Page 46 of Enemies, Lovers & A Valentine's Baby

Chapter 17

Shared Burdens

Lila

I stare at Sue, mulling over my next words carefully.

“Even if I agreed to do this, what makes you think this would even work? How are you so confident that Cole would tell me? If his best friend is truly cheating on you, do you really think he’d rat him out? You’ve heard of bro code, right?” I ask, my forehead creasing when she chuckles.

“Remember back in high school, when I wrote that letter to Kyle Huffman and hid it in his locker? I didn’t tell you it was me who wrote it. Everyone wanted to know who wrote it when the teacher caught him reading it in class, took it away, and read it out loud. I was mortified, even though no one knew it was me who wrote it. I don’t know how, but you got me to admit to you that I was the one who wrote it. You’ve always been able to getinto my head and make me spew information that I had basically sworn to carry to my grave. And it’s not just me. I’ve lost track of the times I’ve seen you effortlessly coax truths out of people. I don’t know how you do it, but you just do.” She smiles. “Cole won’t even realize what’s happening till he’s volunteering up that piece of information to you,” she shrugs, like it’s the easiest thing in the world to do.

“Really now? If I’m so smart, then how did I miss the fact that Seth was cheating on me? I almost married him,” I say bitterly.

She takes my hands in hers. “First of all, you were young and blinded by love, and love has made much smarter people do stupid things. Plus, you’re a stronger person now than before you met him. If there’s one good thing about going through trials, it is that you come out stronger than before. Besides, this is different. You’re going into it fully prepared, eyes wide open. If anyone can get this information out of him it’s you. I know it,” she says confidently.

“I know it’s the last thing you want to do, Lila, and I hate to ask, but I have to. So please, if you won’t do it for me, do it for the baby.”

A second passes between us. Then another, and another.

I break. “You know what? That’s really low, you’re already using this baby to guilt me?” I shake my head, but can’t keep a small smile from creeping up my face.

Her face breaks out into an ear-splitting grin.

She knows she has me now. I’m never going to be able to say no to this baby.

“If I do this, you better believe that I’m telling my godchild all about this story when they’re older. They’re going to know what an undercover detective their godmother is,” I smirk.

“Of course. I’ll be right there co-signing everything you say,” she grins.

“Fine, deal.”

Sue squeals, throwing her arms around me.

“Thank you,” she whispers against my shoulder. I just give her a small nod, even mustering up a weak smile when we pull apart.

She stares down at her flat stomach, patting it softly. A fond smile lifts her lips, smile widening with each second that ticks by.

“This baby is going to be so lucky to have you as their godmother, Lila, and when you have your own kids, they’re going to be best friends just like us,” she beams.

I wince, her words sending a surge of pain through me. For a moment, I contemplate staying quiet. Soon, the moment will pass, and I can pretend like it’s still a possibility for me.

But…how many more moments like this will there be?

How much longer am I going to hide this from her and suffer this misery in silence? She’s my best friend. If I can’t tell her, then who will I ever be able to tell?

“That’s not going to happen, Sue,” I say softly, focusing on keeping my breathing steady.

“What’s not going to happen?” she asks innocently.

“What you just said. It can’t happen,” I continue, my voice trembling slightly.

“Well, yeah, I don’t mean right now obviously.”

“No, Sue, it can’t,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper now.

“What do you mean?” she asks, brows drawn tightly together. Confusion is etched into her face like a second skin.

I can already feel the despair starting to spread through my entire body again, yet I force myself to keep talking.

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