Page 37 of Plus-Size Pregnant Mate

She crossed her arms, looking away from me now. She shook her head. "Your such an ass."

"I'm right," I snipped back as I pulled the truck to a red light. "You could have just gone another day. You didn't have to go inside unless you wanted to."

She threw a glare my way. "Do you have any idea how long it took to convince Zenna to come with me? How long it took me to build up the courage to go? I wasn't going to waste it just because he was there."

I ground my teeth together. "I trusted that you would have thought logically about this. What would have happened if they figured out you were pregnant, Ashley? What do you think he would have done to you? This isn't just about you and what you want."

The truck went silent, and I looked at her. I needed her to understand that this was a dangerous situation. Logan was planning something, but I didn't know what it was.

The truck fell silent, and I stared at the red light.

"I can't do this," she said softly.

"Can't do what?" I asked.

"This," she said, waving a hand between us. "We can't do this. We can't even get along. Can you imagine trying to raise a child together?"

It felt like a stab, and I looked away. The light turned green, and I pushed the truck forward, taking us down the road.

"I'm moving out."

I frowned. "You aren't."

"You do not get to tell me what I can and can't do," she countered. "And I told you I would only stay for a short time."

"You have no money, Ashley. And you need money to survive in this world. How are you going to pay for food? How are you going to pay for a place to stay when you don’t have a job? Where are you going to go?"

"Thank you for pointing that out," she snapped. "I'm aware that I don't have money, but I'm getting there. I will figure it out just like I've had to with everything else."

I took a deep breath in. "I don't mean it like that. I just mean you can't move out. Ashley, you're pregnant, and you need to focus on that. You need to focus on figuring your life out now that there will be a baby soon."

"You mean like you?" she asked. "Seems you have it all together, don't you? You win, Owen. You got the better life after our breakup, and I turned out to be nothing but a goddamn mess."

"That's not what I meant."

"Stop talking," she yelled, looking away again.

The space fell quiet once more. I pulled into the underground parking garage and turned the truck off. She jumped out before I could even say anything.

I hurried after her, needing to calm this. I needed to fix this before it became too messy.

"Ashley, hold on a second. Let's talk about this."

"No."

I hurried after her, reaching out for her shoulder. I grabbed her, and she shoved me, breaking free. "I'm done talking to you!" she yelled.

I felt my shoulders sink. "Ashley, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I just…Jesus…This is a mess."

She continued to walk, and I hurried after her. But instead of the elevator, she started up the stairs. We fell silent, listening to nothing but the sound of our shoes on the cement.

I tried to think of what to say to make it better. I tried to think of some way that we could figure this out. But nothing came to mind.

I was screwing up our relationship for the second time because of fear. I was afraid she was going to go back to her parents and everything we'd built; the time together would be nothing but the past.

Ashley yanked the door to the hallway open and marched down towards our door. She unlocked it, stormed inside, and kicked her shoes off.

"Ashley, please let's talk. I don't want us to fight like this. I know I shouldn't have yelled, so just give me a second to explain."

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