“It’ll just take a minute, please,” he pleaded. He looked nervous as he stepped further into the room.
She sighed and got up to leave. “You have one minute, Malcolm,” she firmly stated.
Mal walked toward me and took the seat my mother had just vacated. He looked down at his hands, and when his gaze met mine, he looked pained. “I’m sorry, Lissy, really sorry about what I said before. I was afraid, and I didn’t think about how you felt. If you want to keep the baby, I’ll be here. I’ll do anything.”
“How do I know you’re not just saying this now, and you won’t change your mind when things get tough? I don’t want you to want this baby because I do. I want you to actuallywantthis baby.”
“I never just say anything, you know that. You know me better than I know myself. And I want this baby.” He kneeled before me. “I love you, Lissy, you know that, and I will love our baby too.” He lightly pressed his palm to my flat stomach and rested his head on my lap, and I ran my hands through his hair. I’d heard him say he loved me before, but I felt his words more acutely.
“I love you too, Mal.”
After that, we spoke to our parents together. His mother sat rigidly in her chair, not saying a word. His father, on the other hand, slammed a fist into their living room wall. I watched as the paint cracked and plaster fell to the floor. Malcolm flinched next to me.
“You’re aborting the baby.Is it even his in the first place?” he demanded, glaring at me, causing me to shrink in my seat.
“Father!” Malcolm clenched his fists, his body visibly trembling. “Stop!”
“You’re taking this little girl’s word for it then, Malcolm? They’re all the same, boy, gold-digging whores.” He looked at Malcolm’s mother, who sank in her seat.
“You will not talk about my daughter like that, Derek,” my father cut in, stepping forward and coming face to face with Mal’s father. “Whether you acknowledge the child is your boy’s or you don’t means little to me. My family takes care of our own.” He folded his arms across his chest, towering over Mal’s dad.
“Let’s go.” My mother held my hand and led me away, my father close behind us. I looked over my shoulder at Mal, willing him to stand by me. When he looked away, a tear slipped down my cheek. I felt my heart breaking into a million pieces as I walked out of Mal’s parents’ house.
“Lissy!” Hope sprang in my chest at the sound of his voice. He ran down his stairs and toward us as we reached our front door. “We’re okay, right? You and me.”
“We are now.” I smiled, and ever since that day, we were inseparable.
ChapterFive
Alyssa
Present Say -Day one hundred and one.
Dr. Greene looked at me like I was a broken doll he wanted to fix. Maybe it was what he and everyone else saw. What happened to the strong woman who could take on the world? I sat on a panel of high-powered attorneys who handled cases that took the world by storm. People revered me when I walked into a courtroom. I was Alyssa Morgan. A woman who had it all—the loving husband, the perfect family, hordes of friends, the corner office with the best view of the city, and an annual salary of six digits. People respected, admired, and even envied me. The hotshot divorce attorney who never lost a case, headhunted by other law firms constantly. But it wasn’t just my career. My spirit was fierce, I was fierce, and I knew beyond a doubt no matter what life threw at me, I’d survive it.
I hated when he looked at me like I needed his help. I didn’t, nor his damn pity.
In my mind, I spewed profanities at him he would never hear.
In my mind, I imagined shouting them as I stared into his face, spittle flying, getting lost in his day-old stubble.
That’s when I started rocking myself back and forth. The movement helped to drown out the sound of my thoughts. It relieved me to the point I could almost forget the reason I was sitting here in this stuffy room, refusing to talk to a stranger. My thoughts turned to Gracie instead, my beautiful girl, all the weekends we spent baking together, our chats, the way she smiled when I bought her something pretty.
“I have something for you.” He reached into the folder and pulled out a picture, handing it to me. “It’s from her birthday. Your sister sent it to me.”
My eyes widened as I traced the face of the beautiful girl in the picture. It hadn’t been long, but she’d grown so much. She looked sad. Every day, that look reflected back at me in the mirror.
The tears fell unwillingly, but I didn’t move to wipe them. I needed to feel this pain. I needed to feel this anger.
He placed a hand on mine, stilling me. It was a kind gesture meant to comfort, but to me, it was an invasion. I loathed the contact. It made my skin crawl. My eyes darted to his, and I was taken aback by the intensity of his gaze. He held me captive, demanding answers I was not willing to give. His touch burned my skin, and I wanted to shout at him to leave me alone, but that would mean reacting, and it was the one thing I would not do. I wouldn’t give Dr. Greene or anyone else anything to analyze.
Still, my insides clenched, and I started to hyperventilate.
I pulled my hand away from his, gripping my throat so hard I started to sear the flesh.
He tried to pry my hands from my throat, but it was no use. “Alyssa, listen to me. I won’t hurt you.” His voice sounded far away.
An animalistic need to protect myself kicked in. Taking deep breaths, I tried to steady myself to no avail. My eyes rolled back, and my head twisted at an awkward angle.
