Page 16 of Secret Baby with my Brother's Best Friend

It took several moments, but the worst of my shock slowly began to wear off.

In its place burned a long-tempered rage as well as a gut-wrenching guilt. I felt overwhelmed by my dueling emotions and spun around, intent on getting away from him. I didn’t say a word. Couldn’t without risking going off on him. He’d left me seven years ago, so it was only fair that I leave him now.

Ryan, of course, wasn’t willing to let me get away so easily.

“Samantha,” he snapped. “You and I need to talk.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” I replied sharply, continuing my march toward the back of the store.

“Don’t walk away from me,” he said. “I know about your son.”

I came to a stumbling stop. My heart raced, and I fought to maintain my composure. No, no, this couldn’t be happening. It was all just a bad dream. It couldn’t be real. This interaction was the nightmare I’d always feared would come true.

Taking a deep breath, I schooled my features into a mask of indifference and slowly turned around to face him.

“What about him?” I asked cooly.

Ryan stared at me with narrowed eyes for several seconds before repeating, “You have a son.”

I nodded. “Yes, I do.”

He hesitated a moment more before murmuring, “Is he mine?”

“No,” I said, the lie falling from my mouth before I realized what I was saying. Shit, no, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I didn’t know how to explain the situation. Ryan had been long gone when I’d realized I was pregnant, and I was young, stupid and heartbroken, so I didn’t try to reach out to him. As I got older and knew better, I’d felt too scared and guilty. He had his own life, and I worried what his reaction would be if I suddenly thrust Henry into the middle of it.

He clenched his jaw, his eyes flashing with irritation.

“I don’t believe you,” he stated.

I shrugged, doubling down on the lie as panic overtook me. “I don’t care if you believe me or not. Henry is not yours. I slept with his father after you ran away.”

He looked stunned by that, but then, he sharply shook his head.

“Liar,” he growled. “You were never a good liar.”

I gnashed my teeth, frustration welling up within me.

“Don’t talk down to me,” I hissed. “I’m not a kid anymore, Ryan. I’ve grown up a lot since you vanished.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about him?” he demanded to know.

“He’s not yours!” I insisted. What was I doing? It was like I was being possessed by some asshole demon who was determined to completely ruin my life and I couldn’t stop it. “Christ, did you really think I wouldn’t hook up with anyone after you? Well, guess what? Once you popped my cherry, I didn’t have a reason to hold myself back anymore. I’ve been screwing anyone I’ve wanted whenever I’ve wanted to.”

A bald-faced lie. Truth be told, I hadn’t been with anyone else since Ryan. I’d been too heartbroken after he’d left, and then, I’d found out I was pregnant. Over the years, I’d gone on a few dates, but nothing had ever escalated past a goodnight kiss. I just hadn’t been interested. No one else seemed capable of making me feel the way I’d felt about Ryan before he’d crushed me.

Of course, I would never admit that out loud, especially to him. I would much rather he think I was a slut than find out just how sad and pathetic my love life really was.

His face twisted into a scowl, and fury flashed through his eyes.

“You really expect me to believe that?” he snarled. “You were so hung up on me, no other guys existed for you. There’s no way you’d go around throwing yourself at random men. Besides, Jason would kill anyone who touched you, and we both know it.”

“I don’t care if you want to believe me or not,” I said, seemingly unable to stop myself. “You can stay in denial, but you don’t know me anymore, Ryan. I’m not the naïve, little girl you knew, and I’m definitely over you. I realized really quickly how stupid it was to have feelings for someone like you.”

“Someone like me? What the hell does that mean?”

I rolled my eyes. “I thought you were intelligent, Ryan. Someone who cuts and runs when he gets scared. Someone who abandons his family and friends rather than face up to his apparent mistakes. In a word, a coward.”

The words flowed out of me like water through a broken dam. It was as if all my anger and frustration from the past seven years bubbled up and exploded forth at that moment. I didn’t care if I hurt him. In fact, I wanted him to feel at least a crumb of the agony I’d suffered because of him. I hadn’t realized until that moment just how much hurt and anger I was still carrying.

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