Page 85 of Boards & Betrayal

"You think I'd do that to you?" he asked again, his voice softer but still tinged with disbelief.

"I didn't want to find out," I admitted, my chest tightening. "I knew your stance on kids, and if I told you I couldn't stop crying after losing a child I only knew about for ten days… I didn't want to feel stupid. And then, I didn't want you to leave because you assumed I was trying to get pregnant."

"Why would you think I'd assume that?" he asked, his eyes searching mine.

"Because Janet?—"

"It's not an assumption if it's true," he cut me off, his voice hardening. "Janet did it on purpose. You… I never would have thought that about you." He looked at me with a mixture of hurt and anger. "You should have given me a chance, Ally."

I sucked in a shaky breath, feeling the weight of his words.

"We were only together for three weeks, Tom," I pointed out. "And I got pregnant. If that doesn't scream entrapment, I don't know what does."

"It's my kid too," he said, his voice breaking. "And even though it happened months ago, it feels like it's happening now."

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, my voice trembling.

"Fuck your sorry," he snapped, pushing everything off his desk in a fit of anger. Papers and objects scattered across the floor. I flinched. "That was my kid. That was my kid, and I didn't know about it! I couldn't do anything about it! I couldn't… I wasn't there for you."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, feeling helpless.

We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before I turned and walked out of the room. The second I closed the door behind me, I heard him throwing more things around in a rage.

Each crash echoed in my heart as I stood there, tears streaming down my face.

"Excusethe fuck out of my fucking mouth, but what the fuck did you just say?" Tom's voice boomed, raw and jagged.

I took in a breath, steadying myself. "Look," I began, trying to find the right words. "I know this changes things, but I don't want to hide anything. Nick was my boyfriend. We were together maybe eight months."

His eyes darkened, disbelief mixing with anger. "You and my son..."

I nodded, swallowing hard. "I didn't know, though," I said quickly. "I didn't know you and him…" I shook my head, words failing me. "He mentioned you in passing, about you being a shitty dad, but I didn't know you coached a college team or even that you were still in his life. He made it out to be that you were never there."

Tom's face contorted with rage. "I'm going to kill him," he muttered through clenched teeth.

Without thinking, I stepped in front of him, my fingers curling around his wrists. The warmth of his skin grounded me as much as it seemed to calm him down slightly.

"Tom," I said softly. "This is on me."

"How?" he asked, his eyes searching mine for answers. "You didn't know."

"I didn't," I agreed, nodding. The silence that followed was thick and uncomfortable.

I cleared my throat, needing to break the tension. "I understand if you don't want to see me anymore," I said, forcing the words out even though they cut deep.

He stared at me, his anger ebbing away to reveal something more vulnerable beneath the surface. His jaw worked as if he were wrestling with himself internally.

Finally, he exhaled sharply, pulling his wrists from my grasp but not stepping back. "What a fucking mess," he muttered.

"I know," I whispered, feeling the weight of our complicated history pressing down on us both. "Look, I'll go. And I don't have to attend?—"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" His voice came out rough, his eyes boring into mine.

"Well, I mean—" My voice faltered, unsure of how to articulate the tangled mess of emotions in my chest.

"I still want you, Ally," he said, cutting through my hesitation. There was heat in his eyes, an intensity that made my heart race. "Nothing's changed."

"I don't want to come between the two of you," I said softly. The words felt like they weighed a ton. "My dad left when I was young. You… you still want to be in his life."

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