Page 78 of Bound Hearts

“But it’s an indication and fucking me non-stop around that time increases the number of chances. Is that why you ensured we did?”

Adamantly, I shake my head. “Absolutely not. I fucked you because I wanted you in bed. Because I wanted to be inside of you. No persuasion or reason needed. I wanted and will always want to be with you.”

“Why does this feel like this isn’t some fucking coincidence.”

“It is! I promise you. On my mother’s grave, this is purely destiny stepping in. This didn’t happen on purpose. It’s just…”

Perhaps mentioning my mom grabs her attention, and at last, the slightest hint of belief appears. “Just what, Foster?”

This is the part where I’m ashamed. The constant wrestle in my head questioning my motives and coincidence. “It’s… I also avoided telling you about the deadline, because I didn’t fear a situation in which we would accidentally get pregnant. I’m afraid of myself right now, because deep down… I think I wanted it.”

“How could I be so stupid? I’m the one who always does everything right. Then you come along and unravel me. I spin out, become reckless. I get pregnant by accident and offer myself on a fucking silver platter as a wife. Everything you needed!”

Tracking to her, I will keep persisting until it’s clear in her head. “Trust me, that thought crossed my mind a few times. A problem solved. But fuck, the clause didn’t even say I needed a wife! Sutton, I don’t care about the family business or my mom’s will. It’s true that I’ve told my family I want things my way. Timing sometimes happens funny, but it could be two years ago or ten years from now. For you, I would wait. Because by chance you walked into my life, and everything feels right with you.”

“I bet. Deceitfulness tends to get you what you want. You have what you need,” she snipes.

Shaking my head, I won’t relent. My hands come up to cup her face, keeping her still and in my gaze. “You do things to me, Sutton. I feel in my own skin when I’m with you, I’m happy, and I love you like crazy. Coincidences can happen. It happened to us. The baby was a surprise, I promise you.”

“You saw me struggle with the news.” More tears fall.

I kiss her forehead, pull her close, wanting to do everything in my power to soothe her. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you about every detail of the clause bullshit. Minimizing your stress was what I thought was best. But I promise, I’m becoming a father as unexpectedly as you are becoming a mother. I’m in this from day one.”

“No shit. You got me a ring, and that cements your cause even more. Nothing is better than having a baby and a wife, right? Bonus points, I’m sure.”

I don’t let her go. “I got you a ring because if there was ever anyone I felt a strong connection with, it’s you. Baby or not, our attraction was a fucked-up kind of magnetism. Addictive. We wanted casual, but every day it felt more impossible. You’ve seen a side of me nobody else does. For two people who like to follow the rules, we sure didn’t. That meant nothing would ever go smoothly. But a ring on your finger, calling you my wife—it never made me hesitate. Pregnancy or not, I always believed I’d call you my wife one day.”

There is a flicker of warmth in her eyes when she meets my gaze. I feel it in my blood that she and I see it the same way. But her face is red and puffy from crying. I hate myself right now. “I’ve fucked this up because now you’re stressed.”

“And angry,” she adds flippantly.

“You have every right to be.”

“You left out a minor detail that isn’t exactly a tiny piece of the puzzle. You intentionally never told me.”

I shake my head. “You’re right, but it wasn’t intentional. I left out the detail and haven’t told you, and it didn’t cross my mind when I would, only that eventually I would.”

Sutton hiccups another cry and uses her wrists to swipe my arms away. She turns and paces away from me, and everything feels numb. Lightning strikes me when she hisses a sound, and her palms drop to her belly.

Apprehension takes over me. “What is it?” I make one long stride.

"Stop. I’m fine. He’s just kicking."

Probably because he hears his parents arguing.

“Are you sure?” I’m still anxious about the physical toll this conversation is taking on her.

"I can’t look at you right now," she says.

I lift my hands in the air to appease her. “Okay, I’ll go stay at a hotel tonight if you need space.”

“No, Savannah is heading to Everhope, and I’m going with her. I need to wrap my head around this, and I need to be somewhere quiet.”

Rolling my lips in, I sigh because a breather from this is probably for the best. “Okay. Will you at least let me know when you get there safely?”

“Sure.”

Then she turns her back and walks away, taking all the pieces to ruin me with her. Because everything is at stake.