Page 17 of Plea
Turning to face her, I clarified. “If I did or said something to make you think you having my baby would change our relationship, I apologize. Just because you’re pregnant, that doesn’t mean I planned to marry you.”
“You didn’t necessarily say something that made me think that. I guess I just assumed we’d get together for real and eventually get married. Things have been good between us.”
“Yeah, they have,” I agreed. “But the baby doesn’t change the fact that we’re just having fun for me. I have been enjoying my time with you, but we’ve always had an expiration date in my head.”
“Oh,” she muttered. “I mean… I felt like that too in the beginning. That didn’t change until I started accepting that I was pregnant.” She sighed and hung her head. “With me getting excited about the baby, I guess I started overly romanticizing us and expecting something neither of us said we wanted.”
“Hey…” I called quietly, tilting her head by her chin. “That’s completely normal. I’m just glad we’re talking about this so we will be on the same page. So we’re in agreement that we never wanted to get married, right?” She nodded. “And you admit you only started to change your mind because of the baby, correct?”
She nodded and smiled. “Don’t lawyer me now, Carson.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help it,” I said through my laugh. “I just want us to be clear and on the same page.”
“We are,” she assured me. “I’m sorry. My emotions are all over the place. I’m cool with us coparenting. In fact, I feel likewe should stop dating and having sex. The more we do that the hazier my feelings will get while I’m pregnant. I think it’s best if we stop the romantic relationship and just focus on being friends and coparents.”
“I can agree to that. I think that’s a really great idea. But regardless of the romance or not, you know that I will always be there for you—not just the baby. While you’re pregnant, and after. You will always have a special place in my heart and life for giving me my first child.”
Her body relaxed, and she leaned against the console to give me a hug. I was glad we had this conversation and even more grateful that it was her idea for us to end our romantic dealings. That meant my path to Venus was even clearer. I didn’t know a lot of details about her relationship, but I was a good judge of character, and I trusted my gut, and my gut was telling me her relationship would be over soon too.
Chapter
Thirteen
Venus
February
The wedding was scheduledfor the day before Valentine’s Day, which was now officially twelve days away. I’m not sure why but Trevor randomly decided he wanted us to have a prenup. He’d been overly frivolous and never had a problem giving me money or buying me things, so even though I knew I didn’t need to take it personally, I did. The random decision made me feel like there was a chance he thought I’d try to take from him or that I was using him, and that had never been the case.
Even though we weren’t really having deep and serious conversations these days, I couldn’t go into MPWG and sign a prenup without advocating for myself and speaking up. If it led to an argument, we’d just have to get it over with. He’d been acting so different lately, and I really needed to know where his head was at. When he killed the engine, I unbuckled my seat belt and said, “Can we talk before we go in there?”
“Sure.”
He turned slightly and gave me his attention. “What’s up with the prenup? You hadn’t mentioned wanting one before. What’s changed?”
“Do you not want us to have one?”
“I didn’t feel like we needed one. I’m okay with it if it makes you feel secure. I’m just wondering where the desire for one came from.”
“Actually, I didn’t feel we needed one either. I didn’t change my mind until I had a conversation with Adam.”
Adam.
His asshole best friend.
I couldn’t stand Adam. He wasn’t shit. All he had to offer was money and dick. For the almost three years that I’d known him because of Trevor, he cheated on every woman he was with. If this was the man he was getting marital advice from, that was a red flag within itself.
Chuckling, I pulled in a calming breath. Sometimes Trevor said things that made me question if he was using his common sense. He was so successful and one of the smartest men I knew, but when it came down to our relationship, I felt like I always had to oversimplify things he should already know.
“What exactly did Adam say that made you believe we need a prenup?”
“Well, he reminded me of how wealthy I am, bae. I trust you but who knows what will happen with us down the line. What if I do some shit to make you mad and you want to leave me and go after half of everything I have? I just landed my first billion dollar client, and I am now in a new tax bracket. I’m not saying you’re using me for money, but I also don’t want my wife—regardless of who it is—to think she deserves half of what I’ve built on my own.”
“I understand where you’re coming from. You have every right to protect what you’re building. Let’s not act like I don’t have my own money though.”
“You do, but it’s because of me.”
“Nigga, that’s a motherfucking lie,” I said before I could stop myself. My fists were balling up, and I knew we needed to end this conversation before my irritation turned into anger. I wasn’t the kind of woman who took pride in fighting women or hitting men, but when I got angry, I blacked out and couldn’t stop myself from swinging, regardless of who it was. “You may have given me the money to put down on my building, but I would have been successful with or without you. The fuck?”
