Aaron lowers his voice. “Look, I didn’t lie to hurt you.”
“You lied to control the outcome.”
He studies my face.
“Now,” I say slowly, “I’m confused because you’re telling me one thing, and he’s saying something different.”
My pulse is racing. My palms are damp, and I hate that I feel unsteady.
I hate that he knows exactly which wounds to press.
He didn’t create the doubt. He just knows how to weaponize it.
Something like victory flashes in his eyes. It’s small and subtle, but it’s there.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he says gently. “Or her.”
He steps back toward the door, damage done.
“I’m not the enemy, Alie.”
Then he leaves, and the silence that follows nearly suffocates me.
Later that night, Liam FaceTimes us.
Sera talks to him first. She shows him a drawing she made today and tells him about snack time and playing on the field outside.
He listens like it’s the most important thing in the world.
After she falls asleep, we sit quietly, not saying much to each other.
“You okay?” he finally asks.
I hesitate, and he sees it.
“What happened?”
“I, uh …” I clear my throat. “I saw Aaron today.”
Silence.
“He showed up?” Liam’s voice sharpens. “While I’m gone?”
“Yes.”
“How convenient. And?”
I sit on the couch, doing everything I can to avoid his gaze. As much as I want to fall into this fantasy of ours, I’m aware that in total I’ve known Liam for a matter of months, total. All the time we have had has been in the bubble of some high-intensity moment. Hell, the night we met, I took him on some grand tour of Manhattan as if I was this wild, spontaneous spirit, and I may have been in a way, but I’ll always be the woman with her guard. The one who knows risks. With Liam, I wonder if he'll stick around when we’re no longer ripping each other’s clothes off and tangled in sheets.
Will he want Sera when the parenting gets hard and it’s more than walks in the park and pictures over FaceTime? When the bubble pops?
“He says you’re lying to me.”
A pause.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“He says you knew I was pregnant.”
