Tags:
United States,
Romance,
Literature & Fiction,
Health; Fitness & Dieting,
Contemporary Fiction,
Love & Romance,
Women's Fiction,
African American,
Multicultural & Interracial,
Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages),
Parenting & Relationships,
Relationships
just a piece of waste to be disposed of broke her heart. “I really thought you had a heart. When I first came here, I despised you, and the way I saw how you carried on with the women here, I decided I would never get close to you. And I went against my better judgement only to prove that you are even worse than I ever imagined.”
Ethan didn’t comment when she was through. He simply poured another drink and walked back to his chair. “Selena, you saw who I am,” he said as he made reference to what she had just said. “How can you now think me capable of being a proper father to that or any other child now? I have enough on my plate what with this lawsuit...” He stopped before he intimated anything further.
“Lawsuit?” she quizzed. “What lawsuit?”
“Never mind; slip of the lip,” he said as he put the glass to his mouth and sipped once more. “I am not in the frame of mind for this. If you want to have this baby, then go ahead, but I...” His words faded, but he didn’t need to say anything more.
“I get it Ethan,” she said. “I’m on my own.” She turned and walked away, feeling as if she was leaving a part of her soul in the office with him, for she had never felt as empty as this. Ironic when she should be feeling more wholesome. When she got to the door, she stopped and looked back at him. “I never wanted any of this, Ethan,” she said with her back turned to him still. “And being here this evening, I realize that my finances may not be anywhere that I am comfortable with, but for the sake of my sanity and my pride, I don’t think I can work here any longer.”
She turned the knob, and the door swung open, but before she could walk through, he was before her. “What is that supposed to mean? You quit?” He asked her.
“What else am I supposed to do? I slept with my boss, and now I am pregnant and he wants nothing to do with it. How can I sit there every day and watch you come and go from this office? That is torture, and I will not do that to myself or risk the health of my child. I have to go,” she concluded.
Ethan sighed when she had finished. He understood what she was saying, and he blamed himself for being so uncaring, but what else was he to do? He had found himself between a rock and a hard place, and that was even before Selena announced her pregnancy. It had completely thrown him off his guard, and he didn’t know how to react to it yet. “Would it make it any easier if I was around less? I know things haven’t been so great with your sales.”
“I sold three houses of late, and I can do more,” she defended.
“Yes, but soon you won’t be able to walk around much,” he added. “What will you do?”
“I am not sure. I just know that for now, I can’t stay here.”
Ethan raked his hand through his hair and let out a big sigh. “Okay. Here’s what you will do; you will take some time off, blow some steam, and get your head sorted out, and then you can come back.”
Selena looked at him as if he was mad. “Cool off?” She asked, and then she folded her arms and looked him dead in the eye. “And what happens when I return? I still see you going around acting like this baby isn’t yours and you weren’t letting me into your life before? How often will I need to cool off?”
“I don’t know how to make this any easier for you without jeopardizing things for me,” he said, and she could see the stress lines on his face. But his life was his problem; she had her own now to think about.
“You could try taking responsibility instead of pushing this under the carpet,” she said.
“I can’t.” he said.
“Why not? This is your baby too.”
“You wouldn’t understand. It’s just that the baby is going to complicate things for me now more than before,” he said as he walked off. “I would prefer if you didn’t carry it to term.”
And there it was. The forbidden words finally escaped his lips. She could see that something was bothering him,
Heidi Hunter, Bad Boy Team