Page 27 of Worthy: Cassius and Faith

No. Please.

But I felt any hope I ever had for happiness go up in smoke.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

someday

Cassius

After finishing my call with Gina, I returned to the kitchen. There was a box on the island with my name on it. Intrigued, I opened it.

There was a small chocolate bundt cake inside.

I stared at it for a moment. Then, something unfurled inside my chest—something that had been shut tight for an eternity.

“Cassius!” Faith called me from the bedroom. Something in her voice made me run.

I found her in the bathroom on the floor, her arms wrapped around herself. Her face was pale, and tears glistened on her cheeks.

“Babe? What’s the matter?”

“I’m bleeding.” She looked up at me, her eyes hollowed out. “Something’s wrong.”

“Okay. It’s okay—let me get you to bed. Unless you need to go to the hospital?”

She shook her head. “I’m okay. But I’m not good with blood.”

“I’ve got you.” I helped get her up and into bed. Faith’s lips were white, and her skin was pale. “I’ll make a quick call, and we’ll get a doctor over here to check you out.”

“I don’t know if you need to do that,” she said.

“I’m absolutely doing that,” I said, my voice firm.

She nodded, then turned away.

And all at once, my world was falling apart.

One of the benefits of being a billionaire was that I knew people who knew people. I needed a world-class obstetrician. A business associate of mine in Boston had five young kids, so I called him. He called his family doctor, who put me in touch with Dr. Maya Williams, who was the chief obstetrician at Mass General and who happened to summer on Nantucket.

Dr. Williams was at the house in fifteen minutes. She examined Faith, who was still white as a ghost, and took her blood to run labs at the nearby hospital. While I waited, pacing in the kitchen, I found myself clutching the teddy bear I’d bought.

The doctor allowed me back into the room once she’d finished. She left to run the labs, promising to be back shortly. I sat on the edge of Faith’s bed and held her hand. She allowed me to, but she still wouldn’t look at me.

“Are you okay?” I asked. I felt so helpless.

She shook her head yes.

“Are you too upset to talk?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “No, I have something I need to say.”

I waited. She looked so upset, I didn’t know what to do.

“We can get an annulment,” she whispered. “I won’t hold you to helping me with Lucas. If we get an annulment, it’s like none of this ever happened.”

“What?”

She finally looked at me, and what I saw in her eyes broke my heart. She looked haunted. “I’m so sorry, Cassius. I know this is a huge disappointment for you. I’m upset, too. But I know you only married me because of the baby. I understand. So we can get an annulment, like I said.”

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