Page 159 of Blossoms of the Heart
I made my way upstairs to Phoebe’s room, my heart pounding in my chest then sinking when I opened the door and saw the suitcase on her bed. Half packed.
Phoebe was sitting in the corner of the room slumped against the wall crying. She’d changed into a loose shirt and yoga pants. Her hair in that messy bun I liked.
“Phoebe,” I moved over to her and crouched down beside her. “What are you doing? Your bags are packed. ”
Her eyes were swollen and puffy. “I can’t stay here, Tai.” She shook her head. “I can’t be with you.”
Her words made my soul ache. “Why? Why can’t you be with me?”
“You know why.” She cried, voice shaken. “I can’t have kids. That wasn’t the way I wanted you to find out, but hey it’s done. Lucky me. Now you know the truth. Now you know why I acted the way I did. Now you know why I tried to…”
“Tried to what?” I demanded.
“Not get too close.”
“That’s bull shit Phoebe. Look fuck this shit. Tell me what happened to you. Tell me.” I demanded.
She pulled in a breath and gazed at me.
“After Jason got appointed to governor I suspected for a while that he was cheating on me. I came home one day to find him live in action and I left. I jumped in my car and drove. A drunk driver crashed into me and I suffered severe internal organ damage and had to have a partial hysterectomy. Doctors told me after that I couldn’t have kids. I nearly died, but sometimes I wish I did. Maybe it would have been better than this.” She broke down again and my heart broke with her.
“Don’t say that. Don’t you dare say that to me Phoebe Walker. How can you look at me and tell me you wished you’d died?” I cupped her face as tears streamed down her cheeks.
No wonder everyone was telling me to wait for her to tell me what happened. sure it was better coming from her, but now I wanted to find that fucking Jason and end him.
His cheating ass put my Phoebe in this position.
“Tai, I was twenty six and being told I couldn’t have kids. Jason, called me damaged. He called me damaged tonight too.”
I couldn’t believe that she’d gone through all of that and I never knew.
No wonder she looked so scared and pale earlier when she wanted to talk.
“Phoebe I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t want you to feel sorry for me… or pity me. Not you, I can’t take that from you. I can’t bare the look of pity from you or you thinking I’m damaged.”
“No, you are not damaged. Don’t you believe that for one second.” I stroked the soft skin of her delicate jaw. “I don’t pity you. I feel sorry that you had to go through so much. Sorry that someone who was supposed to love you couldn’t have treated you better.”
“It was awful.”
“You should have been with me. But you have me now princess.”
She shook her head. “No, it can’t work. I hoped it could… but it can’t. I couldn’t bare for you to end up hating me or blaming me for something I have no control over. I can’t be with you Tai.”
“You keep saying that and I’m still trying to figure out why.”
“ Tai…” Her breath caught and she started crying even more. “Do you want children? Is that what you want, Tai?”
“Yes.”
Sadness filled her eyes as she backed out of my grasp. “That’s not going to be with me. I can’t have any.”
“Phoebe Walker, I’m crazy about you. Don’t you see? Not even time can keep us apart. Nothing will.” I had an idea, one of my crazy roguish ideas but definitely the best I’d ever had. “I’m pretty certain that I said you were mine.”
I was determined to show this woman how much I loved her, and how much she meant to me.
Looked like she still had no idea.
