AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Over my dead body.” I look at Sophia, his ex of many years, hating her as much as I always have. “You can get off my fucking property. He doesn’t want your cheating ass anymore. Stop sending my husband messages. I’ve read every one. It’s a pathetic attempt at getting him back.”
She laughs. “What are you going to do, Presley? You’re not in Laguna where your dad controls so much. You’re nothing here.”
All my brain can put together is that this looks like my worst nightmare playing out. “Why are the two of you standing in the dark when I’m not here, Konnor? You can’t tell the ho no?”
One look from him and I know I’m going to regret that later, his blue eyes not leaving mine. “You’re no better than me,” she cuts in. She looks me over when my eyes veer. “Like you were abstinent. Quite the opposite, huh? Were you scared he’d turn to someone else like he did with me all those years ago, so you got knocked up on purpose?”
My spine steels, and for a second, I can’t breathe. It’s like something is sucking the air out of my lungs through a straw, and my heart aches. Our baby doesn’t deserve that shame. Neither of them. I didn’t fight for the first one when it counted. I will now. “Presley.”
My body comes forward with arms ready, ignoring his request for my attention. The only thing I can grab before something grabs me is a big chunk of her long, red hair. I don’t let go. She screams. I can’t focus on anything. Then my back roughly hits the side of the house, Konnor’s Tahoe now on the left instead of the right. When my pupils focus, Konnor is standing in front of me with his eyes blazing and his chest heaving. He’s pissed. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
My defenses still have my mind in a haze. “You’re defending her?” I spit out.
His eyes darken a shade. “I’ll do a lot when you’re carrying my daughter. Get inside before we lose a second one. I was handling it . . . outside in the open.” My temper starts to flare again. “Try me.”
I glance down at the hanging tattooed arm, noticing his hand shaking despite his power stance. My anger cools a degree. He only shakes like that when he’s scared. “So help me God, she better be off this property in five minutes or she’ll get a permanent view of the glades. Try. Me,” I repeat his threat. “She went after the wrong married man, ex or not.”
I turn and walk a few feet to the door, feeling his eyes on me as I disappear inside, slamming the door behind me. My tears fall as I quickly make my way toward our section of the house, where our room, an extra bathroom, and Kylar’s room is. Thankfully Sayler, Riggan, and Chloe are having dinner with Sayler’s parents.
Maddox, Gabby, and Madden have family night on Saturdays where they take Madden to do something fun since Maddox works all week, even when Konnor is in school. Konnor’s dad assigned one of his foremans here for a while to train Maddox as we expand their construction company for Konnor to run since we don’t have any intention of leaving anytime soon. They’ve been flipping houses to start out small while Konnor and Maddox learn the business, and hopefully, they can get into commercial properties in the next few years, which is what Konnor’s dad mostly does. His dad pops in from time to time too but does more from a distance. I think he stays pretty busy at home.
It melts my heart to see Maddox being such an awesome dad pretty much overnight. He hasn’t had an adjustment phase like the rest of us will have had. Madden has been talking about miniature golf all week. He’s the sweetest kid I’ve ever met. He was so excited for tonight.
My feet carry me to the nursery. I turn on the lamp that’s sitting on top of the long, off-white dresser next to the door that doubles as a changing table. The light pinks and creams with dashes of turquoise around the room calm me. I wanted her room to be happy.
I shut the door, before walking toward her crib at the center of the farthest wall—the only turquoise one—my hand gliding along the rail. Everything is ready for her. She can come any time she wants now. I’ve already started to dilate according to my doctor. She’s turned head down just like she’s supposed to be. I’m ready to meet her, to hold her, and to love her.
As if she knows I’m in her room, she starts to move inside me. My hand meets her foot, just like it does every time she does this. Having a life move around inside of you is the weirdest thing, but it’s the thing I think I’ll miss the most when I’m no longer pregnant. Her movement is confirmation that she’s really there, and that this is all real. “That girl is the cause of all my insecurity. I’ve loved your daddy for a lifetime, and in my head, she’s the only one that could take him from me.”
“I don’t know why. She has nothing on you.”
I jump, not expecting him to be inside already. I didn’t even hear the door open. Did I threaten five minutes, yes, but what guy actually listens when you’re demanding for him to do something? Rebellion is a real thing. I blow out, trying to stop crying before turning around, but I can’t hide it anyway, so there really is no point.
When I turn around he’s standing in the doorway, one hand on the knob and the other on the frame. “Why was she here? We’re thousands of miles from home.”
“Her grandmother passed away. She thought I’d like to know.”
“She couldn’t use the phone for that?”
“You’re not stupid. You know that’s not the reason she’d make a trip out here.”
“She wants you back?”
“So she says.”
“And what did you say?”
“I don’t give a shit what she wants. I’m in love with someone else.”
My heart beats faster. Relief floods my mind. But he hasn’t moved an inch. “You’re mad at me?”
“Don’t ever do that to me again, Presley. The wheels had barely stopped turning when you jumped out. Had you lost your balance and fell . . .” He stands tall and rubs his hands down his face. “You scared the hell out of me. You’re her lifeline until she can sustain her own. You weren’t thinking.”
“I can’t help it. You dated her forever, Konnor. For years I wanted to be her. I saw you two standing in the dark and went into panic mode. She slips in a text or social media message here and there. She likes your posts so you’ll notice her. It’s not like it hasn’t been building for a while.”
He finally comes forward and wraps his arms around my waist. “If I wasn’t one hundred percent sure this was for forever, I wouldn’t have already put a ring on your finger and be expecting my first kid at twenty-one. I’m barely legal and you aren’t. Stop worrying about things that don’t matter. Let people think what they want.Wegot pregnant on purpose, not you. We both wanted her. Sophia means nothing to me anymore. My history with you is a lot longer.”
My crying has stopped and something else has replaced it. Desire. I want him. It’s been over a week since the last time with me studying for exams. I grab his shirt and pull him in, my round belly making closeness a thing of the past. When our lips touch, hormones release in waves, making me feel like I’m jacked-up with need. “Fuck,” he says against my lips when I unbutton his jeans and grab his dick. I stroke it slowly, letting it fully harden. He pulls back a hair. “Are you sure?”
