Page 8 of Plus-Size Pregnant Mate

I snorted. "At one point, you loved it when I was a smartass."

"Yeah, well, that was in the past. Now, it just makes you an asshole."

I shrugged and took a sip of my coffee. "You're just going to have to trust me."

I could hear her laugh, but it wasn't a good one. This was the laugh that made me feel like I was listening to someone scraping their nails on glass. "Trust you? You mean like I trusted you in our relationship?"

I stiffened and suddenly felt like we were back in the apartment when she came home that day. I couldn't look at her, feeling my stomach twist up.

She rounded the island, her silhouette stopping just inches from me. Her eyes narrowed on me. "You want to talk about trust? How am I to trust you when I found you dick deep in another woman?"

I swallowed. I should have known that was going to come up. It was the entire reason we were apart.

I opened my mouth but snapped it shut. I just stared into her eyes, seeing the hurt and the betrayal. It was like I was staring into her eyes two years ago when it all happened.

Chapter 5 - Ashley

I can see the look of hurt in his eyes, but I hold my ground. After all, he was the one that ruined our perfect relationship. And I know people always talk about how there is no such thing as a perfect relationship, but we had just that. We had a once-in-a-lifetime love that I never thought could be ruined.

I hated how my mind traveled back to that night. I was just getting home from school. My professor offered me a place as an overseas intern to study and work with some growing artists. I had been over the moon, giddy the entire drive home because I had accepted the position. All my hard work was going to pay off, and Owen and I could finally maybe stop hiding our relationship. We could move and travel the world.

I remembered playing music and imagining this big fancy life for myself. I was so excited to get home and tell Owen about it. I knew that he was going to be just as excited.

When I entered the apartment, it was like a switch flipped. I saw high heels sitting by his shoes, and my stomach dropped. I had never seen them before, nor did I even own a pair of high heels.

I just stared at them, the red color burning into the back of my brain. My mind was screaming that something was wrong. But how could something be wrong? Owen and I were so happy. We had no secrets, and our life was good.

I stepped over them, tossing my purse onto the bench and stepping down the hallway towards the living room and the kitchen. I found a shirt thrown over the dining table and a scarf thrown onto the floor.

My stomach twisted, and I turned to look at the hallway leading to the bedroom and the bathroom. I started down the hallway, hearing voices.

I felt like my breath got stuck in my throat as I stopped in front of the door. It was half open, and the voice had grown into moans.

My heart stopped beating as I pushed the door open. I took in Owen's bedroom. I decorated the room, picking everything in shades of blue and gray that he loved. He had a large canopy bed with curtains draped over them.

Everything in the room was my design, except the woman sitting on Owen's lap wearing a sparkling silver dress. Her blond hair was thrown over her shoulder, her back bare to me.

The comforter was ruffled up, but the pants on the ground told me Owen was naked. My mind instantly knew that his dick was inside her. Why else would she be moaning like a cat in heat?

My eyes widened as I took them in. She was small, with huge breasts that were half out of her dress. There was lipstick smeared all over Owen's mouth and across his chest.

I remembered being frozen, just staring at them. I watched the way his hands held onto her hips and the way she was bouncing. Her moans replayed freely in my head, over and over, like a song I could never forget.

Even now, all those years later, I can still hear the pitch of it. I could see the way her lips opened slightly as she moaned Owen's name. I stumbled backward and tripped, slamming into the bathroom door.

My noise made both look at me, and the shock on his face brought tears to my eyes.

"Ashley," Owen said my name, snapping me back to reality. I stared at him, still having no idea how he could betray me. Even several years later, I still had no idea what I had done wrong. Why had he slept with her?

I tried leaving his house as quickly as I could. I made it to the stairs outside before he caught up with me. I was a sobbing mess, begging him to just let me go. I couldn't even look at him.

"Ashley, please," I remembered him pleading with me just to stay and talk with him.

I never thought he would hurt me. Owen and I had known each other since middle school and started dating at in high school. He was the person who had held me together when things went wrong and stood by my side when my parents became too much to handle.

Owen had been my rock, and when my parents told me to break up with him, we continued our relationship in secret, which made it even more perfect.

I remembered screaming at him. I called him an asshole, and I hoped he burned in hell. I told him I never wanted to see him again and that after tonight, he was dead to me.

---