Aliza
“Some guard cat you are, Cat,” she whispered. He didn’t bother to acknowledge her as his eyes closed.
She looked around the house, trying to find Elias, only to remember, as her brain fog lifted, that he was at work. The knock came again—harder this time.
“I’ll get it,” she said to Cat, as though there were any other option. She didn’t know how she knew that something unwanted, or in this case, someone, waited for her on the other side of the door. Her heart was already pounding as she opened it to find her father standing on the porch.
His expression was thunderous, his jaw tight, and his eyes sharp with anger and disbelief. For a split second, neither of them spoke. “So it’s true,” he said, looking her over. “You’re pregnant.”
Aliza swallowed. “You shouldn’t be here.” Those words were the only ones playing through her mind, and apparently, the only ones that she could choke out at the moment.
“You’ve ruined your life,” he snapped. “All that education, all the money that I spent, all that potential—and you throw it away for a middle-aged man and a bastard child?”
“You don’t get to say that about Elias or my child,” she spat, protectively covering her tummy with her hands, as though trying to stop her father’s vile words from reaching her baby’s ears.
Her father ignored her. “You had everything. And now you’re going to be tied down, broke, and ashamed of the life that you’ve created.”
Aliza’s hands curled into fists. “You know what? I’m done letting you talk to me like I’m nothing.”
His eyes narrowed. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I do,” she said. “I’m done. I don’t want you in my life if this is how you are going to treat me. Elias and this baby are my family now. You can go try to control someone else’s life, Dad, because I’m done letting you control mine.”
He scoffed. “Fine. Then don’t expect anything from me ever again. You are a complete disappointment to me, Aliza.”
“I won’t,” she said. “And for the record, I feel the same way about you, Dad.” Silence fell between them, thick and final. He turned and walked away, and she shut behind him with a quiet, devastating click.
Aliza walked back over to the sofa and sank into it. She was shaking, and she knew that she needed to calm down—not for her sake, but for her baby’s. She grabbed her cell phone from the cushion next to her and saw that Elias had tried to call her over a dozen times.
“Shit,” she whispered to herself. “He must be so worried.” She was about to call him when the front door flew open, and one very pissed-off man stood in the doorway, with Jonnas standing behind him.
Both looked like they were ready for a fight, but she had already taken care of that for them.
The question was—how did Elias know that her father paid her a visit?
Actually, the better question was—who told her dear old Dad that she was pregnant?
She had a feeling that the answers both lay with the pissed-off man staring her down.
Aliza was still shaking when Elias walked through the front door. She’d been sitting on the edge of the couch, Cat curled tight against her thigh like he could sense the storm inside her. Her father’s words echoed over and over in her head, each one sharp enough to cut her from the inside out.
You’ve ruined your life.
I want nothing to do with you.
Elias crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. “Aliza, thank God you’re okay. I’ve been calling you for the past hour. I take it your father was here,” he said.
She stood so fast that the room spun. “You told him,” she accused.
Elias froze. “What?”
“You told my father I’m pregnant, didn’t you?” she asked. His face told her everything that she needed to know. He had told her father her news, and that had led to her dear old Dad stopping by today.
The relief on his face vanished instantly. “I—yes, I did. I was trying to stop him from trying to see you. He came to the hospital and—” She wasn’t about to let him explain himself out of this one.
“You had no right,” she said, her voice trembling with fury. “That was mine to tell. Mine.”
Elias stepped toward her, hands raised. “I wasn’t trying to take that from you. He was threatening you. He told me that I should convince you to see him again. He said that he had every right to talk to you, and I thought if he knew—”
“You thought you’d protect me,” she snapped. “But you made it worse.”
Pain flickered across his face. “Aliza—”
“You took my choice away,” she said, tears burning hot now.
“Just like he always does.” The words landed hard between them—harsh and unyielding.
“It was my decision to make whether or not I told my father about the baby. Maybe I wasn’t ready to tell him yet.
Maybe, I’m not ready for anyone to know our happy news. ”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” Elias said quietly.
“I panicked. I thought—” She held up her hands, effectively stopping him from saying anything else to her.
Jonnas stood behind him, silently watching the two of them, and she knew that she probably sounded like a raging bitch, but she didn’t care anymore.
“I know you care,” she said, voice cracking. “That’s what makes this hurt so much.”
She pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to ground herself.
“I just lost my father for good because you stuck your nose where it didn’t belong.
I needed you to be the one person who didn’t decide things for me.
” Silence stretched, thick and heavy. Elias just stood in front of her, hurt evident on his handsome face as he stared her down.
“I’m going to wait outside, man, and give you two some privacy. If you need me, just yell,” Jonnas said, patting Elias on the back.
Aliza waited for him to leave before continuing. “I can’t do this right now,” she whispered. “I can’t stay here and pretend everything is fine, or that any of this is okay.”
Elias swallowed. “What are you saying?”
“I need time,” she said, “and space to think. I need to breathe, focus, and remember who I am without someone else steering my life. I need to figure out how to be in charge of myself for a change, and how I want my life to go.”
His chest rose and fell slowly. “Are you leaving me?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I’m not leaving us. I’m just taking a step back to figure out me.”
She grabbed her purse from where she’d dropped it earlier. “Dani’s roommates are gone for a few weeks. She has a spare room. I’m going to stay there for a bit.”
Elias nodded once, even though it clearly cost him something. “I don’t like this, but I’ll respect what you want, honey.”
She hesitated at the door, her heart breaking in ways she hadn’t expected.
“I love you,” she said softly. “But I need to do this my way.” It was the first time that either of them had said that to the other.
She didn’t expect to be the first to use the “L” word, but she had to give him her complete honesty.
It was the only way she’d be able to find her way back to him at some point.
“I know,” he replied. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
As she stepped out into the hallway, Cat let out a small, confused cry behind her, as though begging her not to go. Aliza paused, pressed her palm briefly to the door, then forced herself to walk away—hoping that space would help her find clarity instead of tearing everything apart.