Page 19 of Captured Immune

“The dryer has about ten minutes left.” Arella sits, still keeping space between us. “Are you hungry? I could make you some breakfast?”

“Why are you being so nice to me? After the way I spoke to you last week, I don’t deserve your kindness. I can’t even believe you allowed me in last night.”

“I wasn’t going to leave you out in the rain.”

I scoff. “You should have.”

She fidgets with the end of her braid, looking anywhere but at me. I can’t feel it, but I know she’s sad. She’s usually pretty smiley around me, and now she’s not.

Make her feel better.How?Apologize. For what?For being a worthless piece of shit. For doing whatever it was that made her turn to someone else.

“Arella...” I say softly. “I’m sorry for being such an ass to you.”

She nods, pursing her lips. “Yeah, you were an ass.”

A tiny smile spreads across my lips. I’ve never heard her say that word before.

“I’m also sorry for, ya know... what you saw.” I run a hand through my hair, pulling at it. “I shouldn’t have allowed her to—I just wasn’t thinking straight because... you told me that you’re pr—”Breathe. “It’s impossible for...”Deep breath.“I felt so...”Crushed. My hands shake. I fold them together as if it’ll stop the shaking. “Sorry. I’m not good at this.”

“I get your point.”

The room goes quiet. She focuses her attention on the floor while I focus all my attention on her. Little wisps of hair fall from her braid, framing cheeks that I want so badly to kiss. Just last week, I was picking her up, tossing her over my shoulder, and carrying her to my bedroom to kiss every inch of her. Now she’s carrying a tiny human inside her that she’ll be kissing within nine months. It’s crazy how fast things can change—and not in my favor. There’s averyshort list of the things I wouldn’t do to make that baby mine.

“Have you told him?” I try to keep my tone impassive as if thinking of her with someone else isn’t killing me at all.

She looks up at me. “Huh?”

I glance at her stomach, then back up at her face. “The father. Have you told him?”

Her answer comes too quickly. “Yeah.”

I expected her to say something about howIam the father. She didn’t deny the infidelity this time. Is this it? Is she done denying it? Am I finally going to hear the truth from her lips?

“How did he take it?”

She shrugs nonchalantly. “He wasn’t too happy about it.”

My voice cracks as I find the courage to ask, “Who is he?”

She doesn’t miss a beat. “Some guy I reconnected with from college.”

Seriously?She threw away our passionate, sappy romance-movie-worthy relationship forsome guy?I thought hearing her admit it would make me feel better. It doesn’t. The wound has only gotten deeper.

“What’s his—never mind. I don’t wanna know his name.” I’ll probably end up in z-prison for crimes even the Enforcers would throw up reading about. “When did it start?”

“A while ago.”

“When?” I snap.

She lets out a long sigh. “It—it was before I started living with you.”

I guess that makes sense, but... “How did you ever find the time to see him once you moved in? We were always together.”

“Sometimes I got off work early and didn’t tell you.”

That makes my throat tighten. How many times did she leave work early to bang him, then came home to me, acting all innocent?

The clock on her wall reads nine thirty. She’s usually at work by now.

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