“You’re okay, babe,” he whispered, sweeping the moisture from my cheek. “I’m here now. I’ve got you.”
My parents had locked gates, security cameras, and guards who circled the perimeter, yet none of that had ever made me feel as safe as I did right now. Scott did it without trying. Just by being here. Just by breathing against my skin like the world couldn’t touch us as long as he was touching me.
“How did you…” I wanted to sayfind me, but how horrible did that make me sound, that I’d been intentionally torturing my husband? Intentionally keeping him from his kids?
“The hospital called,” he answered. “Said you’d been in a wreck. Jesus, Michelle, I—” He stopped himself, his jaw tightening and his eyes darting across my face like he was counting the bruises.
I wanted to explain, to tell him everything, but I didn’t know where to start. Or if I even should. The door opened again, and a doctor stepped in with a clipboard in hand and professional calm in place.
“Mrs. McKallister,” he said, glancing between Scott and me. “Good to see you awake. You took a significant hit to your right side. You have a mild concussion, multiple contusions, a dislocated shoulder, and a bruised lung. The entire length of your leg is badly bruised but not broken. You’re very lucky.”
Scott’s grip on my hand tightened. “She’s gonna be okay,then?”
“We’re going to keep you overnight for observation,” the doctor said. “If everything remains stable, we’ll discharge you in the morning.” He checked the chart once more. “And there are no signs of fetal distress. The pregnancy appears unaffected.”
For a moment, it was like time froze.
Scott’s head snapped toward him. “Baby?”
The doctor blinked. “Yes. Approximately thirteen weeks of gestation.” He hesitated, glancing between us. “You weren’t aware?”
Scott’s gaze dropped to my stomach, then lifted back to my face, and something fierce ignited there—protectiveness, raw and immediate. He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. In that split second, he already loved this baby.
“No. I didn’t…” I shook my head, the lie forming out of pure panic. “I didn’t realize.”
Scott moved closer, one arm sliding behind my shoulders like a shield, drawing me gently into his chest. His heartbeat pounded against my ear. It was fast, unsteady, the same rhythm I used to fall asleep to in our bed.
He let out a soft, breathless laugh. “A baby. Michelle… that’s incredible.”
I tipped my head back to look at him, trying to mirror his joy, even as something inside me twisted.
The doctor exited, leaving us to celebrate the good news. Scott was already elated, already seeing a future I hadn’t chosen. I turned my head. Across the room, Melanie stood with her hands clenched at her sides. Our eyes met, and in that single look, everything passed between us—the secret, the Graham marriage plan, and the decision ripped out of my hands.
I touched my stomach under the sheet. There was no going back now.
I was having this baby.
28
SCOTT: JAGGED LITTLE PILL
The Beverly Regent. A place as pretentious as the assholes who owned it. Hard to believe it had only been yesterday that I was here, asking the front desk if they’d seen my wife. And instead of answers, I’d been not so politely escorted out. Their lack of hospitality could have meant one of two things: either they were allergic to guys like me… or they were hiding something. And by something, I meant my wife. And my kids.
So yeah, it was with some serious hesitation that I agreed to accompany Michelle back to the Regent after her discharge from the hospital. She refused to go back to our apartment while an open threat still hung over us, though, so it was either come here with her or watch her go one way while I went the other. With my arm around her waist, I guided her through the lobby, each step hurting her more than the one before. It killed me to see her like this, knowing that if I hadn’t pushed her away, she wouldn’t have been in that car at all.
I’d tried to talk to her at the hospital, wanting her to know I was fixing everything, but Michelle either couldn’t or wouldn’t engage me in conversation. The second I had her alone, I’d try again. There was so much she didn’t know.
The job. The move. The plan to end the blackmail.
The fucking truck.
And she had some explaining to do. Taking the kids without so much as a call… and the baby? She’d said she didn’t know, but I wasn’t sure what to believe. We’d had that incident a few months back with the busted condom. You’d think with that distinct possibility in mind, she would’ve taken a pregnancy test after missing her period? And why not tell me she’d missed it at all?
Something wasn’t adding up.
We took the elevator in silence. The air between us felt fragile. Michelle and I had always been so solid. We fought, sure, but we always found our way back. We talked. We tried. This felt different. After just over a week apart, there was a distance between us I didn’t recognize.
But deep down, I knew. The Carvers had gotten to her. They started closing ranks the moment I arrived. Lydia even tried to have my name pulled from Michelle’s hospital visitor list. Not happening. She was my wife! But when they tried to stop me from bringing her back to the hotel, told me I could see my kidsaftershe recovered—that was when I knew this had to end. They didn’t get to call the shots. If Lydia thought she could quietly cut me out of their lives, she’d underestimated just how deeply I was rooted in my family.
