Page 79 of Mending Scars

Turning around, Kaiya grabbed the sheets we had bought for the crib and started putting them on the mattress. I went downstairs to get the rocking chair before bringing it up and putting it by the window where Kaiya wanted.

She walked toward me. “Thank you, baby.” Sitting down in the chair, she looked out the window and sighed. “It’s perfect.”

I bent down and kissed her on the forehead. “I have some stuff to finish downstairs. Yell if you need me.”

She smiled up at me. “Okay.”

I ran my knuckles down Kaiya’s cheek before walking out. Her phone rang as I walked out, so I stopped just outside the door to listen to the call.

The phone stopped ringing, but I didn’t hear Kaiya answer it.

“Who was it, babe?” I asked as I stuck my head back in the room.

Kaiya jerked slightly before turning her phone over to hide the screen in her lap. The smile she gave me was forced, and I could tell she was trying to hide something. “Telemarketer.”

Sure it was.

I nodded before leaving the room, trying to fight the sinking feeling that had crept in my gut.

Things between Kaiya and I had been getting tenser the closer she got to her due date. She was more irritable from the pregnancy hormones, and the suspicions I’d been having were growing the more I thought about them, making me trust her less and less.

I rented a couple of movies, hoping to relax and ease some of the tension between us. As we settled on the couch, my arm draped around Kaiya’s shoulders as she curled up next to me, I could almost forget everything that had been bothering me.

That is until her phone vibrated and lit up during the first half of the movie.

Out of the corner of my eye, I tried to see the text message that had popped up, but as usual, she sneakily angled the screen away from me.

Anger lit my veins. We were a month away from having a kid together and she was hiding shit from me. Why would she be keeping things from me if she loved me and was about to give birth to my son. Unless…

He’s not mine.

My mind ran a mile a minute, processing the revelation that dawned on me.

He’s not mine.

The only reason she’d be so secretive was if she was cheating on me. If she really loved me, she wouldn’t hide anything from me, especially weeks from having my kid. I knew the signs, and Kaiya had been flashing them brightly for months. I’d just been denying everything because I didn’t want them to be true.

Then, another thing popped in my head. Whoever she was cheating with was the father. Not me.

He’s not mine.

My heart felt like it was breaking into pieces, then being doused with battery acid. The pain that flooded me was unlike any other, and I knew there’d be no recovering from it. The wounds from Kaiya’s betrayal would never scar, they’d be raw and open for the rest of my life.

Kaiya put her phone face down on the cushion next to her and focused back on the movie. Laying her hand on my chest, she snuggled closer to me, chasing away some of the harsh cold that had crept into my heart and replacing it with the warmth only she brought me.

No. Don’t be weak. She doesn’t love you. She’s a cheating liar, just like Molly.

My teeth ground together as I thought about how stupid I’d been. Falling in love when I knew all women were the same. I needed answers; I needed to know why. “So, who is it?”

Kaiya kept her eyes on the TV. “Huh?”

Playing stupid, as always.

“Who are you cheating on me with?”

Kaiya sat up abruptly and looked at me with concern. “Ryker, what are you talking about?”

My heart pounded as my anger grew. “Don’t lie to me anymore, Kaiya! Cut the bullshit and tell me!” I snarled.

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