Page 110 of Clear Shot
Do we still have one after everything that happened?
God, this is hard. My feet are rooted in place, heart thundering against my ribs, stomach roiling dangerously.
“Did you put your hands on her, young man?” The older lady comes closer to us, eyes narrowed. “Look at me and tell me the truth.”
Aiden looks up without hesitation. “No, ma’am. I would never put my hands on my wife in anger. I said some dumb shi—er, stuff, but I never touched her. Trust me, if I used anything other than my stupid mouth to hurt her, her brother would have already broken me into little pieces.”
Apparently, we’ve drawn a crowd because a few people laugh.
“All right then.” The woman looks to me. “Go talk with him, honey. Believe me, once you get on that plane, it might change your whole life in a way that you can’t come back from.”
Oh, lovely. Now even strangers are involved in my business.
I look around and realize a bunch of people are watching, listening, and I think someone is trying to be sly about recording us. They must have recognized Aiden.
And that’s not going to happen.
We both deserve a modicum of privacy.
Especially since I’m pretty sure I’m going to vomit.
“All right,” I say finally. “I just—” I clap a hand over my mouth and run, abandoning my carryon as I make a beeline for the bathroom. I have no doubt Aiden will take care of my stuff for me, and my stomach doesn’t care about that anyway.
I make it just in time to empty the contents of my stomach.
I’ve never puked later in the day like this so either this is the beginning of some new phase of pregnancy hell, or I’m upset.
I’m hoping for the latter.
I wash my hands and rinse my mouth, dabbing a little water on my face. I don’t look great, pale with dark circles under my eyes.
Ugh.
I want to dab some color on my cheeks, maybe a touch of lip gloss, but what’s the point?
He just said he loves you.
The little angel on my shoulder whispers into my subconscious.
He did say that—and he’s never said it before.
I don’t completely believe it’s not because of the test, though. Now that he realizes it’s his child, he wants to talk, and as much as I love him, I’m not staying for the baby.
But what if I did?
It’s an option now that he knows it’s his child and he appears to be sorry.
Even if we’re not together emotionally, we could stay married and go back to the original plan of giving me a year to find a joband get my own visa or green card. And it would be easier for him to help with the baby.
It would be harder on me emotionally, of course, but I’d suck it up for the sake of the baby and our future.
I’d also be able to stay close to Johan and the others, which is important to me.
I close my eyes and breathe in and out a few times.
I can do this. No matter what the outcome is with Aiden, I’m in control of my destiny.
“You okay?” The older lady worried about my safety comes into the bathroom.
