want her to feel alone.
The dad-to-be across from me stroked his wife’s stomach, which was heavily swollen. She rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed. I couldn’t help but notice the wedding rings. I glanced at my hand, where I still wore mine. Lila’s was bare.
Well done, dude. You kept your vows, unlike me.
He didn’t so much as glance at Lila when she checked in at the desk, yet Lila still took my breath away. Anyone with a pulse would find her attractive, but this guy couldn’t take his eyes away from his wife.
My stomach plummeted. This could’ve been me.
What a fucking idiot I was, fucking Cami. Goddamn, I could punch myself until I knocked myself out. What the fuck had I even been thinking?
Lila stared down at her phone, swiping at the screen as she smiled.
Who, or what, was making her smile like that?
I couldn’t pretend she wouldn’t move on; I just prayed she didn’t do it while she was pregnant. Or when the baby was born. Or ever. Fuck it.
I closed my eyes and leaned back, trying to ignore the sound of the hospital around me. I could try to forget we were here, or imagine Lila gazing up at me with excited eyes, her hand in mine…
“Ms. Morrison?”
Lila rose to her feet, and my jaw dropped.
“You’re using your maiden name?” I whispered, feeling dizzy. She’d been Rossi for so long, I couldn’t imagine her being Lila Morrison anymore.
Lila glanced at me, an ice-cold look that told me she absolutely was using her maiden name and probably had been since she’d watched that godforsaken video.
