Page 114 of An Unexpected Ascension
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
Rage roils inside those insidious black eyes. I’ve only once ever cursed him, and it ended with a swollen eye and a broken nose. I didn’t mean for it to slip, but?—
His fingers curl around my neck, pinning me against the hallway wall.
“Lies!”
I claw at his hand, yanking, pulling, scratching my way to freedom, but my throat still closes. Air becomes scarce and little dots blind my vision.
“I-I—” sucking in an obstructed breath, I choke out what I can, “preg-pregnant.”
I look down at myself, my hand rubbing my lower belly.
There’s no way. I didn’t have a child. I know I didn’t. My nightmare... it wasn’t real.
His fingers loosen just the slightest, enough for a small reprieve. My feet finally find the floor again and I watch him wearily, wondering if he heard me.
“What?”
“I’m pregnant.”
His chest expands on an inhale, then deflates. I watch his nostrils flare, his dark eyes trail down my body, thinking... processing.
That thick hand falls to his side, his body slackening. Too afraid to say another word, I let him reel in his own thoughts. Instinctively, I hold my stomach, protecting the little life forming within me.
Then he's gone. Disappears into his office.
With him on the opposite side of the apartment, I rush to my room and grab a suitcase off the top shelf of my closet.
“We’re going to get out of here, Bean. I’m going to keep you safe,” I murmur, willing it to be the truth.
Bean.
My heart gallops inside my chest as I watch myself in a panic.
“Get out of there,” I urge.
There’s no telling what Ben will do next, so I run frantically around the house packing toiletries, clothes, my secret stash of cash hidden in a book carved out and stored beneath my nightstand.
My heart races and nausea swashes in my stomach as I zip my bag, squashing it down to close it completely. Sweat coats my forehead. Time ticks by minute after minute, but I’m nearly free.
Just as I lift my bag, the door swings open, slamming against the wall. Fear slithers down my spine, crawling inside my veins. I can feel my heartbeat in my throat, choking me just as Ben’s fingers did moments ago.
“What are you doing?”
His voice seems calm, eerily so. I turn, facing him in my doorway, trying to anticipate what will happen next.
Words escape me.
“Are you leaving me?”
I stare at him, unable to form a sentence.
“After everything I’ve done for you? I let you live here, fed you, helped you find a job, and this is how you repay me? You run off with my child?”
“It’s charity.” I swallow the lie. “We’ll need to make space for the baby.”
