Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Her words nearly brought me to tears. I never knew any of them felt that way. I had assumed, but hearing her say the words and having them all agree was hard but comforting to hear at the same time. It was a conflicting emotion that I hadn’t expected to feel. Ever.
“Girls, I love all of you and you know that. I’ll always be here for you, but there are things that I won’t discuss with you or Mom. I can’t… so please try to understand.”
They nodded in agreement, but their faces read otherwise. I recognized it immediately. They were sad for me.
“Just keep in my mind we’re here. Whenever you need us,” Liv asserted, pulling me into a hug, and all of them quickly followed suit.
I held the women I loved more than life itself in my arms.
And that was good enough for me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
<>B<>
Two plus signs.
A smiley face.
One plus sign.
Two pink lines.
One pink line.
And then the word…
Pregnant.
Clear as day for me to read. I took six different pregnancy tests and they all reported back the same exact thing.
Pregnant.
Knocked up.
With child.
Bun in the oven.
Bastard.
Two more years went by. I was twenty-two years old and had been with VIP for almost four years. I had been with Jaxon for a little over two years. I used the word with loosely, because we were never really together. At least not in the way I wanted, not in the way he promised. Every time he left me it became harder, and more difficult for me to function. My mind became consumed with the promises. I borderline obsessed when it would happen.
So I came up with my own plan… I decided to get pregnant. I didn’t do it to trap him… I did it to speed up the process of us being together. To give him the ammunition he needed, the push we deserved. He took me away on a business trip and I told him that I had forgotten my birth control pills, but it was a lie. I had stopped taking them. It was a test, so to speak. We were careful, but not entirely.
A huge part of me believed that he wanted it as much as I did. He just couldn’t bring himself to say the words. It was much easier to pretend like we were being careful… and there I was, six weeks later, taking positive pregnancy stick, after positive stick.
Thankful.
Delighted.
Comforted.
In ways Jaxon never produced.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” he greeted, answering his phone.
“Hi,” I replied, barely containing my excitement.
“You sound chipper.”
I smiled. “I’m pregnant,” I blurted.
He was silent on the other end, but I knew he was still on the phone; I could hear his breathing. However, I didn’t comprehend the silence.
“Is everything alright?” I asked, sitting down on my couch and looking at the sticks, displayed all across my coffee table.
“Are you sure?” he answered in a neutral tone.
“I haven’t been to the doctor, but I have six sticks in front of me that have confirmed.”
“Six?” he replied taken back.
“Yes… six.”
He was quiet again and it made me nervous. “I thought you would be happy.”
“Brooke… I am… I am happy… it’s just very unexpected.”
“You said you wanted babies with me. I believe your exact word you used was four.”
“I know, baby,” he paused for a few seconds. “I’m just surprised. Does Madam know?” he questioned out of nowhere.
“No…”
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Of course, but I wanted to tell you first.”
“How do you think she will take it?”
My eyebrows lowered and my lips pursed. “Jaxon, why are you more concerned with Madam than our baby? Am I reading this wrong, because that’s how it feels.”
“I’m sorry. Can we meet at our place tomorrow at noon? So we can talk.”
“Okay… what exactly do we need to discuss?”
“Brooke, we need to figure everything out. For the future.”
“I thought I was your future?”
“Of course. You are. We’ll talk about it all tomorrow, alright?”
I nodded, unable to reply.
“Brooke… I love you. You know that. Please tell me you know that.”
“I do.”
“Tell me you love me.”
“I love you,” I stated, meaning every word. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I spent the rest of the day on pins and needles, rubbing my belly for the endless possibilities.
I waited for him in our suite at The W, dressed in a red nightie. He loved me in red. When the door opened and I saw his face, I knew that this wasn’t going to be what I had prayed for, what I had wanted for so long. It was when I saw the dozen red roses that he held in his hands, that my mind went back to another place in time.
“What?” I questioned, with my nerves a jumbled mess and my heart beating out of my chest.
He sat down next to me and pulled my hands up to his face, kissing them all over. “You look gorgeous.”