Page 105 of Seeking Two Lovers

I’d gone from the highest peak of a mountaintop to the valley in seconds, and anger over having that feeling ripped away from me roused inside.

Fuck it.

“Hello?” I answered, my tone surprisingly calm considering how my insides quaked.

“Blaine?” A timid voice whispered.

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Sarah.”

Sarah—

A sob rolled over me, choking and debilitating, devastating all other emotions into rubble, and I tensed, every muscle in my body ready to move. Run. Escape. Hold her. Beg for her forgiveness.

“Blaine?”

“Yeah,” I gasped, clutching the cell to my ear harshly enough the tiny device should have shattered in my palm. Fearing doing so and ending our call, I forced the phone from my ear, tapped on speaker, and set the device on the bed between my legs. “H-how…” I swallowed hard, tears coursing down my face to drip onto the mattress.

“Your name and this number were on a piece of paper I found in my sweater pocket this morning.” She sounded muffled, and I wondered if the compound still only had the community phones scattered throughout the common areas.

Grey and his PI had slipped that note into her pocket.

No fucking doubt.

My chest ached, and I covered my eyes with my hand, trying like fuck to calm myself. “Are you okay?” My voice hardly held tone. “I heard you’re pregnant.”

“Yes.” Her voice broke too, and longing to hold her and wipe her tears away tore through me.

“Do you love Quell?” I choked on the question, desperate for her to deny it.

“Never. No.” She swore with vehemence in her tone. “He’s a sick man, Blaine. So. Sick.”

“I know.” I swallowed down bile even though her pregnancy meant she’d experienced his aftercare and supposed love like I had. “It’s why I fled,” I spilled out, needing her to understand.

“He…did those awful things to you too?”

I knew what she’d experienced…what all the rebellious teenagers did beneath Quell’s teachings. “Yeah,” I managed to whisper.

“I’m so sorry.” More tears laced her voice.

“I should have taken you with me when I left—fuck your young age.”

“Dad would have hunted us down to the ends of the earth.” Sarah’s voice soothed but didn’t take away my regret. “I’m glad you escaped, Blaine. Don’t ever feel bad for running away. Please.”

“You need to get out of there. I’m going to help you.”

“I-I can’t…don’t want to.” The hesitation in her voice furrowed my brow.

“What?” I sat upright, catching sight of Grey in my doorway.

Hands fisted at his sides, he stared at me, his eyes full of pain and love. Some of my anxiety eased as my gaze locked on my anchor. As always, his presence brought me peace, and I inhaled a shuddered breath.

“I am pregnant with Abraham’s child,” Sarah said, “but I’m in love with someone else.”

“Are you married to Quell?” I asked, remembering how Grey had told me she was seen walking around holding that fucker’s hand whenever together with him on the compound’s grounds.

“I was forced into marriage after his wife disappeared. Dad made me. Literally threatened Mom’s life if I didn’t do as told.”

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