I’m sure he’s seen his fair share of crying pregnant women before. He simply motions for me to lie back while he readies the ultrasound machine.
“This will feel a little cold.” He squeezes some of the ultrasound gel onto the end of the probe. “Just try to relax for me.”
I close my eyes and try to take a deep breath as I focus on the slight hum of the fluorescent lights and the distant chatter from the waiting room down the hall.
My fingers grip the edge of the table as I try not to think the worst.
Just as Dr. Rogers is about to insert the probe, there’s a loud commotion down the hall, and my eyes fly open.
“Where is Riley Sullivan? Where is mywife?”
I bolt upright at the sound of Kieran’s voice. “Oh, no.”
“What on earth is going on out there?” Dr. Rogers glances over his shoulder toward the door just as it bursts open, and Kieran appears.
His broad frame fills the entire doorway.
Every inch of him is tense, and his face looks like it’s been carved from stone.
For a moment, he’s no longer the Kieran I know. The man I was falling in love with, who held me as I slept and wiped away my tears, is gone, replaced by someone I barely recognize. Someone who, quite frankly, terrifies me from the sheer force of his anger.
“Can I help you?” Dr. Rogers gets to his feet.
“I don’t know, can you?” Kieran retorts without looking away from me.
I flinch at the iciness of his words.
“Kieran, please… Let me explain—” I choke, but Kieran shakes his head, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he tries to keep a lid on his anger.
“We’ll talk.” His voice is almost trembling with undiluted rage. “But not here.”
There’s no warmth in his tone, only the sharp edge of authority that leaves me swallowing hard.
I know he’s only saying that to prevent a scene in public, but deep down, I know he has no intention of hearing me out. My actions, my choice to keep this from him… they’ve already spoken louder than any words can.
“Kieran—”
He cuts me off, his voice low and measured. “We get through this appointment first. Then we’ll figure out where we stand.”
I blink. “What’s that supposed to mean?” My voice cracks with panic as I feel him start to slip out of reach. “Kieran, what do you mean ‘where we stand’? We’re married. We’re having a baby. Where else could we possibly stand?”
His gaze cuts into me, sharp enough to wound. “You made choices, Riley. Choices that shut me out. Choices that told me I don’t get a say in my own child’s life. So, yeah, maybe wedoneed to figure out where we stand, because right now, I’m not sure I even know who I married.”
His words are a physical blow.
My heart lurches painfully in my chest, and I want to reach for him, to make him see that this wasn’t about keeping secrets or shutting him out. It was all out of fear, nothing more. But I know nothing I say will matter right now.
Dr. Rogers is still standing. “Would you like me to continue?”
Kieran nods. “Yes, let’s get this over with.”
I have to clamp a hand over my mouth to muffle my sob.
“Riley, we don’t need to do this today?—”
Kieran folds his arms over his chest. “Do the damn ultrasound.”
“If you continue to speak in such a tone, I will have you removed.”
