Page 24 of Caught By Daddy

I don’t say a word. Instead, the pregnancy test is clutched tight in my hands, and I hold it up.

“What is that?” Sam asks, but then his expression drops. “Oh shit, are you…?”

I nod grimly.

“Seems like the Depo-Provera didn’t work,” I say in a controlled tone. “So yep. You’re going to be a daddy.”

I expected my man to scream, yell, laugh, cry, or dosomething,butinstead, he just stands there. “Sam,” I say through gritted teeth. “You heard me, right? Even though we used contraception, I’m pregnant. So yeah, surprise.”

But Sam doesn’t looked shocked at all.

“Actually, Harlow, I didn’t give you the Depo,” he says in an easy tone.

Now it’s my turn to stare at him. “What?” I ask, numbness creeping across my body. “Come again?”

Sam doesn’t look perturbed, his handsome features calm.

“It was a placebo. I gave you a fake injection.” He takes a seat next to me, way too calm for what’s happening.

“You…what? Excuse me?” I intend to scream the question, but instead it comes out quietly, almost like a whimper.

Sam shrugs. “I love you, baby, and I want to have a child with you, Harlow. You’re everything to me.” He says this statement so matter-of-factly that I’m not quite sure how to respond at first.

He loves me, I repeat to myself.And yet he lied to me.

My heart pounds, the pieces beginning to break thanks to this man’s unforgivable betrayal. I stare at him, completely shattered.

“I know I shouldn’t have done it,” he continues to speak. “But I love you so much, Harlow, and … well, I’m happy, baby,” he confesses with a smile. “Holy shit, we’re going to be parents.”

But the rage is unstoppable, and it boils in my chest, making my face go red.

“Love?” I scream. “What the fuck is wrong with you? What about your actions sayloveto you? You fucking betrayed me!”

He nods, looking down at his hands.

“I know, Harlow,” he says in a quiet voice. “Trust me, I get it.”

But I’m not done yet.

“You shouldneverhave made such a life altering decision for me! What the hell is wrong with you? Have you gone insane?”

Hot tears stream down my cheeks before I even realize that I’m crying, but I don’t care because I’m too incensed with the scope of his betrayal. I love this man, but how can you stay in a relationship with someone who does this?

“Harlow,” Sam begins again, but I don’t let him speak.

I scream, hardly hearing what words are coming out of my mouth because I am beyond livid. “I can’t believe you! You’re no better than those doctors who secretly fertilize women’s eggs with their own sperm so all the babies can be theirs! Maybe I should report you to the medical boards or something because you’re just like them, breaking your oath to do no harm. No, you know what?You’re worse!You’ve committed a heinous crime because we had a relationship built on trust and communication and love. But I willnevertrust you again!” I shriek before leaping up to my feet. I probably look like a crazy woman with wild eyes and my hair standing on end, but I don’t care. There are more important things at issue right now.

Sam touches my arm, but I immediately jerk it from his grasp.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” I hiss, my voice like ice now. “You’re a fucking liar!”

But Sam refuses to back down. He doesn’t try to touch me again, but he stands too now, determined to be heard. “Harlow, I am not as bad as those men. What I did—and I will never be able to apologize enough—was because I was stupid. I was an idiot, and I didn’t think.”

I glare at Sam, my heart tearing in two. “No, youdidn’tthink,” I spit like a cat on a hot tin roof.

But Sam presses on. “But no matter what you feel now, I promise you that it was from a place of love. I adore everything about you, honey—your fire, your passion, and your energy. I can’t explain it, but I knew that I would do anything to see my baby—ourbaby—grow in your belly.”

Is this guy insane? He just handed me the biggest betrayal of all time, and he expects me to swallow it like it was no big deal? He wants us to have a life together?

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