Page 24 of Burden to Bear

He shook his head, the disgust he felt plain as day. “I can’t believe you would do that. It was my news to tell.”

I rolled my eyes. “And yet, you didn’t share it. I’m sorry, Todd. Whether you choose to believe me is up to you, but I didn’t go out of my way to deny you the chance to share the news on your own. It happened. There’s nothing I can do to change it.”

“Well, now that you’ve done that, I’ve got them up my ass, telling me how I need to rethink this whole thing. Is this how you thought you’d be able to win me back? I’m not coming back to you, Mia. I thought I already made that clear.”

Wow.

Wow, he was a jerk.

“Can you blame me? I mean, how could I not want you back with how charming, affectionate, and compassionate you’ve been?” I scoffed. “Get over yourself. I know you think it’s impossible that I could ever find a way to move on from you, but I have. I’m focusing on this baby. Not you and most certainly not the possibility of us ever getting back together. What I said before still stands. I won’t stand in the way of a relationship between you and your child, but you’ve shown me everything I need to see to know I’m much better off without you.”

“It’s always been about you, Mia. Always. And here you go again, having to be Miss Independent, needing to prove to the world that you can do it all on your own,” Todd declared, the bitterness dripping from every word he spoke.

What did I ever see in him?

“I guess it’s a good thing I felt that way when it came to you, because I would have been severely disappointed if I ever thought I could depend on you,” I seethed. “Now, get out of my house.”

Todd held my stare for several beats. Whether he was attempting to intimidate me, I didn’t know.

What I did know was that I was done with him now. If there had been any hope lingering about us working things out in the future, he’d just destroyed it. He made it clear how he felt about me, how he’d always feel about me, and I knew I deserved better, even if that meant being alone.

Finally, without another word, Todd turned, made his way to the front door, and left.

And I knew I hadn’t been kidding myself about being done with him when I wasn’t even remotely sad to see him go.

EIGHT

Mia

It was becoming easier to breathe.

Things had finally settled, and it all happened in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

I felt like I could relax just a bit. There was even a bright light in my life again.

It was the middle of March, I’d reached my sixteenth week of pregnancy, and the nausea that had hit me around week eight seemed to have subsided. That alone had been a huge relief.

Four weeks ago, I’d done something else that had resulted in me feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Since I’d check the weather and there was no chance of snow, I woke up early that Saturday morning, hopping in my car after dealing with a bout of nausea and getting myself some breakfast, and drove the two hours back to my hometown to see my parents. It had been time to tell them the truth, especially after what happened the weekend prior with both Susie and Todd. I realized it was even more important to tell the people who cared the most about me what was happening in my life. They deserved that much.

When I called to let them know I wanted to come back to Mount Laurel for a visit, they didn’t hesitate to encourage me to make the trip. They were aware that Todd and I still weren’t back together, and I was convinced they believed I was going to show up on their doorstep in tears over it.

Much to their surprise, that wasn’t the case.

And not long after I arrived, my brother dropped in to visit with me, too.

Once I had them all there, I revealed the news of my pregnancy. I had intended to wait and tell them when we all went out for dinner, but it had become unavoidable unless I intended to outright lie to them.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Mia? You look a little green around the gills,” my mom declared.

I sighed, realizing I still wasn’t feeling the best and understanding it wasn’t worth making myself crazy to hide the news for several more hours. “No, I’m not,” I finally confessed.

“What’s wrong?” she pressed.

My eyes moved through the three people I loved most in the world, and I felt a wave of nerves wash over me, which did little to help with the nausea I’d already been feeling.

Deciding it was best to just get it over with, I shared, “I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

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