Page 89 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
But he couldn't look away.
"It's not true," he said, walking towards her. "What they told you... It's not true. Please, let me explain."
She didn't say anything. Her face was like a blank slate. And that scared him more than any anger.
So, he babbled.
In broken phrases, he explained the chaos-the company, Marcus, the weeks of battle with his father. He told her about the vote, the smear campaign. His voice trembled when he said he had messaged her every night. That he hadn't known what they told her. That Helga did not exist for him.
When he said Marcus' name, he saw something flash in her eyes, a tightening at the corners of her mouth.
How did she know Marcus?
They were close now. He lifted a hand, slowly, like one would for a wary animal. His fingertips brushed her cheek. It distracted him. She looked healthier, stronger. Softer, somehow.
"You look amazing," he murmured, eyes searching hers.
"Really?" she said quietly. "You mean my body?"
He blinked, startled.Was that a trick question?
"You have the most luscious body in the world."
A strange emotion passed through her face, gone before he could understand it. She reached down and pulled the sides of her dress tight around her middle.
"What about now?"
Crispin's eyes dipped, momentarily caught by the way her fuller breasts strained beneath the fabric. But then his gaze dropped lower, to the visible swell beneath the dress.
And the word escaped him before he could catch it.
"Massive"
A beat of silence.
Then a snort.
They both turned to see Lule and Rahul approach from behind. Rahul's face was amused, Lule's positively gleeful.
"Massive?" Lule echoed, eyebrows climbing. "Really, Crispy?"
He looked back at Aria, her hand on her belly, a strange emotion trembling at the edges, a little teary.
He looked at the curve of her body.
Then her face.
Then back again.
"Aria," he said. But it came out like a question. Or maybe a prayer.
Her expression faltered. "You don't want the baby, do you? See, this is why I didn't say anything. I knew you'd freak out. And now I'm crying again, because apparently, that's all I do these days and I hate it." Her words tumbled over each other, uncontrolled.
Crispin stepped forward, but he didn't say anything. He just slipped off his jacket and settled it around her shoulders. "We need to leave," he said gently, glancing at the sky. "They're closing."
Lule paused to give Aria a quick, tight hug, then looked over at Crispin, her expression sardonic.
"It wasn't my news to tell," she said softly. "I knew she wanted to tell you herself when the time was right." Then she grinned. "But massive? Dude. You have no chill."
