Pregnant.
I've found out I'm pregnant in the bathroom of LA Press, hiding from my husband. I had to get Samantha to smuggle the test in because I don't trust Hudson. Not one bit. Not with any information about me.
It's bad enough I'm being forced to live with him. Work with him. Eat meals across from him while he talks about himself for hours and never once asks how I am. I feel like I can't breathe on my own anymore. It's suffocating. Every room in that house is a cage with nice furniture.
I cover my mouth to muffle the sobs, my other hand shaking as I hold the test. How the hell has this happened? I’m on the pill. I’m pretty good at remembering to take it.
My back slides down the bathroom door until I'm on the cold tile.
I don’t even care about the logistics. All that matters is its Aces. That I have a small part of him.
Our baby.
Mine and Ace's.
With my ass on the floor, I pull out my phone. It's ten p.m. I work all the hours I can now because I don't want to be at home. I don't want to see Hudson. I don't want to be in that house. I don't want any of it.
Every day, I get angrier and angrier. And every day, the anger has nowhere to go.
I thought there was no way out. That I had to see this through, take the hits, wait for the papers to be signed.
But seeing those two lines changes everything.
This isn't just about me anymore. This is a reason to fight. A reason to claw my way out of this marriage and back to the man I love.
To win Ace back.
And somehow, take down Hudson and his revenge porn scheme before he can use it against me or anyone else ever again.
My stomach sinks as my finger hovers over Ace's contact. I got a new phone, new number—did everything I could to protect it.
But Ace's number is one I'll never forget. Ten digits burned into my memory the way his voice is burned into my heart.
I just want to hear him. Just want him to tell me this is going to be alright. That the baby is going to be okay. That we're going to be okay.
I hit dial before I can spiral anymore.
It rings. And rings. He never used to wait this long. He used to pick up before the first ring finished.
And then it connects.
My heart is in my throat. He doesn't speak. I can hear music in the background. A bar maybe.
"Hello?" I say quietly.
"Hey." A woman giggles.
I can hardly breathe. I look at the screen, double-check the number. It's right. Ace's number. Ace's phone. In someone else's hands.
"Uh. Is Ace there?"
I should hang up. I don't know why I'm torturing myself with this. He's had years to make up for while he waited for me. A whole world to explore without me dragging him down.
The woman on the other end laughs.
"He's here somewhere, yeah. I think he's a little preoccupied, to be honest."
My blood boils. I have no right. I know that. I ended us. I married someone else. I pushed him away until he finally listened. I don't get to be angry that he moved on.
