29. AVA
AVA
I confirmed it—I am indeed pregnant.
I’d dismissed my lack of periods as just all the stress getting to me; it has happened before. But then Ella had to make that joke, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Three pregnancy tests later, and there’s no doubt about it. I am carrying Zane’s baby.
Am I happy about it? I’m not sure yet, but I’m not sad either. Zane and I made a life together, and that is worth celebrating. I just wish it was later on in our relationship. I don’t even know what we are yet. Anytime I think we’re going to have the talk, something happens and we end up not.
This would have been good news if it had come at a better time, not while I’m smack in the middle of a family crisis.
Feeling cooped up in the house, especially with my thoughts running so wild, I decide to go take a stroll outside and enjoy the sun. I’ll also take this chance to check in on Sunny. The Morgans were generous enough to gift me a whole horse, and I’ve barely spent any time with her.
The sun is high up in the sky, and the Texas heat is unforgiving as I walk out of the house.
In the stables, I find Sunny’s stall, and she welcomes me with a happy neigh.
“Hey, girl, how are you today?” I ask, feeding her an apple from the bag hanging on her stall door.
She gobbles it up, nearly taking my hand as well, making me chuckle.
My good mood only lasts a few seconds before I’m back to thinking about all that’s wrong with my life.
More evidence has been uncovered of Estevan’s crimes, and now there’s no doubt left that he’s my stalker. I know we didn’t have the best relationship as step-siblings, but I didn’t think he’d stoop this low.
My mother married Hector when I was ten, and we became a blended family.
It had been just the two of us for so long—I thought it’d be cool to have a big brother, but Estevan proved that’s not what he wanted.
He always found a way to torment me, make my life harder than it already was, and monopolize my mother’s time.
I let it all go until the day he decided to take things a step further.
The day he decided to rape me was the day I realized that he never really saw me as his sister.
Then my mother took his side, and I realized that I was no longer safe with them.
If I stayed and he tried it again, he would succeed, and that would be the end of me, so I had to get out of there.
I successfully did—it was hard and they fought me at every turn—but I had Lou by my side and my mind was made up, so there was no turning back.
That is the best decision I have ever made for myself, but now I’m paying for it. But I will not give up—I’ll keep fighting until I gain total freedom from them, and that starts with getting Estevan in jail. I hope the police catch him quickly; otherwise they will be dealing with his corpse.
Ever since I told Zane, I know he has been planning something.
He won’t tell me no matter how many times I ask, but I know it’s something big and illegal.
To be honest, I don’t care what happens to Estevan, but I don’t want Zane to become a murderer because of me, especially now that we are expecting a child—one that I have yet to inform him of.
That is another thing on my mind: how to tell Zane that I am pregnant. This is unplanned, so I’m not sure how he will take it. Hell, we haven’t even defined our relationship.
Things were just starting to get good again—why are they so fucked up now?
My phone rings, and I check to see that it’s a new number. I don’t pick those up, so I ignore it, but the person keeps calling. They seem persistent, but I’m not in the mood to deal with whatever fan managed to get my number, so I opt to switch off my phone.
Sunny nudges me just as I am, so I end up accidentally answering the call.
“Noa!” a familiar voice shrieks once the call connects.
“Mother?”
“Don’t you dare hang up on me again,” she demands.
“How did you get this number? Forget that—it doesn’t matter. Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“Estevan has been stalking me for months, making my life a living hell,” I question, scared of the answer.
“What do you think?”
She doesn’t directly confirm it, but she doesn’t need to. How can the same woman who gave birth to me be okay with her stepson harassing me for so long?
“Why, Mom?” I prod, my voice cracking.
“So I’m Mom now, huh?!” she cackles, breaking my heart even more.
She stops all of a sudden, and the next words from her chill me to my core. “You had your chance, Noa. I tried to be nice, but that didn’t work with you. You ruined my life, and now I am going to ruin yours, starting with the person dearest to you.”
She hangs up after that, and when I try calling her again, it doesn’t go through. I don’t care for her games, but with what I know now, I know she’s not playing, which only means one thing—her threats are real and they can only be directed at one person.
I abandon Sunny and take off for the one place I know Zane is at right now—his gym, practicing for this weekend’s competition. Please let him be okay.
When I get there, I run into Duncan walking out of the gym with a fire extinguisher in hand. Oh no!
“What happened?” I ask him, looking inside to see it covered in smoke.
“There’s been an accident. Zane’s mechanical bull malfunctioned and kind of blew up.”
No!
“Is Zane okay? Where is he?” I panic, hoping that he wasn’t in there.
“Beck took him back to his cabin.”
“He was in here when it happened?”
“Yes.”
I don’t ask him anything else—once again, I bolt toward the cabin. My mind is running wild, thinking of all the worst-case scenarios. I should have asked Duncan if Zane is badly hurt, but I have to see him for myself.
Please be okay, Zane.
Beck is walking out of the cabin just as I get to it. He takes one look at me and doesn’t say anything, just steps aside to let me in. Dashing across the cabin, I find Zane on his bed, leaning back against the headboard, shirtless, a bandage across his torso but no other visible injuries.
He’s okay. Thank God.
He looks up to see me standing at the door, tears streaming down my face. He reaches out, and I don’t waste time running into his arms. He groans when I crash into him, but he doesn’t let me go and instead holds on tighter.
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?” I ask, pulling back a bit to cup his face in my hands.
He nods with a smile, wiping my tears away. “I’m okay.”
“You do not look okay,” I scold, my eyes trained on the bandage.
“It’s a superficial wound, baby, so very little pain,” he assures me.
I know him well enough to know that he’s downplaying his pain.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I was doing my usual routine when the mechanical bull went berserk. I couldn’t control it, and it ended up blowing up and tossing me against the wall. Thankfully, Beck was there and helped me back here,” he explains.
“Did you see anyone else in there?” I inquire.
“What do you mean?”
“I think my mom had something to do with this,” I explain, recalling her chilling threats.
“No way—she’s not that brazen, and besides, she’s not allowed on the ranch, let alone this close to our personal space,” he denies.
“But...”
He shuts me up with a kiss.
“I know you’re scared of your family, but being paranoid will do you no good. It wasn’t them—they wouldn’t dare come here.”
I don’t know if he’s saying this to reassure himself or me, but there’s no doubt in my mind that my family is responsible for this, especially after the call earlier.
“Will you still be competing this weekend?”
“Of course—I’ll be all better by then.”
“You already proved how good you are. Is there any way I can convince you to take that one win and let it go?” I suggest hopefully.
He takes my hand and kisses the tips of my fingers. “Stop fussing. I’m safe, and you are too. Now lie with me,” he demands, adjusting us on the bed so that we’re cuddling.
I don’t know why Zane is not freaking out. They just attempted to kill him, and once they learn they have failed, they will try again, and I’m scared to find out how.
“Stop thinking,” he demands, kissing my temple.
“I’m trying,” I mumble, tracing the tattoos on his ribs.
Since Zane is adamant about competing again and there’s no talking him out of it, all I can do is be supportive and hope that my fucked-up family is caught before they try again.
I just got Zane back—I cannot lose him again.
Our baby needs him too. Speaking of, I should tell him that I am pregnant, but now is not the time.
I will wait until after the competition.