Page 81 of Enemies, Lovers & A Valentine's Baby

There’s something buried deep in her eyes. An emotion I can’t quite explain. It’s almost as if she’s…terrified. My own heart starts to race, dread filling me.

“Try.”

“Cole, please—”

“Try, Lila. Because the only way I’m leaving here is if you tell me exactly what’s going on with you.”

She stays quiet for a long moment, finally resolving herself to fate and nodding.

“Cole, before I say anything, I just want you to know that I didn’t even think that this could happen to me. I didn’t think it was possible, and I didn’t lie to you. I would never do that.”

Her eyes are filled with tears now, a desperation to them that I still don’t understand. She wants me to believe her, but believe what exactly?

“I kept getting really sick earlier this week, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, so I went to the hospital and the doctor ran some tests,” she says, her voice trembling slightly.

Tension tightens my chest, making it impossible to breathe, but I keep my face set in a stoic expression.

“I’m pregnant, Cole.”

Chapter 34

The Turning Point

Lila

Silence.

Complete, deafening silence.

The seconds tick by painfully slowly as I wait for a response from him. A word, a sound, anything, but it doesn’t come. Instead, his face stays frozen, his entire body seemingly paralyzed by the news I just delivered to him.

My chest swells with fear, heart beating so fast I worry I might have a heart attack. I try to form words, but it’s painful even to speak. My throat feels like it’s laced with sandpaper, dry and gravelly. All I can do is clutch one hand in the other, doing my best to ignore the waves of nausea continually sweeping through my body.

I take slow, deep breaths, feeling like the walls are starting to close in on me. My knees threaten to buckle, and I lean against the nearest wall for support, the tears stinging my eyes at his continued silence.

Everything that led up to this moment flashes through my mind’s eye. Everything I could’ve done differently yet know I wouldn’t change even if I was offered the opportunity. How could I ever regret a single moment I spent with this incredible man? And now this miracle.

If only he could see it that way too…

“Say something, Cole. Please.” My voice breaks on the last word, and I realize just how scared I am. I didn’t mean for him to find out like this. When I told Sue, she insisted I needed to tell him immediately. She was right, of course. He’s the father of my baby—he has every right to know. But fear held me back.

Now, seeing his face, and knowing what I do about him, I know that fear wasn’t misplaced. A man like Cole, who’s been hurt the way he has—how could he see this as anything but a betrayal? A trap? I’d told him I couldn’t get pregnant. How could he not think this was all a lie, that I’m just like every other woman, another gold-digger using this to secure my future? Every fiber of his being must be screaming at him that he was right.

How am I ever going to get him to believe that I didn’t plan this?

He still hasn’t moved. The only movement in his body is a slight twitch of his jaw. Stormy eyes are locked on mine, wide with disbelief. He doesn’t say a word, but the way he’s looking at me hurts more than anything he could say.

“Please, Cole, say something. Anything,” I beg, my voice sounding even smaller now.

“You said you couldn't get pregnant,” he says, his voice low. Cold. A vice tightens around my heart, but I force myself to stay calm.

“I was told I couldn’t. I swear, I wasn’t lying when I told you that,” I say, my voice catching on a sob.

“Then how is it possible for you to be pregnant?”

“I don’t know. It’s—it’s a miracle.”

“A miracle?” He lets out a bitter laugh, dragging a hand through his hair. “How can I be so fucking stupid?” He chuckles humorlessly.

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