Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
I jerked back, gasping, “Johnathan.”
His smile quickly faded, eyeing me up and down and focusing on my stomach. “Hey, baby,” he murmured, taking me in.
My shocked gaze shifted to Ledger, who stood there suddenly pissed as fuck.
He was bright.
Bold.
RED.
Seething from the inside out.
His jaw clenched, and his fists tightened.
Ready to go to war.
With him.
It took five seconds…
For me to know this wasn’t going to end well.
With a deadly glare, he snapped, “Your fiancé is here to see you.”
I shut my eyes. I couldn’t believe he was doing this to me.
“Johnathan,” I rasped. Opening my eyes, I was completely blown away this was going down right then and there. “What are you doing here? How do you know this is where I am?”
“Your parents—”
“You talked to my parents?”
“They didn’t know where you were and had no idea you weren’t in New York. I found out from one of your designers.”
“Ugh, was it Betty? I fired her weeks ago.”
Tearing our attention back to him, Ledger roared, “What the fuck is going on? Is he your fiancé?”
“Ledger…” Surrendering, I raised my arms out in front of me. “You think I’m lying to you?”
“I don’t know what to think.”
“I already told you. We’re not engaged.”
He gestured to Johnathan. “He seems to think otherwise.”
“He’s obviously trying to get a rise out of you, and it didn’t take much for that to happen.”
“Baby—”
“Stop calling me that. You know damn well we’re not engaged anymore. How dare you show up here?”
“You’re my fiancée!”
“Don’t you fucking raise your voice to her,” Ledger threatened.
“Or what?”
Ledger got in his face. “Or I’ll give you something to scream about.”
“Oh shit,” I exclaimed, standing between them. Holding my hands on Ledger’s chest, I moved him back. “You need to calm down and let me deal with him.” Shit really hit the fan when I added, “Alone.”
“The fuck I will.”
Ledger always went from zero to a hundred. He had no middle ground. His expression made me sick to my stomach. I recognized it all too clearly.
Betrayal.
“You brought him back here?” Ledger questioned, “To our home?”
Johnathan asked, “You live here now?”
I turned, glaring at him. “You’re not helping.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t imagine I’d find my fucking fiancée pregnant when she never even told me she was expecting.”
I looked at Ledger again. “I haven’t spoken to him since I found out I was pregnant.”
“It’s because you won’t answer my calls.”
“Fuck him!” Ledger roared again. “What the fuck is he doing here?”
Johnathan roughly grabbed my arm, simply triggering Ledger to react. His protectiveness kicked into overdrive, and he immediately dragged me away from him, securely placing me behind him.
Ledger warned, “Touch her again and see what happens.”
Jonathan’s stare widened, and he looked back and forth between us until his scowl landed on me.
He bit, “You fucking her?”
“She’s pregnant with my baby, asshole.”
In less than a minute, my fears became a reality. My chest rose and fell, and for a moment, time stood still. There was so much I wanted to say.
So much I needed him to hear…
Words failed me.
I couldn’t get my lips to move.
The emotions running between us were high and hitting low, delivering blow after blow to my gut and stirring memories that held me captive.
I blinked, and the years of our friendship flew through our eyes. My core sank, my chest heaved, and I felt my face pale abruptly. I felt like my body was giving out on me. I tried to reel in the sensations that were ruthlessly tearing me apart.
Little by little.
Limb by limb.
Layer by layer.
I experienced agony no one should have to feel.
“Sugar…” he rasped against my swollen lips. “What are you doing to me?”
I didn’t waver, speaking with conviction, “I’m in love with you, Ledger. I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember.”
With a solemn expression and my heart bleeding out for him, I watched our past unfold right before me.
“You’re leaving tomorrow,” he reminded me in a ragged tone.
I looked deep into his eyes and rasped, “So then give me something to come home to.”
It was him. He was the one to hurt me in the end, and I’d been paying for it ever since.
He growled, stepping close to my face. “Hazel, don’t fuck with me.”
“No, I’d much rather you fuck me instead.”
Ledger was always there for me to show his support, his love. His good heart continuously shined through all the ups and downs I put myself through. It was as if we were the only two people standing there, drowning in a sea of emotions and not coming up for air.
“I’m sorry, sugar. I just don’t love you like that.”
The past.
The present.
The future we could still have.
When, all of a sudden, Johnathan spewed…
“How do you know that baby isn’t mine?”
Twenty-Five
Ledger
In the blink of an eye, it all came to a head. We were dragged back to my bedroom where I made the biggest mistake of my life.