Page 113 of My Fiancé's Brother 2

“No, you’re not.”

“Chris knew me. You don’t know me. If you did, you would hate me.”

I had no words. The only comfort I could offer was to hold him tight.

When I woke up, he was gone.

CHAPTER 38

Jackson mourned.He didn’t talk. He didn’t smile or laugh. He dutifully took Chloe for walks or helped me around the house, but the man I knew was missing. He had withdrawn into himself.

I didn’t understand him, but I did understand grief. So I did my best to be there for him. I made dinner for him. I was home when he came home. We were two silent strangers living together. It broke my heart, but I knew enough not to push him on anything. This pain was something he needed to work through on his own.

He never asked me about my life, but even worse, he completely stopped talking about Alien. He seemed to have lost all interest in both of us.

Two more weeks passed.Jackson might as well have been deployed. He completely withdrew and didn’t even notice when my cast was removed. We coexisted together. Two roommates who never talked.

At dinner, I watched him eat, and then I decided to press my luck.

“I have an ultrasound scheduled tomorrow for 5 PM.”

Green eyes looked at me.

“Did you want to come?”

“Sure. Text me a reminder.”

“Okay.”

The next day,I waited outside the clinic until 4:59 PM. There was no sign of Jackson.

Me: At our appointment. Are you running late?

No response.

With a sore heart, I went to the appointment by myself.

The technician asked me if I wanted to know the sex of the baby. My eyes filled with tears. This was a decision that we were supposed to make together.

“No thanks.”

She gave me a sad smile.

I criedon the way home. I had no idea how to deal with this situation. Did I give Jackson more time? Did I confront him? What was I supposed to do? I thought losing him to Harper would be the worst thing in the world. But this, this was much worse. He didn’t want to be comforted. He didn’t want my love. He pushed me away, and there was nothing I could do about it. How long would this last? How long until the delicate relationship that we had started to cultivate was utterly shredded.

When I came in the door, Jackson stood in the kitchen on his phone. He didn’t even glance up when I walked in.

Suddenly, I felt anger. I put my bag on the counter.

“Where were you?”

He looked up at me. “What are you talking about?”

“We had an ultrasound appointment.”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “Fuck. Emily. I’m sorry.”

“I waited for you.”

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