“Didn’t I? You knew something was up at the Christmas party between me and her. Is that why you chose the next morning to confirm you were pregnant? I mean, you had two weeks to take a test and share the news with me. And how exactly did you get pregnant? You swore you were on the pill. We used condoms as backup because it was my habit, a way to ensure no surprises. After the condom broke, you never said you’d forgotten to take the pill or something might happen. Why? Because you did it on purpose and a convenient accident happened?” He hadn’t actually meant to accuse her of that, but then she looked away.
He'd seen too many people lie in his line of work not to spot the telltale signs of it now. “You…” He couldn’t believe it. “You stopped taking it.”
“Only for a few days, then I realized what I was doing and started it again, but I guess it was too late.”
“Are you kidding me? You think that makes any difference?”
She huffed out a breath, arms rigid, hands fisted. “We talked about getting married, but you kept dragging your feet on actually proposing. I knew you wanted a family. We both did.”
He hadn’t thought he could be this angry. “Not that way. Not by deception. Not with you forcing a proposal and wedding. My God, Kristi, look what you’ve done.”
“I’ve loved you. I’ve been by your side, building a life with you. And you wanted to ruin it all because you fucked your coed sister!”
That sent him back another step. He didn’t know what to say, but he refused to defend himself after what she’d said and done.
Kristi held her hands out to him. “Cody, I’m sorry you’re hurting.”
“There is no end to the amount of hurt I feel, but it’s nothing compared to the hurt I’ve caused her.”
Kristi’s ire rose again. “You didn’t do anything to her.”
“I spent the most amazing night of my life in the arms of a woman I love more than my own life.”
Surprise and pain flashed in Kristi’s glassy blue eyes.
He’d tried to do this the right way, hoping they could have a rational conversation without hurting each other more. He’d wanted to end things as close to friends as possible.
But she just didn’t get it. She wanted what she wanted and to hell with everyone else.
He didn’t work that way. He couldn’t forget or ignore what he’d put Brooke through, what she’d suffered.
He couldn’t let Kristi think there was any chance for them anymore.
He let all his anger and self-loathing spew out because he couldn’t keep it inside, and Kristi had played a role in Brooke’s destruction.
“I let Brooke walk out the door pregnant with my child. I made it impossible for her to tell me she was pregnant because she wanted me to be happy. She put my happiness above her own. I’d made my choice. You. Someone I thought was good and kind and would never lie or deceive me. Brooke sacrificed so she wouldn’t take away my chance at happiness and being a father toourbaby.”
“Cody, it’s not my fault I lost the baby.”
“No, it’s not. I don’t blame you for that. I blame you for conceiving it in the first place and using it to get me to propose. You used our baby to tear me and Brooke apart. Then youconvinced me she had her own life that didn’t include me. And I let you because it was easier than trying to get her back and having her turn me down. If I’d tried, maybe I’d have at least gotten my friend back. Maybe she would have come home when she was scared for her life because of the bastard stalking her. Maybe I’d have been there to hold her hand in the hospital. Maybe she’d know how much I love her.”
Kristi’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t have to feel obligated to her. It’s not your fault.”
“It is! Don’t you get it? It’s my fault she couldn’t tell me she was pregnant in the first place. It’s my fault I made her think I don’t love her by choosingyouthat morning and again when I chose you after we lost the baby. It’s my fault she couldn’t count on me to be there for her when she needed me because she thought I’d turned my back on hertwice!”
Cody sucked in a deep breath and tried to contain the rage building inside him. He never lost his temper. Not like this. “It’s my fault I ever trusted you when you lied to my face and manipulated me to get what you wanted.”
Kristi stared at him, wide-eyed, her hands clasped in front of her. She pleaded with her eyes, but he just didn’t care anymore. She professed to love him, but she hurt him at every turn, never seeing what he really needed and wanted.
He’d tried to be a good man to her, but she’d used that against him.
He’d never forgive her for that.
Kristi opened her mouth, ready for another round of arguments, but she didn’t get a word out.
Brooke flew down the stairs. Pure rage propelled her down and across the room to him.
Stunned by her reckless actions, he stared at her in disbelief, filled with fear that she’d hurt herself.
