I drop my head back.
“Shit,” I whisper.
I didn’t even think about how Bella will feel about this. I didn’t just keep Killian in the dark when I kept this to myself. I kept her in the dark, too.
“Everything okay? You sounded worried,” she says, looking between Noah and me.
I get to my feet. “I’ll explain everything at home.”
Bella watches me with cautious eyes.
I’m certain I look terrifying. I’m dressed in last night’s clothes, minus the underwear, my hair is a mess, and I can only imagine what my face must look like after spending the past two hours crying.
“Okay,” she says tentatively, waiting for me at the bottom of the porch steps.
She follows me to her car, and I get in the passenger side as she rounds the hood to the driver’s side, climbing in and turning to look at me.
“Are you okay?”
My bottom lip wobbles as I meet her eyes and shake my head. “Please, take me home.”
***
“And he just told you to leave?” Bella asks, incredulously as she wipes the tears from her face.
As soon as we got home, I sat her down and explained everything. From the town hall wedding to the moment I started working at Blue Rhodes Ranch.
I told her all the things I’ve yet to tell Killian.
Understandably, she was upset that I didn’t tell her that Killian and I got married. And when I told her about the pregnancy and the events that followed my wedding day, she cried.
And then, I cried.
It’s a whole sob-fest in here right now.
I sigh. “Yeah.”
“That is not okay, Daisy. He should have let you explain.”
I give her a soft smile, grateful that she’s trying to defend me. “I understand why he did it, though. I’ve livedwith this knowledge. I’ve had four years to deal with my grief and the pain that comes with it.” I reach across the table and place my hand over hers. “He hasn’t, Bells. I lost my baby four years ago. He lost his baby today. And I’m the one who took that away from him.”
“I get that, Dais. I do. But he shouldn’t be shutting you out.”
I shrug. “He needs time. And I’m not a hypocrite. How can I hold him needing time against him when I ran away and hid for years?”
Bella slumps back in her seat, blowing out a long breath. “Shit. When you put it like that...”
“Yeah,” I say. “I’ll give him a few days and then try to speak to him. I need to tell him the rest. I need him to understand why I left.”
Bella gives me a sympathetic smile and pulls me into a hug, smoothing her hands down my back reassuringly. “He’ll come around.”
“I really hope so.”
“Well, if he doesn’t.” She pulls back. “Then I will kick his ass and knock some sense into him.”
That draws a laugh from me, and I pull her back into my chest. “Thank you, Bells. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Please don’t suffer in silence again, Dais. I’m always here for you. You know that, right?”
