I wobbled in shock, Paul barely catching me. The look on his face was pure astonishment. He looked at me in panic, then back to Casey.
“You’re what?” he asked, barely above a whisper.
She shot him a smile, malice in her eyes. “You heard me. I’m pregnant. Six weeks to be exact. You remember, don’t you? The one time you actually did me without a condom, in your office?” She swirled her drink around in her glass, seeming to enjoy the bombshell she had just dropped.
I froze. No, no, no! I was going to be sick. I pulled away from Paul, needing to get as far away from them both as possible, but he held tight to my hand. I whimpered, pulling again. He looked at me. “Don’t, I need you here. Please.”
Tears sprung in my eyes as I felt the bile rising in my throat.
“Oh please, you need her here? What about me, you bastard? I’m the one carrying your baby.” Casey glared at us as she downed the rest of her drink. The fact that she was pregnant and drinking didn’t pass by me, but all I could think about was getting away from Paul.
I looked at Paul, pleading with my eyes. “Let me go, now.”
His face was one of agony and shock. He let go of my hand, but put both of his on my shoulders. “This doesn’t change anything, you got me? She may not be telling the truth and even if she is, the child may not be mine. She’s trying to manipulate me and I won’t let her. Do not walk away from me right now, from us.”
I swiped my hand through my hair, barely holding it together. “All I know right now is that I need you to let me go, Paul.” I was suddenly seething with rage. Knowing I was there when this child was conceived brought up all the anger and hurt I’d tried so hard to put aside. The thought of Paul touching me made me sick.
His face contorted with pain, but he did as I asked and dropped his hands from my shoulders. I didn’t hesitate to run away from him, from them. I heard a chair scrape the floor and Ethan call out to me. I didn’t even turn around. I had to get out of there.
I ran through the first door I saw and down some steps, grasping onto the railing at the bottom. I bent over at the waist, taking deep breaths. I sat with my knees pulled to my chest, laying my arms across them and resting my head.
I could feel people walking by me, but I didn’t care. I just continued rocking back and forth, feeling absolutely sick that she got pregnant when I was in that damn closet. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Ethan behind me, staring at me with concern.
He bent down on his knee, stroking my hair out of my face, taking me into his arms. Seeing his face, I started to cry and buried my face in his chest. He held me against him as he sat down on the ground beside me.
“What happened? What did she do?” he asked, rocking me back and forth.
I cringed at the memory I was afraid would always stay fresh in my mind. I could hear him pressing her against the wall as she moaned his name over and over. I could hear her screams of delight. The whole thing made me sick and I covered my mouth.
“Aly, please tell me what happened?” Ethan begged, the worry getting worse in his voice.
I took deep breaths, trying to calm down. I realized I was acting crazy, but knowing I was there when it happened rocked me to the core. The only good thing in my life was holding me in his arms.
I looked up at him, tears streaming from my eyes. “She’s pregnant,” was all I said.
Shock registered in his eyes, then compassion. He pulled me back to his chest and continued stroking my hair. “Wow,” he uttered.
“There’s more,” I added on a shudder. “She got pregnant the day he shoved me in the closet and did her while I listened.”
Ethan’s eyes widened as realization dawned, then anger came across his face. He stopped rocking me in his arms, his muscles contracting as he tried to keep calm. He never said anything, but the change that came over him never left. I knew he was livid, but I was too upset to pay attention to it.
I finally stopped crying and lifted my head from his chest. “You know what?” I said as I looked at him. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing to do with him matters anymore. You and I are together and I’m in love with you. I knew I wanted to be with you before she dumped this little announcement on us. They can have each other.”
I scooted away from him to stand up, but he beat me to it and helped me up. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked at me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, wiping at my eyes. “Yes,” I whispered. I reached out and touched Ethan’s cheek with my hand. I ran it down to his jaw; reveling in the feeling it gave me. When he put his hand to my face, I leaned into it, closing my eyes. There was not a better feeling in the world to me at that moment.
“Do you feel like going back inside, or should I go tell Missy we’re leaving?”
I refused to allow what had just happened make me leave. I lifted my chin and brushed my fingers through my hair. “I want to go back inside for a little while.”
He gave me a questioning look. “Aly, are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yes, I’m not going to let them control what I do. They both can go to hell. I’m going back in.”
He nodded and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Okay then, let’s go.”
We walked back up the stairs and through the door. I felt a steely resolve and knew that Paul could no longer hurt me. While it killed me knowing I was right there when this baby was conceived, it turned out to be even more confirmation that I had made the right choice.
Ethan led me to our table where Paul and Missy were sitting. Paul’s head was resting on his arms over the table and Missy was rubbing circles over his back, obviously trying to comfort him in some way. She saw us approach and whispered something to Paul. He immediately lifted his head and saw me. He stood up and came over. Ethan held me close, obviously not allowing Paul to get too close. When Paul reached us, he reached for my hand, but Ethan stepped in front of me.
“Not a good idea, Pierce,” he told him.
Paul gazed at him, his eyes turning to anger. “I don’t care what you think, Baker. I need to talk to Aly.”
Ethan shook his head, pushing me behind his back even more. “She’s not really up to talking with you at the moment.”
Paul looked over his shoulder to me. “Aly, please. I can’t lose you.”
I looked at him, feeling nothing but rage. “I can’t talk to you right now,” I told him. “I know we need to discuss what just happened, and we will. Just not right now, Paul.”
His eyes closed in pain and he ran his hands down his face. “Please,” he whispered.
Ethan wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me tight. He knew I could break at any moment. “Paul, give her some space. She’ll talk to you when she’s ready.”
He looked at me as he put his hands back to his sides. “I’m not letting you go. I don’t care what Casey just said, I’m not letting you go.” He turned and walked to the exit, leaving Ethan and me standing there in the crowd.
“On second thought, just take me home, Ethan,” I said. He pulled me to him and nodded. He motioned to Missy to come over. She grabbed her purse and met us.
“What the hell is going on?” she asked.
“Not now, Missy,” Ethan responded. “I just need to get Aly home. I’ll drop you off at your hotel first.”
“Are you okay, Aly? I gathered a little bit from Paul, but I couldn’t understand him very well. And who was that bitch? They fought after you ran away, then she threw her drink in Paul’s face and stormed out.”
I sighed, not surprised. I didn’t even respond to her, I just let Ethan walk me to his car. I wondered where Paul had gone to, but then remembered I didn’t care.
Ethan opened my door and helped me inside. Ever the gentleman, he opened Missy’s door for her too. Once he got in he hurried and started the car, tearing out of the clubs parking lot.
Missy went on and on about the evening’s events and how she hoped I was okay. She would squeeze my shoulder off and on and I appreciated her attempt at comforting me. We pulled up to her hotel’s entrance and Ethan parked, getting out of the car to let her out.
“Aly, I’m here for you. I have to leave tomorrow, but I’m only a phone call away. I’m so sorry. Call me, okay?”
I nodded and thanked her. “I’m so sorry the night was ruined. Next time you’re in town I’ll make it up to you.”
“No need. But I do plan on taking you up on getting together. Take care, girl.” She gave my shoulder one last squeeze and got out of the car. She gave Ethan a hug and whispered something in his ear. He nodded and saw that she made it inside okay, and then got back in the car.
“How are you doing?” he asked me.
“I’ve been better, but I’m okay.”
He started driving towards my apartment building, covering my hand with his. He didn’t say anything to me the whole ride there, knowing I just needed time to process everything.
Looking at his profile, I smiled. This beautiful man was mine and I was never letting him go. I closed my eyes the rest of the ride to my apartment, thinking about everything that had happened.
I knew that this time I would have to resign and find a new job and it ticked me off. I was losing so much because of what Paul did. There was no way I could work with him anymore, let alone work every day at the scene of the crime.
We finally got to my apartment and I collapsed on the couch when we got inside. Ethan sat down next to me, pulling me to him. “Talk to me, angel,” he whispered in my hair. I relaxed and just soaked him in.
I looked in his eyes and touched my hand to his face. “I don’t deserve you,” I told him.
He looked surprised to hear me say this. “Why do you say that? Of course you do, babe.”
I scooted away from him so I could really look at him as we talked. “I really don’t, Ethan. I’ve put you through so much.”
His face continued to look confused, but he stayed still. “Aly, this is ridiculous. Why are you saying this?”
I didn’t know. My emotions were all over the place. Everything was hitting me. How I’d loved Paul for so long, Casey treating me like shit, knowing Ethan loved me, but not realizing my feelings for him. It was all too much.
“Everything is hitting me. I feel guilty for making you wait for us for so long. I wasted so much time pining for Paul. If I could go back, I’d change it all in a heartbeat.”
He snatched me into his arms, holding me close against his chest. “Shh, don’t even go there, Aly. We’re together now, and I don’t regret a single minute we’ve had together. I love you so much. Let’s just start fresh and not worry about the past.”
I felt the tears again and I hugged him tight. “I love you too, so much. Thank you. I’d be even more of a wreck if you weren’t here with me.”
He pushed me back so he could look me in the eye. “I’ll always be here with you, as long as you let me. I told you, you’re the only one for me. I will never love anyone else, Aly. It’s always been you.”
As he leaned over and started kissing me, all thoughts of Paul, Casey, and the pregnancy left my mind. I stood from the couch and held out my hand to him. He took it and let me lead him to the place we really wanted to be.