Chapter 35 – Skylar #2
He laughs caustically in my face. “You think he gives two shits about you? Once he learns the baby is mine and not his, he’ll walk.
You trapped him like a poor bastard. You’re nothing but a stupid slut who fucks her way from one man to the next.
Only this time you fucked up. The baby is mine and not his.
You think I was so mean to you? Boo-fucking-hoo, princess.
I never hurt you. That was all in your head.
You’re a spoiled, coddled rich girl who expects the world to worship you when the truth is, you’re nothing without me. ”
Now it’s my turn to laugh, even when it’s shaky and rattled by his hand on my throat and adrenaline charging through my veins and muscles. “Now who’s the stupid whore? He knows whose baby it is, and he wants me anyway. He married me anyway.”
His eyes flash dangerously. “Except it’s my baby and not his.
So that makes you mine.” His teeth graze my jaw, and he pants heavily against my skin.
“Why do you do this to us? I love you so much. If you think I’m going to let him have you when you’re pregnant with my child, you’ve got another thing coming. ”
“That’s not your call to make. It's mine. If I have to fight you tooth and nail in court over it, I will. I will use all of my resources to keep my baby safe and you out of my life.”
His forehead presses into the side of my face. “You won’t. You’re too soft for that. You’re just mad at me. But I’ll change. I have been changing. You’ve seen it. I’ve been everything you love about me.”
I thrust against him, and he finally relents, giving me an inch to breathe. “You just called me a stupid whore, squeezed my neck, and slammed my head against the wall.”
He makes a dismissive noise, irritation angling his features.
“I didn’t slam your head. That’s not how it happened.
Jesus, Skylar, you’re exaggerating again.
I said those things because I was angry.
” He gives me a reproachful look. “You can’t blame me for that.
I just learned you’re pregnant with my baby, and yet you’re married to that fucker and not me. ”
He seriously doesn’t see it, and that’s terrifying. But more than that, I don’t want to fight with him anymore. I don’t want to question or doubt myself the way I did with him for so long. There is no safety in doing that, and frankly, none of it matters anymore.
“You’re dangerous. Did you honestly think you could get away with altering medication orders? With fucking with equipment? You could have killed a patient.”
His eyes pin mine. “Your husband’s the one who fucked up, touching things that never belonged to him.
There’s no proof of anything other than the fact that he’s incompetent.
Even if there is, it won’t lead to me.” He grins and locks me in place once more, licking a ring around my lips and up my neck that makes bile climb up the back of my throat.
“His career is finished. He’s on administrative leave. ”
I gasp and fight to push him back. “He’s what? Since when?”
He gives me a satisfied smile. “Since about twenty minutes ago. I just saw him going up to get his things from his locker before I got on the elevator with you.”
“What did you do?”
Thankfully, he finally releases me, his anger ebbing just as quickly as it came on.
That’s how he works. A volcano erupting before he turns dormant again just as fast. It was the ultimate mindfuck.
Especially when he’d become soft and remorseful and adoring after.
He’d make it feel as though I imagined the entire thing.
But not anymore. And never again.
“I spoke to Weinberg about him. About my concerns.”
My jaw unhinges. “Why would you do that?”
“Because he needs to go. You never would have left me if it weren’t for him. And now that I know you’re pregnant, I know I made the right choice with the med orders and equipment. I did what I had to do for you and for us. You never should have married him.”
“You could have killed someone.”
“No one got hurt, and now that he’s gone, no one will.”
Holy hell. I can’t even with that. “Why do you want me back?” That’s what I can’t make sense of. The way he speaks to me, you’d think he hated me.
He steps back into me, and I press my hands into his chest to keep him at bay.
“From the moment I saw you, I knew you were going to be mine. You make me crazy, Skylar. I can’t think or function without you.
I love you, and you walked out on me. Fine, I got angry a few times.
Maybe I even said some things I shouldn’t have.
But you left me. I never walked away from you.
And now that you’re pregnant, I can’t let you do that again. ”
My phone vibrates against my hip, and instinctively, I know it’s Aston calling to tell me what happened.
I also know I have to do something about it.
I can’t let this stand. Josh knows about the baby now.
That secret is out. So all I can do at this point is save the people I love from the man in front of me.
By staying silent, I protected Josh. Allowing my fears of others’ opinions and scrutiny to rule, I hid what he did. That was wrong. If I had come forward about him sooner, maybe none of this would have happened.
“I understand,” I tell him, ignoring my phone. “I need to get back.”
“You didn’t eat anything.”
I snort because his concern over me eating is the most fucked-up and ironic thing ever.
I can’t pretend to understand him or his actions.
Frankly, I don’t. I don’t get the sick obsession.
I can’t fathom intentionally hurting anyone in any way.
But he’s not well. That much is obvious.
It’s more than he’s hurt and threatened me.
He’s risked innocent children with his fixation and cruelty.
And he did all of that against the man I love.
“I’ll be fine.”
I push past him and head out of the alley.
“I’ll walk with you.”
“No.” I turn and hold his gaze even as I walk backward toward the front entrance. “I need time alone to think about everything you said to me.”
This makes him smile. He thinks I’m planning to come back to him when, actually, I’m planning to get rid of him from my life once and for all.