AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Can I at least let Riley know you are awake? She’s been begging to see you.”
I stared at my father, my heart aching in a way that had nothing to do with my physical injuries. “No. I do not want to see Riley. I have nothing to say to her right now.”
“Ethan, is that wise?”
“Dad, I’m a grown man, and when it comes to her, I don’t always make the best decisions, but this one might be the right one. I don’t want to see her. She’s better off without me.”
“Ethan—”
I lifted my hand to stop him and closed my eyes. “I’m tired, Dad. Just go. I love you.”
I heard him sigh, and then he kissed my brow and turned and walked out of the room without another word.
After he left, I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. I had been here for eleven weeks. That would make Riley about twenty-seven weeks pregnant. How big was she now? Was the baby healthy? Did Riley have problems after the accident? How bad were they?
I frowned. Riley had done her entire pregnancy alone. For twenty-seven weeks, she had done it on her own. I had physically been a part of it for maybe three days. That didn’t count our daily video chats, just the time that I was physically with her.
In that time, I had upset her over and over again. I had accused her of things, and I had tried to pressure her into other things. I remembered the party and the proposal, and I remembered what she said to me. She’d told me that she didn’t love me, but not just that, she’d said that she couldn’t love me.
In that moment that she’d said that, I realized that I would never have her no matter what I did for her. A moment later, I had almost killed myself, her, and our baby.
A tear ran down my cheek as I realized now that I could never be with her. Not because she didn’t love me, but because I could never show her how sorry I was for my recklessness. For putting her life on the line, for almost killing our child.
I would step out of her life, give up my rights to my child if that’s what made her happy. As another tear ran down my cheek, I knew that it was time to say goodbye to Riley forever.
