Page 105 of The Fiancé Hoax

“Your dad?”

“Yes. He found out I’m pregnant.”

“Shit.”

I gave her a recap of what had happened with my dad threatening to expose the engagement.

“Okay,” Lauren said, nodding. “I can understand waiting to tell Cooper.”

“There’s one more thing...” My voice trailed off, and new tears welled in my eyes.

“What is it?”

“Cooper's been acting really distant lately. I think he's starting to pull away from me now that he knows our time together is almost over.”

“He hasn’t asked you to stay with him after the custody trial? From what you told me, it sounded like he was feeling something for you. More than just sex.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah, it seemed that way to me, too… for a while. Things were going so well between us. I kept expecting him to say he wanted a real relationship with me. And then there was our talk in his office…”

“What talk?” Lauren asked.

“He said he didn’t want to be with anyone else. Our conversation was cut short, but it almost seemed like he was saying he wanted to be exclusive.”

“Yeah, sounds like it.”

“But right after that, he became a different person.” My voice cracked as another sob moved through my chest. “It's like he doesn't care about me at all anymore.”

Lauren squeezed my hand. “I'm so sorry, Felicity. That sounds really confusing.”

“Yeah, just when everything was going so great, he got all cold on me. It was so strange.” I blew my nose into a fresh tissue. “It's like he's biding his time until I move out of his house and he's rid of me.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“It feels that bad to me. I feel like an unwelcome guest in his house. I know the girls still enjoy my company, but Cooper not so much.” Tears rolled down my face. “And I’ll have to say goodbye to the girls, too. I'm going to miss them so much.”

“I know you are, sweetie. Maybe you can still visit them sometimes.”

“Yeah, that would be nice. But everything will be different.” I sighed. “That's the understatement of the year. With this baby, everything will be totally changed.”

“You don't think he'd want to have a relationship with you now that you're pregnant?”

“No.” My chest ached as I said the words, but deep down I knew it was true. “I don't think he's going to take the news of my pregnancy well. He's already said he doesn't want more children. He may resent me for giving him another one.”

“Well, if he's like that, screw him. It takes two to tango. He could at least help you raise the kid.”

“I'm sure he will. Cooper's not the type of guy to back out on something like this. He would never be a deadbeat dad. I'm sure he’ll want to have some kind of co-parenting relationship.”

Lauren nodded. “Okay, that's good. So you won't be all on your own.”

“Not when it comes to raising the baby, no. But romantically, yes.” I looked up at her through watery eyes. “I was really starting to feel something for him, Lauren.”

She made a sympathetic noise and gave me another hug. “Here,” she said with a smile. “Have another tissue. And you should add a few more boxes to your supplies list. I have a feeling you're going to need them.”

“Thanks.” I chuckled. “God, just look at me. I'm a mess. And I have to open the store in an hour.”

“You can't take the morning off?”

“No way.” I reached for the stack of bespoke clothing orders I had received. I held them up for Lauren to see.

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