34. The Turning Point
Chapter 34
The Turning Point
Lila
Silence.
Complete, deafening silence.
The seconds tick by painfully slowly as I wait for a response from him. A word, a sound, anything, but it doesn’t come. Instead, his face stays frozen, his entire body seemingly paralyzed by the news I just delivered to him.
My chest swells with fear, heart beating so fast I worry I might have a heart attack. I try to form words, but it’s painful even to speak. My throat feels like it’s laced with sandpaper, dry and gravelly. All I can do is clutch one hand in the other, doing my best to ignore the waves of nausea continually sweeping through my body.
I take slow, deep breaths, feeling like the walls are starting to close in on me. My knees threaten to buckle, and I lean against the nearest wall for support, the tears stinging my eyes at his continued silence.
Everything that led up to this moment flashes through my mind’s eye. Everything I could’ve done differently yet know I wouldn’t change even if I was offered the opportunity. How could I ever regret a single moment I spent with this incredible man? And now this miracle.
If only he could see it that way too…
“Say something, Cole. Please.” My voice breaks on the last word, and I realize just how scared I am. I didn’t mean for him to find out like this. When I told Sue, she insisted I needed to tell him immediately. She was right, of course. He’s the father of my baby—he has every right to know. But fear held me back.
Now, seeing his face, and knowing what I do about him, I know that fear wasn’t misplaced. A man like Cole, who’s been hurt the way he has—how could he see this as anything but a betrayal? A trap? I’d told him I couldn’t get pregnant. How could he not think this was all a lie, that I’m just like every other woman, another gold-digger using this to secure my future? Every fiber of his being must be screaming at him that he was right.
How am I ever going to get him to believe that I didn’t plan this?
He still hasn’t moved. The only movement in his body is a slight twitch of his jaw. Stormy eyes are locked on mine, wide with disbelief. He doesn’t say a word, but the way he’s looking at me hurts more than anything he could say.
“Please, Cole, say something. Anything,” I beg, my voice sounding even smaller now.
“You said you couldn't get pregnant,” he says, his voice low. Cold. A vice tightens around my heart, but I force myself to stay calm.
“I was told I couldn’t. I swear, I wasn’t lying when I told you that,” I say, my voice catching on a sob.
“Then how is it possible for you to be pregnant?”
“I don’t know. It’s—it’s a miracle.”
“A miracle?” He lets out a bitter laugh, dragging a hand through his hair. “How can I be so fucking stupid?” He chuckles humorlessly.
I flinch as he mutters those words. He drops heavily into the nearest chair, his head bowed for a moment before he looks up, his eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them.
“How could I be so stupid to fall for this again?” His voice is low, but the accusation comes through loud and clear. It feels like a knife twisting in my heart.
“Cole, I—this isn’t the same thing as what happened with—I didn’t lie to you. I need you to believe me, please,” I beg, the words tumbling out as tears spill freely down my face.
“I thought you were different. I really thought you were different,” his voice cracks, “but you’re just like her,” he snaps, his gaze cutting through me. “Both of you, lying, manipulative—”
“No. Cole, that’s not true. I’m nothing like her,” I whisper, clutching my chest. It feels like my heart is being ripped out.
“How could you do this, Lila? What kind of woman lies about not being able to have kids to trap a man?”
He continues as if I hadn’t spoken, eyes getting a faraway look in them. “No, you’re not like her. You’re worse. So much worse. You didn’t just lie—you planned this. You set me up.”
“That’s not true…” I mutter weakly, wincing as his words continue to slice through me.
“Really?” His voice rises. “Then how is it that you are pregnant, Lila? You told me it wasn’t possible! You looked me in the eye and lied to me! I let my guard down because of you. I allowed myself to trust you. I have never been as vulnerable with any other woman as I was with you. I told you about the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, and you went and recreated it all over again! This time even worse.” He’s panting now, pain and anger coming through in bursts.
“How do I even know this so-called baby is mine?”
Those words crack through the air, hitting me harder than a physical blow.
I knew he was going to be upset, but I couldn’t have imagined this. Not even in my worst nightmares.
How can he accuse me of this? How can he look at me this way, like I’m some kind of monster?
My legs weaken, trembling uncontrollably. My hands grope for the wall behind me, desperate for something solid to hold onto, but it’s no use. I sink to the floor, my strength completely gone.
The dam breaks and the sobs come crashing through, ripping through me with a force I can’t contain. They’re deep and raw, shaking my body as I sit there on the cold floor, utterly broken.
“You should never have come here,” I whisper through the tears, my voice hollow, barely more than a breath. “Please, just leave.”
He stands there a moment longer, completely quiet. I can feel his gaze on me. Accusing.
Without a word he turns around, making his way to the door. He pauses just before he slips through it, placing his hand on the frame. When he looks back at me, those stormy eyes I fell in love with meet mine for one last, fleeting moment.
In that moment, the truth is clear as day.
Nothing will ever be the same again.