Page 94 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
"You can't let them send it."
"I've tried everything."
"I need him. I can't. Rob, there have been so many times I thought I lost him. And I know I can't. I can't live without him. We can't live without him."
"If this is what he wanted, we can be strong for him."
"Stop giving up on him!"
"I'm not giving up on him!" He stood up too. "You think I want this? You think I want to watch my brother die without anyonedoing anything? Penny, this is killing me too. Like you just said...we can't live without him."
"No. You don't understand." It felt like I couldn't breathe. I swallowed hard. No one understood.
"What don't I understand?" He put his hands on my shoulders. "What aren't you telling me? What have you been hiding from me ever since we got to this fucking hospital? Why won't you let me in? Why won't you let me help you?!"
"I'm pregnant." My voice was an exasperated sob.
"Shit." He immediately put his arms around me.
I wasn't sure if he had meant to say it out loud, but his words seemed to echo around the small room.Shit.
"I'm going to be an uncle?"
I nodded into his chest.
"I'm going to be an uncle," he whispered wistfully. He sighed and rubbed my back before releasing me from his hug. "Okay. Fuck James' wishes. I'm going to go burn down his lawyer's building."
"What?"
"Unless you have a better idea."
"Find out when he submitted the DNR to his lawyer. And hire your own lawyer to figure out if I can veto it as his new wife."
"I'll do that first. You're right, arson should never be the first option."
I smiled and sat back down. It seemed like years had passed since I had heard Rob make a joke.
"I'm going to be an uncle." His smile was contagious. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"
"No, I haven't had an ultrasound. I'm going to do it when James wakes up."
"Okay." He nodded vigorously. "Good thinking. I'm gonna go make a few calls. I'm gonna fix this."
"I haven't told anyone else yet. Can you maybe just keep it between us right now?"
"Of course." He was already at the door. But he quickly rushed back over and kissed my forehead. "No matter what happens, you're not alone, Penny. You'll never have to raise it alone."
I nodded. His words were comforting, but they made me cringe at the same time. I couldn't raise this baby without James. I couldn't. "Thank you." I nodded again.
I watched him run out the door and then I grabbed James' hand again. Telling Rob made it seem more real. I was pregnant. James and I were going to have a baby. "It's time to wake up now. James, you need to wake up. We need you."
Devotion - Chapter 25
Tuesday
Mason and James' father had done what they promised. They had gotten Melissa out of jail on bail. But she wasn't allowed anywhere near the hospital. I didn't ask Mason how much bail was, but I knew it had to be a lot. She was still their prime suspect. At least she was out, though. Shaken up, but out.
Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to be relieved. They couldn't find any evidence that Isabella was behind the shooting. And each day that passed, I had this eerie feeling that someone was watching me.
