Page 94 of Ruthless Lullaby

"Allergies can develop at any time, Bets. Maybe mine did last night."

Betty’s expression shifts from worried to stunned. Like she’s suddenly come to an important realization.

"Mindy, do you know what I'm thinking?" she asks with a frown.

"Sure, Bets. I can read your mind, no problem.”

She shakes her head, her face serious. "Stop it, girl. What I think is that you're pregnant. With Maron's baby."

I flinch at the mention of Maron’s name and my heart clenches in my chest. The memories of our time together suddenly flood me - the passion, the intensity, the way he made me feel alive in ways I'd never known – all at the same time. I want to push it all down and forget the whole thing, but I just can’t bring myself to it. Maybe I did fall for him during our short time together. But a pregnancy? That’s impossible.

I weakly shake my head, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "You know well I can't get pregnant, Bets."

But even as I say the words, a niggling doubt takes root in the back of my mind. My periods have always been irregular, because of my hormonal issues. And with everything that's happened lately - the stress, the chaos, the earth-shattering revelations about Maron - I can't even remember when I had my last one.

Betty frowns, her eyes searching mine. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," I say firmly.

Of course, it's a lie. Knowing I couldn’t fall pregnant, every time Maron and I had sex, caution was thrown to the wind. The only thing that mattered was the feeling of his skin on mine and his length moving inside me.

Betty's expression softens and her hand comes up to brush a strand of hair from my forehead. "Alright, hun. But if there's even a slight chance... don't you think you should take a test? Just to be sure?"

I squeeze my eyes shut. Ugh, another damn test. The thought of peeing on a stick and waiting for those stupid lines to show up brings back memories of my hormonal imbalance being treated. Testing, testing, and testing, hoping for the best possible outcome. My hormonal issues never went away, I remained infertile, and my libido is still off the charts. Dealing with this was always a pain in my back and a constant reminder of how my body sucked at being functional.

I shake my head vehemently, my stomach churning at the mere thought of taking a pregnancy test. "It's pointless, Bets. You and I both know that I’m infertile. Why do you think we were planning IVF with Maurice?"

But Betty is relentless. "Come on Min, just to be on the safe side. You can't just ignore these symptoms and hope that they’ll go away. If there's even a slight chance that you're pregnant, you need to know about it."

I click my tongue and shoot her a sarcastic look. "And if it comes back positive? Then what?"

"You tell Maron, of course," Betty says.

“You know well Maron and I are not on talking terms,” I fire back.

“All the more reason to start talking again.”

I take a deep, shuddering breath, steeling myself for the confession that's been weighing on my soul. I still didn’t tell Betty about what I witnessed that night in Maron’s mansion. I didn’t want to put my friend in danger for no reason. All she knows is that things didn’t work out between us. "I don’t want to get back together with Maron, Bets. I have good reason not to.”

Betty heaves a sigh. “You know, girl, sometimes I just don’t understand you. You dated the hottest man alive who also happens to be a billionaire entrepreneur and you suddenly decided to break up with him. We both know that you’re never going to find someone like-”

“Remember when you warned me about him, Bets?” I cut in, interrupting her rant. “About the rumors that he may be involved in something shady?"

Betty nods and furrows her brow. “Yeah, why?”

"Because you were right," I say softly. "I saw something, the night before I broke up with him, Bets. Something horrible."

Betty’s eyes suddenly widen. I know her gossip sensors are alert and that every cell in her body is eager to hear what I’m about to say. This is exactly why you need to be careful with gossip around Betty.

So, I tell her about what happened that night, leaving out the worst details. Namely, the fact that I saw Maron kill someone. But I tell her about wandering the darkened corridors of the mansion and stumbling upon that awful scene. I tell her how the man was being interrogated and tortured while Maron watched with a cold, impassive expression like it was just another day at the office.

As I speak, Betty’s complexion drains of color and there’s horror in her eyes. “Holy shit, Mindy. That’s... that’s horrible. I can’t even imagine.”

I wipe the unwanted tears from my eyes as I nod in agreement. “You see now? I can’t be with a man like him, Bets. I bet you would have done the same in my shoes.”

Betty reaches out and squeezes my hand tightly. “Oh babe, I’m so sorry. I know this must be a lot to deal with. I just wish you’d have told me earlier."

"It just…” I sniff. “It hurts like a bitch, Bets." I have fresh tears welling up in my eyes again.

---