Page 36 of It Must Be Fate

I release him and push against his chest. He tries to hold onto me, but I step out of his embrace and put space between us.

He reaches for me but his arms fall limply to his sides when I move away.

I turn to face him once more and find him looking as tormented as when he first walked in.

“What happened to you, Rogue? Why did you leave? Did you…” My words catch on the mass stuck in my throat. I can barely get the words out. “Do you not want this baby?”

He works his jaw back and forth as he seems to mull his answer over. The silence draws out for an unbearably torturous amount of time.

Oh, god.

Anything other than an immediate ‘yes’ from him is horrible. It isn’t enough.

There are no words to describe the emotion that claws at my insides. It feels like grief and disappointment bundled into one, like someone just plunged a dagger right through my heart.

A long-held tear escapes and slips down my cheek. I look to the side and whisk it briskly away with my index before he can see it.

“Well, the good news is it’s not too late. We can get it taken care of,” I say, my voice emotionless.

“Bell.”

My name rips from his lips hoarsely, heavy with feeling. He calls to me to meet his gaze, but I can’t.

I can’t.

“I’ll make an appointment with a doctor and it’ll be like it never happened.”

“Bellamy.”

I can’t bear to think about it. The thought alone flays me alive—I can’t imagine actually going through with it.

But it’s what I have to do.

It’s better this way.

Better than having a baby with someone who isn’t a hundred percent on this journey with me.

“Bellamy.”

Rogue’s stern voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts like a knife. The strict authoritativeness of his tone forces me to finally look at him.

He walks up to me, a massive thunderstorm raging in his eyes as he approaches. There’s everything in his gaze; love, fear, anger, possessiveness.

It’s all there, and it’s all aimed at me.

Rogue stops mere inches from me. His eyes drop slowly down to my stomach.

He reaches out with a tentative yet tender hand and presses his palm just below my navel. Electricity zaps through me the moment he touches me, sending a shiver up the length of my spine.

“I want this baby,” he confesses, his eyes lifting back up to mine. “Idesperatelywant this baby. More than you could ever know.”

More tears pool in my eyes, except this time there’s no hiding them. They crest past my eyelids and fall down my cheeks.

I shake my head and wipe the tears away with both hands. “Then why are you acting like this?”

His throat works as he swallows with difficulty. I’ve never seen him like this, never seen him so unsure of himself.

“Talk to me,” I coax gently.

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