Page 93 of The Arrogant's Redemption

"What was there to love about me? Even though we’d been around each other for years, she didn’t know me. She saw the surface—like most people do."

And I see the whole picture—the raw, damaged parts—and yet, I can’t stop the feelings flooding me.

God, how can I be so stupid?

"I’m not going to drag out why I ended things with her—I’ll only say that I wasn’t with her when I met you, no matter what my sister implied. Lois liked Jodie, and besides, my sister is spoiled and selfish. The way she treated you was unforgivable, but we’ll get back to that. What you need to understand is that the end of my relationship with Jodie was final. There was no chance we’d ever get back together."

"You knew she was pregnant?"

"No. I’m getting to that, too. What you need to understand is that from the very first move I made toward you, I was a free man."

"I believe you. Now tell me: if you had known she was pregnant, would you have married her?"

"Maybe before, when we were dating. But not after I’d decided to end it," he answers without hesitation. "Even though my family clings to the outdated idea that children have to be raised within marriage, I don’t let emotions dictate my actions. I believe a damaged home can hurt a child much more than divorced parents sharing custody."

"Joint custody."

"Exactly."

"Doesn’t sound like you."

"It doesn’t. But once I decided to end things with her, I wasn’t going to marry her for anything, not even a pregnancy. Jodie was already showing clear signs of mental instability, Alexis."

"What?"

He tells me about the endless phone calls and messages—fifty, sixty in a single day—and how he eventually had to ban her from the hospital.

"Oh my God."

"The week before she died, I had already met you. I wanted to see you again, to explore what you made me feel. After that weekend in Cape Cod, I planned to bring you back to New York with me."

"Here?"

"Yes."

"And then everything happened?"

He nods. "You found out about the accident through the newspaper?" he asks.

I feel my cheeks flush. "Yes."

"On the day of the accident, Jodie went to my mother’s house. According to my cousin?—”

"Morrison—the owner of the house where we stayed?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"He lost his memory from the accident. He only came out of the coma a few months ago, and even then, he didn’t remember much from that day. It wasn’t until shortly before you came to me needing surgery that I found out the full details. Morrison told me that my mother had called him because Jodie showed up screaming at her, begging her to help us get back together."

"My God."

"Not knowing what else to do—and after failing to reach my father, me, or my brothers—she called Morrison. He got there just as Jodie was leaving in her car."

He stares at the floor for a long moment before continuing, "She shouted that she was pregnant with my child, and seeing how unhinged she was, he tried to stop her from hurting herself."

"But it didn’t work."

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