Page 115 of Forking the Billionaire

She roared with frustration, dropped her pants and turned to show me the red staining the back of her white panties.

I never would have chosen to be a father on my own. I never would have picked the circumstances in which it had happened.

But it happened.

And the idea of losing Esme and our baby terrified me.

I’d give anything to keep them safe and healthy. I’d give my business, my money, my life. Anything. Everything.

It felt like claws tore at my lungs, until I couldn’t breathe. My heart hammered so hard and so fast it went numb.

Esme lifted her shawl to her face, wrinkled her nose, and shoved the folded fabric in my face. “It’swine.”

The fabric smelled like fruit, not blood.

But it was impossible to come from complete panic back down to earth with one sniff.

I tried to swallow, tried to slow my breathing. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” She pulled up her pants and scowled at me.

Relief rushed over me, easing the tension that held tight. Someone must have spilled a glass of wine beside Esme when they left the bonfire to dance.

“Really, really sure?” I asked.

“Jasper.”

Completely unraveled, I looked up at her.

“I’m sure.”

I let my shoulders sag, let the truth fill my lungs and settle in my heart. Our baby was okay. Esme was okay.

She put her hands on her hips and glared down at me. “Tell me right the fuck now why you saidour.”

This would not be a good time to stand, even though my knees ached. I had to know thatourbaby was all right…that’s what I’d said to her.

I’d screwed up. Bad.

I licked my lips.

“I saw the costume in your closet,” I said.

She crinkled her brows with confusion.

“The party you went to in November,” I said. “You were dressed as an alien. I was the astronaut.”

All the color drained from her face.

She scrubbed her hands over her eyes.

“We used protection. I had no idea it was you.” I licked my lips. “I completely forgot all about?—”

“Just another warm place to stick your dick, no big deal, so easy to forget.”

That stung, but I knew that she was hurting. Worse, she wasn’t entirely wrong. I’d been the kind of guy who had casualsex with tons of women. I’d been the kind of guy who didn’t think anything more about it. But that wasn’t who I wanted to be anymore. Everything was different now. She needed to understand. “Esme?—”

“You knew about the party. I told you all about it. I confided everything in you because I thought I could trust you andyou knew.”

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