Page 44 of The Marriage Pact
“I was waiting for this to happen,” she said, embracing Kaitlyn in an enfolding hug before Kaitlyn could even explain what had happened.
“It’s not quite like that,” Kaitlyn replied, but she was grateful to Rachel for being there. Sometimes, friends were the best medicine.
“Well, I can understand why you left New York,” Rachel said after Kaitlyn had explained the circumstances surrounding her return to Cedarhurst.
“I felt it would always be the same. I wanted to believe he’d changed, but it was exactly like before.”
It pained her to admit it, but it was the truth. History was repeating itself, and to have put up with it indefinitely would have been to go through the same sorry cycle again.
“So, is the wedding off?” Rachel asked.
It sounded so final when put like that, an ultimatum that couldn’t be retracted.
Kaitlyn sighed. “I suppose it is. For now, at least,” she replied.
They talked some more. Rachel told Kaitlyn about the honeymoon and how she was suffering from terrible morning sickness.
“The sooner this baby is born, the better. But we’re happy. That’s what matters, isn’t it?” she said.
Kaitlyn had envied Rachel. She’d thought it was her own turn at last, a chance to have what she’d always wanted. What happened next had been left open. It was neither definite nor dismissed. She and Alex had parted awkwardly. He hadn’t exactly apologized, but she’d seen the regret in his eyes. Later that evening, he sent her a message, asking if she’d arrived home safely.
Kaitlyn replied in only perfunctory terms. She wasn’t about to get into being manipulated, if that was what he was trying to do. In truth, at times, Kaitlyn found Alex difficult to read. He could be attentive, thoughtful, kind, and loving, but when work called…
It felt strange falling asleep on her own that night. Kaitlyn tossed and turned, unable to settle. Her dreams were filled with New York skyscrapers, chauffeur-driven cars, department stores, and fancy restaurants. But all she really wanted was Alex. What he had didn’t matter to her. It was who he was that she’d fallen in love with. At six o’clock, she awoke with a start. Her stomach was churning, and, hurrying to the toilet, she was violently sick. Back in bed, she lay restless for a while, imagining it was the stress of it all that had made her ill. But a small though persistent voice in the back of her mind said otherwise.
Morning sickness… just like Rachel.
At first, Kaitlyn dismissed the idea out of hand. She couldn’t be pregnant. And yet there was no reason why not. Actually, shecouldbe pregnant. Feeling angry with herself and still with her stomach churning, she got up and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. Only one way to make sure. She walked down to the all-night pharmacy on Darcy Street, where she bought a pregnancy test. It sat on the windowsill in the bathroom for the next three days. Unopened.
You won’t know unless you do it.
It was all very well to say that, but Kaitlyn was nervous. If shewaspregnant, what would she do? What wouldtheydo? She could imagine Alex’s reaction. He’d be horrified at the prospect. Or would he?
Just do it.
Eventually, she gave in, sitting on the lid of the toilet and watching for the color change. It did. The lines were both blue. It was positive. For a moment, Kaitlyn stared at it, willing something to happen, something to change. But the test was positive. Kaitlyn was pregnant, and the baby was Alex’s.
CHAPTER 18
ALEX & KAITLYN
“Idon’t think we can salvage it,” Hilary said, shaking her head as Alex buried his own head in his hands.
The meeting had been a disaster, and the days following had provided little by way of consolation. The Mexican investors had backed out, the Jamaican government had refused to finance a deal without capital, and the terms of the private finance corporations were so extortionate they might as well have robbed Alex at gunpoint. He’d tried and failed. The last straw had come with an outbreak of food poisoning at one of the hotels. Reputation was everything, and bookings had gone into freefall.
“We tried. You win some, you lose some,” Alex said, though he’d always been used to winning.
Hilary nodded. “At least the capital’s still safe. We’ve only lost the initial outlay. Five million at most.”
Alex couldn’t help smiling at this. They spoke about money as though it were a game of Monopoly. A million here, two million there, what did it matter?
“You did a good job, Hilary. We both tried our best,” Alex replied.
He’d lived and breathed the deal over the past few days. There’d barely been time to sleep or eat. He hadn’t gone back to the apartment, sleeping for a few hours on the couch in his office between meetings. He was exhausted. And yet there was nothing to show for it. He’d failed. He felt like a failure. It was something he wasn’t used to feeling. Alex always closed the deal.
“It’s time you went home and got some rest. Why don’t you take tomorrow off? There’s nothing you can do here,” Hilary said.
Alex wasn’t usually one to admit defeat, but Hilary was right. He needed some time to think, and he was grateful to her for the firmness of her words.
