Page 37 of Lost Summer
Elena let out a sharp laugh, her eyes flashing with anger. “Am I okay? How do I feel? That you will be there to support us? Those kinds of things, Edward!”
I nodded, my mind racing. I couldn’t be with Elena when every fibre of my being yearned for Adele. But the baby…
“Look, I can’t be with you. But the baby…” Saying the word felt foreign on my tongue, but I persevered. “I’ll be there completely, you know that.”
Elena looked up at me, her eyes glittering with fresh tears. “It’s not enough, Edward. The baby deserves both parents, married parents at that! You know how our parents are. This isn’t up for debate. You can’t leave me!”
“Elena—”
“No, Edward.” Elena took a deep breath, fixing me with her puppy dog eyes. “We need you. Don’t leave us now.”
“I’m in love with someone else.” The words felt like a weight lifting from my shoulders. I nodded, realising that as fucked up as this situation was, being with Adele wasn’t up for debate.
Baby or not.
“It’s that fucking reporter, isn’t it?” Elena’s eyes flashed, her hands clenched into fists. “Well, fuck her! We have a baby coming, Edward. Stop pretending you’re seventeen again!”
There was no talking to Elena like this.
I couldn’t breathe. The air in the room felt thick and suffocating, the scent of flowers nauseating. I had to leave. I felt like I couldn’t take another breath in that room, surrounded by the shattered remnants of my once carefully constructed life.
“If you walk out of that door, I’ll move to Spain, and you’ll never see your child again.” Elena’s words cut through the air like a blade, sharp and brutal.
I stopped, my heart caught in my throat. The realisation that the woman carrying my child was such a monster hit me like a punch to the gut.
How had I not seen this?
Turning toward her, I fixed her with a steely glare, my jaw clenched with anger. “If you want to be with your family in Spain, Elena, so be it. But don’t youeverthreaten me with not seeing my child, or I’ll make you regret ever crossing me. Do I make myself clear?”
Elena narrowed her eyes, reaching for a vase on the table as she threw it in my direction. Flowers, water, and all. Her aim was poor, but as the glass shattered against the wall beside me, I shook my head sadly.
“I’ll be in touch,” I said, closing the door behind me.
My heart thudded in my chest, a part of me refusing to walk away and leave my child with her in that state.
Fuck!
I made a few calls, arranging for her friends to come over as soon as possible.
Yes, I’m leaving her. Yes, I know she’s pregnant.
My body ached as I rode the lift downstairs, pushing open the door to inhale the fresh air. Adele knew; that’s why she was so emotional on the phone. My heart sank again, and I gritted my teeth, wondering how my life had drastically altered within the past hour. One thing was sure; I needed to speak to Adele.
19
ADELE
Istared at the river, the swirling water below claiming my attention briefly, before the thoughts returned, dominating my mind. The breeze that ruffled my hair was chilly, and I hugged my coat tighter around me.
The sun cast a warm glow over the city, but the shadows lingering beneath the surface seemed to mirror the darkness cloaking my heart.
Elena was pregnant with Ted’s baby.
I wasn’t just upset; I was jealous and hurt. It felt like someone had shredded my soul and scattered it onto a blazing fire, never to be returned. More tears fell, but this time I didn’t wipe them away. I allowed them to trail miserably down my cheeks, falling from the bridge to the river beneath, rejoicing at being one with the wild water.
If only life were so simple.
The rollercoaster of emotions I’d been on with Ted felt like some kind of sick joke, the universe ever throwing curveballs our way that blindsided us so much, we forgot who we were and what we wanted. I wanted Ted, and I knew he wanted me too.We’d always been in love. Now Elena was pregnant by the man I loved, and there was nothing I could do but hope he still left her.
