Page 55 of Pursued By My Grumpy Fiancé
She walks past me, out of the bathroom, hugging the wine bottle to her side. I follow her to the living room, where she sits on one side of the couch. I go to sit next to her when she shakes her head.
“No, not there. There.” She points to the armchair, and I’m immediately hurt.
“Why are you pushing me away, Hailey?” I ask as I sit back in the armchair.
She scoffs, and her face turns red with anger.
“I’m pushing you away? You got some real cheek, Landon.” She takes another sip of her wine, draining the glass.
“Hailey, will you please explain to me what’s going on?” I ask.
She gives a bitter laugh and shoots up out of her seat.
“What’s going on? Yeah, I’ll tell you what’s going on. What’s going on is that earlier, I had a pregnant woman sitting right there!” She points to the other end of the couch.
I fix her with a confused gaze and shake my head.
“Okay, what’s the problem? Is your sister pregnant? Is there something wrong with that?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes and picks up the wine bottle. She violently pours some wine into her glass. Some of it spills, landing on the rug beneath her feet.
“You’re unbelievable, acting like you don’t know. When this entire time, you’ve been seeing her behind my back!” She circles around the coffee table, moving her glass with each declaration.
I stand up and go to stand in front of her. Her eyes narrow, as if she’s annoyed simply by my presence.
“Okay, I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about. I would love the details so that I can help figure this out.”
“What I’m talking about is the fact that your ex-girlfriend, Victoria, came to the door this evening while I was making a delicious roast as a surprise dinner for you. It really is a lovely recipe too. Succulent, with vegetables on the side.”
I can see that the alcohol is starting to affect her.
“Victoria was here? Why on earth did she come here? Why did you let her in?” I ask, incredulous.
“See, you don’t even care about the roast that I made!” she shouts, and I have to resist rolling my eyes. “All you care about is Victoria. Why would I let her in? I’m supposed to leave an eight-months pregnant woman standing outside of your penthouse?”
“Our penthouse.” I correct, before thinking.
Hailey shoots me a dirty look before continuing with her tirade.
“She informed me about your relationship,” she says quietly.
“I already told you about our relationship! I told you all about it at the charity auction, remember?” My voice is pleading, like I’m begging her to just remember the conversation.
“No, no, you see, she informed me about your current relationship.” She throws her hands out wide, punctuating her statement with her gesture.
I’m silent for a moment before I burst out with laughter. This is the wrong move, since she scoffs and begins to storm off.
“Wait, wait, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just that—that’s ridiculous! I haven’t seen Victoria in over a year. In fact, you’ve seen her more than I have this year from the sounds of it,” I snort slightly, trying to hold in more laughter.
“Seriously? How can you even laugh at this moment? Are you a psychopath?” she asks, throwing herself down on the couch.
I sit down beside her, stroking her hair.
“Look, Hailey, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Things have been over between Victoria and me for a long time. Whatever she told you, whatever she’s said—I can guarantee you that it’s a lie.” I rub my chin thoughtfully. “Did you say that she’s pregnant?”
Hailey nods.
“Oh yeah, she’s huge. Like, seriously pregnant.” She motions her hands in front of her stomach.
