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“You need to get that checked.”

“I'll live.”

“Unfortunately, that's never been the problem with you.”

I gave her a look, but she didn't even crack a smile. Instead, she stepped closer, lowering her voice so the nurses wouldn't hear us.

“Listen to me. I know you've been going through it. We all know. But you cannot go running up on that girl yelling and acting crazy. She's pregnant, Ezra. And you already embarrassed her in front of everybody.”

I rubbed my beard, glancing down the hallway. “I know, Yara.”

“And that marriage shit?” She shook her head again, looking at me like she couldn't believe I was standing there. “You should've told her a long time ago. You can't make decisions like that for somebody and expect them to just be happy about it.”

“I heard you.”

“Apparently, you didn't.”

I turned toward her, trying to keep what little patience I had left. “Yara, I love you like family, but if you hit me in my motherfucking head again—”

“You'll what?”

I stared at her.

She stared right back.

“Exactly,” she said, turning toward Ashlynn's room. “Now go find your wife and use that expensive-ass brain God gave you.”

I shook my head as she disappeared inside.

Everybody had jokes today.

I approached the nurses' station and asked if they'd seen a pregnant woman wearing glasses come through. One of the nurses pointed me toward the family waiting area, and I thanked her before heading down the hallway.

I found Jru standing near the windows outside the waiting area, wiping beneath her glasses. For a second, I just watched her, trying to get used to the sight of her again. The little woman I'd spent half a year searching for was standing less than twenty feet away, carrying a part of me I hadn't even known existed.

She must've sensed somebody approaching because she glanced over her shoulder. The minute she saw me, her expression hardened, and she turned toward the hallway.

“Jru, hold up. Let me talk to you.”

She stopped, looking back at me with an expression that told me I was already on her last nerve. Her eyes were still wet, but there wasn't a damn thing soft about the way she looked at me.

“Talk about what, Ezra? Remember, you don't know who my baby daddy is.” She let out a bitter laugh, adjusting her glasses. “Apparently, I'm out here fucking everybody.”

I rubbed my beard, knowing I'd earned every bit of that attitude. The accusation had come out of my mouth before I'd given myself a chance to think, and now I had to stand there and hear exactly how ugly it sounded.

“Baby, I was shocked. I ain't seen you in six months, and then I walk in and see you pregnant. I said some shit I shouldn't have said.”

“Some shit?” Her eyebrows lifted as she looked me up and down. “You know you're the only man I've ever been with, Ezra. You know what it took for me to trust you enough to even give myself to you. And that's the first thing that comes out your mouth?”

The disappointment in her voice hit harder than the attitude. I remembered how nervous she'd been when she'd finally trusted me enough to let me touch her, how careful I'd promised to be with that trust. And the first time I'd seen her in six months, I'd thrown that shit right back in her face.

“I was wrong for that, Jru,” I admitted, keeping my voice low. “I ain't got no excuse.”

She shook her head, wiping another tear before adjusting her glasses. For a moment, she looked toward the hallway like she was deciding whether I was worth another second of her time.

“And on top of that, you had me sleeping with somebody's husband. I can't believe I let myself get caught up in this shit.”

“Jru, listen.” I stepped closer, needing her to understand at least one thing before she walked away again. “You ain't been sleeping with nobody's husband but your own.”