Page 104 of Secret Baby for my Off-Limits Fiancé

I missed his first steps. His first words. His first everything. I missed holding him as a baby, rocking him to sleep, watching him grow.

Because she decided I didn’t have the right to know.

My jaw clenches so tight my teeth ache.

Betrayal. Anger. Pain. It all swirls together, a relentless storm surging inside me, twisting my insides into something dark and unrecognizable.

I want to be furious. I want to scream. I want to put my fist through something, anything.

But then I think of him.

I see his face, small and innocent, staring up at me with those familiar dark eyes.

His laugh. His bright smile. The way he clung to me when I carried him. The way he trusted me.

Even when I didn’t know the truth, I felt it.

I knew. Somewhere deep inside, I always knew.

My breath shudders as I drag a hand through my hair, my foot pressing harder on the gas pedal, the car’s engine roaring in protest.

I need to stop thinking. I need to stop feeling.

Because if I let it all sink in, I don’t know what the hell I’ll do.

The light ahead shifts from yellow to red, but I don’t slow down.

I barely register it.

A blaring horn.

Bright headlights.

A truck speeding through the intersection.

For a split second, time slows down.

I fucked up.

I fucked up bad.

I slam the brakes, yanking the wheel to the side.

The tires scream against the pavement as the car skids, narrowly avoiding the massive eighteen-wheeler barreling past.

The driver’s horn blasts through the night, angry, warning.

The world snaps back into motion as the car jerks to a violent stop against the shoulder.

My hands tremble against the wheel, my chest rising and falling erratically.

Silence.

Only my ragged breaths fill the space.

I squeeze my eyes shut, my pulse hammering against my ribs.

What the fuck am I doing?

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