Page 78 of Entwined (Monarch)

“The only one you should be calling baby is your unborn child.” I could feel the bile creeping up my stomach and into my throat. “You make me sick.” Tears formed in my eyes. I had loved this man so much once upon a time. Did I still? How could you tell the difference between love and hate? After all, they say the opposite of love is hate. So, if you truly hate someone, you’re not that far off from loving them.

“Siena. Please—”

“What?” My face turned up into an ugly version of someone about to projectile vomit, I knew, but I just couldn’t take it.

“There are things I need to tell you. Things we need to talk about.”

“I don’t want to talk aboutthings. I just want my money.” I was thoroughly pissed off. I wasn’t Switzerland anymore. I was an atomic bomb about to explode.

He looked like I told him his puppy just died. Tears glistened in his eyes. He cleared his throat. “I never meant to hurt you. I never meant—”

“To be a piece of shit,” I finished for him.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Understatement of the fucking year.”

“I know.” He looked at me, deep into my eyes, and chanced another grab at my hand. He raked his hand through his hair when I pulled away again, repulsion covering my face.Jesus, was his hair thinning too?“Please let me explain. I promise, if you still feel the same after I’m done, you never have to speak to me again.”

“Did you bring the money? I don’t have time to play games with you.” I raised my eyebrow, questioning him.

“It’s not a game.” He reached into his left coat pocket and retrieved an envelope. He placed it next to his napkin, just far enough out of reach.

“Fine.” Regardless of what he said or didn’t say, I figured at least I’d get my money in the end. Breathe. Let him finish. Let this finally be the end. “I don’t know what you could possibly explain or what you could possibly say to make me change my mind about you. But, whatever.” I flipped my hand. “Go ahead.” I sat holding my glass on the table, not daring to make my hands available for him to reach out and touch.

He released his breath. I could tell he was nervous, which satisfied me. I was secretly jumping for joy that he was more worried than I was at this point. It was obvious that he had been stressing out about seeing me, the dark circles, a slight pallor to his complexion, his receding hairline.How had I never noticed that before?

“When I told you about Adriana—”

“Don’t you dare say that slut’s name to me,” I warned, cutting him off.

“Right.” He cleared his throat and started again. “When I told you about . . . what I did, I told you because she was pregnant.” He waited a beat for any reaction, but my face was stone cold and blank. “I didn’t want you finding out from her, which she threatened if I didn’t tell you myself.”

“Well, that’s a huge relief.” Sarcasm dripped from my tongue. “She’s both a slut and a conniving bitch.”

“You can say that again,” he scoffed. He smiled, trying to make amends of some sort. Like the fact he agreed with me was going to make me run back into his open arms. When I didn’t react, he continued, “I felt awful about everything. I didn’t know what to do. So, I did the only thing I could. I came clean and told you what you needed to know.”

“What I needed to know?” I shrunk back like he had just struck me.

“I needed to be honest with you and figure out what we should do?”

“What we should do? Whatweshould do? No, no. WhatIshould do is walk away knowing I gave you the best of me, and you . . . Well, you . . .youknocked somebody up.”

He ran his hands back through his hair. “I know I fucked up. Royally fucked up.”

“Yes, you did. And I don’t feel sorry for you. But just like I need to get closure and move on, you need to do everything you can for your baby.”

“There is no baby, Siena. That’s what I’ve been trying to get to.”

“What do you mean there’s no baby?”

“Well, there is a baby. But it’s like you said, she’s a conniving little slut.”

“I’m confused, Tim. Is there, or isn’t there, a baby?”

“Yes. There is a baby. But it’s not mine.”

I felt the breath leave my body.

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