Page 196 of Collide

Now there’s the very real possibility he already has one on the way.

And I’m the punchline.

His voice cracks. “What the fuck?”

Alex’s phone buzzes violently.

He answers it and barks, “What?” but the panic in his voice is unmistakable. Raw. Someone is shouting on the other end. His agent? Publicist? I can’t tell.

Alex turns away, running his hand through his hair as he paces down the hall, voice fraying at the edges.

I stare at my phone, reading the comments, over and over.

The high of the last few days crumbles, crashing violently into cold, brutal reality.

This is why I never let myself get carried away.

Why I never lose control.

Why I never let myself hope.

My knees buckle, and I sink to the floor, head spinning, the phone slipping from my hand.

“Elena—”

Alex is beside me in a flash, dropping to his knees. His face is pale, like he’s seen a ghost.

“I didn’t know,” he breathes, voice shaking. “Elena, I swear to God, I didn’t know. You’ve got to believe me.”

I shake my head, scooting back, hands trembling. “Don’t?—”

His eyes search mine, panic and devastation written across every line of his face. “I didn’t fucking know. I ended things with her. It was over.”

I stare at him, throat tight.

“When?” I whisper, the words barely audible.

His brow furrows. “What?”

“When did you end it, when did you stop fuckingher?”

He looks confused, then hesitant, and I know before he says a word that I’m not going to like the answer.

“How long before youmetme, Alex?” I press, voice raw and shaking.

His jaw tenses.

“Two days.”

The air punches from my lungs.

Two. Fucking. Days.

I stare at him, It feels like I’m collapsing from the inside out.

I want to believe him, but it’s so close. Too close.

There’s a real chance this baby is his.