Page 22

22

K night felt like she cut open his chest, spread it wide and yanked his heart out. He breathed deeply, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly. Hearing her tell of her frightening experience with the car accident, the new job, and the danger she found herself in, caused his head to spin. What else had he missed all this time?

“Do you expect me to walk away after what you confessed to the team? You’re pregnant, Gabby. It’s not only your life we’re talking about,” he softly reprimanded her.

Her chin lifted and her eyes appeared watery. “Yes. I tried telling you about the pregnancy when you insisted on this divorce. You didn’t care to hear me out then. Bryanna’s husband at least listened to me.”

He leaned forward, and she stiffened in anticipation of his touch. The microwave beeped. With a sigh, he got up to take out the food. When he turned, Gabby no longer sat at the table. Concerned, he walked down the hall. He knocked on the door before entering. She tossed the clothes onto the bed and fished out her cozy pajamas and scooped the other items onto a chair.

“Usually, when a door’s closed, it means the person wants privacy,” she snapped.

Knight stood at a loss on what to say. “I know it seems like it’s too late. I made mistakes. Maybe if we sit down calmly and discuss things?—”

Gabby laughed as tears ran down her face. “Now, you want to discuss things calmly. When did you decide me worthy of such an honor? Let me guess. When I discovered you told our family and friends you found me in bed with another man? Shall we revisit the day in question, Marcus? You spun up without saying goodbye. You returned without warning. In the meantime, I realized I was pregnant. I anxiously counted the hours down until you returned to tell you the happy news. When I started spotting at work, my coworker, Scott, took me to the hospital. I felt scared and all alone. My husband only sent a text saying, ‘Spun up don’t know when I’ll return.’ They kept me overnight. Scott offered to drive me home. One of the interns from work dropped my car off earlier. The office and the diner sent me flowers. Scott brought them in while I changed.” Gabby paused to grab a tissue from the bedside table. Furiously wiping her eyes, she blew her nose before returning her gaze to meet his. “The man I waited for came in, accused me of cheating and threw me out of our house. The place I made into a home for us. Now, you want to discuss it?”

Knight’s heart raced as he heard the hurt and pain in her accusations. Worried about her BP and the baby, he stepped forward and she withdrew a step.

“I don’t want you upset,” he replied softly. “The last year and a half put a strain on both of us. I can’t tell you about my mission. I did it for us —”

“Don’t.” Gabby seethed. “Don’t tell me about how strained you felt. I knew what I agreed to when I married you. A military life with my husband, who deployed frequently. You didn’t mention it meant even when you returned, you stayed absent from our lives. I’ve spent months terrified about how I’ll raise this child. Agonizing if you’d believe me when I told you about the pregnancy after how you reacted.”

He shook his head. “No. I accepted a different assignment to get released earlier from my contract. I wanted us to start our lives together.”

“We already lived a life. One in which you became increasingly distant. I accepted you spinning up at a moment’s notice and eagerly awaited each of your returns. You thanked me by accusing me of acting unfaithful and telling our friends and family.” Gabby angrily swiped her eyes as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

“Gabby…I made mistakes,” he whispered.

“Yes, you did,” she choked out. “You mentioned how thankful you felt we didn’t have children. You needn’t be concerned about this one. I refuse to allow this child to become a victim of yours.”

“I want to stay involved in yours and the baby’s life,” he assured her. “I want to come to doctor appointments and help you.”

“I needed my husband. It’s too late. You showed me your true colors,” she yelled.

“Gabrielle. Remember the baby.” Knight stepped closer. “I’m sorry.”

Gabby shook her head and laughed. “You’re sorry? I’ve wracked my brain for months trying to figure out what I did to cause you to lose faith in me. I was your best friend, your wife and lover. You became my world, and I watched you spin up, knowing you saved someone in peril. Do you know what else I discovered?”

Knight’s eyes filled with tears as he moved closer to her. She stepped backward until the wall behind her blocked her from going farther. His hand cupped her cheek as his thumb swiped away a rogue tear. “I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.

She shook her head. “You can’t erase the last seven months. I’ll never forget the nights I spent going over our time together, wondering what I’d done to cause your reaction. How you treated me at the lawyer’s office, taking away the life we built together and keeping it for yourself. I didn’t want you to take me home after the hospital because I didn’t want you to see how I lived. After all, you took everything from us.” She covered her baby bump as if to protect the unborn child from him.

He cringed, recalling how he’d done everything to hurt her for something she’d never done. He never gave her time to explain, yet did she really need to if he fully trusted her?

“I’ll make this go away. I’ll call off the divorce. We can start fresh here, where we wanted to build our family,” he pleaded.

She shook her head and closed her eyes. “No. I want you to go,” she whispered.

“I want to stayeven if I sleep in the room next door. We need to work this out. Think of the child…”

“I have been for seven months!” Gabby shoved him and pounded on his chest with her tiny fists. “You don’t get it. I don’t want you here. You betrayed me. All this time, you answer to ‘Knight’ as your moniker. You went out into the world, saving everyone, yet you weren’t my knight in shining armor when I needed you the most. Go. Just go. Please,” she begged.

Knight slowly backed up, his gaze never leaving hers as they both cried. He swallowed down the urge to howl like a wild animal as the pain ripped through him, shredding him to pieces. Did she feel the same way? Or did he finally push her far enough away to where she felt only the cold numbness he experienced over last year and a half? He never should’ve accepted the assignment. The moment he signed on the dotted line, his relationship changed with the one person he loved the most.

“Gabby?” he rushed toward her. As she fell toward him, her eyes rolled back into her head. What had he done?