Page 58 of Certified Pressure 3 (Certified Pressure #3)

Royal Oaks Subdivision in Trill-Land

Ilaid in bed, crying and wanting to kick my own ass for letting Pressure get married today. I had told myself that I was done, that I wasn’t about to be the one chasing behind a man who was about to say vows to somebody else, but when he came over last night and made love to me, everything changed.

My pillow was soaked, and I didn’t even care anymore.

I just laid here trying to breathe through the heaviness in my heart.

Every time I blinked, I saw Kashmere in my head.

I could see her in some long, sparkly white gown with her hair laid, and smiling like she just won the lottery.

I could picture his family there, all dressed up and clapping, like they didn’t even know I existed, and I wasn’t sitting here pregnant with his child, trying not to fall apart.

The worst part was I couldn’t even be mad at nobody but myself.

I let this happen. I let Pressure crawl back into my bed last night, knowing damn well what today was.

I told myself I was strong enough to handle it and that I could separate the feelings from the moment, but that was a lie.

The minute he touched me, all that anger disappeared, and it felt like I was right back where I didn’t want to be.

I covered my face with my hands and let out a shaky sigh. I wanted to scream. I wanted to stop loving him, but every time I tried, it was like my heart had a mind of its own.

I rolled over and placed my hand on my stomach, feeling the little kicks that reminded me I wasn’t alone. My baby boy was the only thing keeping me from completely losing it. I rubbed my stomach slowly and whispered, “We gon’ be fine.”

Still, the thought of Pressure saying “I do” to somebody else made my stomach twist. I didn’t even know what time the wedding started, and that made it worse. For all I knew, he could be standing at the altar right now, smiling, while I was here falling apart.

I thought about how all this started, with me and Kashmere walking into his house together, both acting like we were cool with the situation, promising we wouldn’t let it come between us.

That shit was a joke. We lied to ourselves thinking we were stronger than our emotions.

Now look at us. She’s marrying him, and I’m sitting here crying, pregnant and alone.

My body felt hot all of a sudden. I tossed the covers off and sat up slowly, wiping my face. My heart ached and my back hurt. I figured maybe I was just tense from crying so much. I tried to calm myself down, breathing slow, but that ache in my back started to spread around to my stomach.

It felt like a cramp at first, but then it got sharper. I frowned and rubbed my belly, thinking maybe the baby was just moving in a weird position, but the pain didn’t stop. It came and went in waves, and each one made my body tighten up.

I grabbed the edge of the bed, trying to stretch out. “Come on, baby,” I whispered. “Don’t start acting up today.”

I eased myself up and started walking around the room, thinking maybe it would help, but it didn’t. The more I moved, the worse it felt. The pain shot through my lower belly and around my back, making me hold on to the dresser for balance.

I took a deep breath and sat back down on the bed, trying to think. I remembered reading that sometimes your body starts having practice contractions before labor, but I was thirty-five weeks pregnant and wasn’t due until another month. There was no way this could be happening now.

Then I felt a sudden warm rush between my legs.

My eyes widened. I looked down, and my heart started pounding. I reached for the sheets and felt the dampness spreading underneath me. For a second, I thought maybe I just peed on myself, but when I stood up, the liquid kept coming.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, grabbing my stomach.

I walked fast toward the bathroom, holding on to the wall the whole way. Every step made my back hurt worse. When I got inside, I flipped on the light and sat down on the toilet, trying to figure out what was happening. The leaking didn’t stop. It wasn’t like I was peeing. It was just… flowing.

Confused, I wiped, and stared at the tissue. It was clear. It wasn’t blood, but it wouldn’t stop. My stomach started tightening again, this time stronger, pulling through my lower abdomen like my body was warning me that something was coming whether I was ready or not.

I leaned forward, holding my belly, trying not to panic. “No, not today,” I whispered. “Please not today.”

My mind started racing. I thought about everything I had read, everything Treasure told me about pregnancy and all those doctor appointments and notes about what to look out for. I remembered her saying that if your water breaks, you’ll know because it won’t stop leaking.

It hit me all at once.

My water broke…

I stared at the floor, my heart pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears. This wasn’t supposed to happen yet. The baby wasn’t due until next month. I wasn’t ready. None of this was supposed to happen today.

I grabbed my phone off the sink and stared at the screen, my hands shaking. The first name that came to my mind was Pressure. I hesitated, knowing where he probably was right now; standing in front of a church full of people, about to marry somebody else while his baby mama’s water was breaking.

Tears filled my eyes again. I wanted to throw the phone. Instead, I sat there on the toilet, clutching my stomach, feeling another cramp roll through my body.

This couldn’t be real.