Page 155 of Tied to You

“Yes, you. This isn’t what I want.”

More sobs leave me, and I hate the way I can see it hurts him, but he does nothing to make it right. “And what about what I want?” I don’t want to get rid of his baby. “This baby will be a part of you and a part of me. This isus. Ours. We can’t throw that away.”

Call me crazy, but since the moment Janette mentioned me being pregnant, I knew if I was, I would keep the life inside me. Not one flicker of doubt crossed my mind as to what I was going to do. I can’t ignore that. I won’t go against what I know and what I feel deep inside. Mother nature. Maternal instinct. Call it what you want, I know to abort this baby would be the worst thing we could do.

I won’t do it.

Not even for the man before me. The man blinded by fear.

He swallows and his brows snap together. “My love for you isn’t enough?”

I blink, knowing my truth is going to hurt, but what other choice do I have? “It was.”

He sighs, and a tear drips from my eye, hitting my cheek. I can see where this is headed. I don’t understand how we got here, but there is no way out of this now. Not unless he’s capable of seeing what’s right in front of him. “I didn’t trap you, Travis. I was willing to not have children,for you, because Iknew it wouldn’t make you happy. As much as that breaks my heart, it was a sacrifice I was prepared to make.”

His hands drop from my shoulders, a coldness immediately wrapping itself around me. Travis looks like a broken man. A man shocked. Still. Numb.

“I’m not willing to make that sacrifice anymore.”

With fire in his eyes, he grabs me, pressing himself to me, making me feel every solid inch of him. He holds my head, fixing me to the spot, pressing his warm lips to mine harshly. There’s passion, but not like I’m used to. His body vibrates, his eyes are jammed shut. I know, can just feel the tension skimming off the surface, that everything about this is wrong.

When he pulls away, his hands still either side of my face, his breath is pained, his eyes are wet. He’s hurting. “I told you not to waste another second of your time with me, that I would hurt you when my love for you was no longer enough.”

I swallow and catch my breath, my hands quickly lifting to his arms, my fingers curling into his skin so that he feels me.

“I guess that day came sooner than either of us planned.” He let’s go and pushes past me, the sudden emptiness like a black hole swallowing me into the abyss. There’s no way out. No light. Nothing but pain and sadness dragging me down.

I turn as he makes it to the front door, his hand raised to the handle. “What are you saying?” I need him to stay. He can’t leave like this. Even if we argue, staying is better. He’d be here with me. With us.

One hand drags down his face. “I don’t want this anymore,” he says, his words drowning in pain. “If you love me, you wouldn’t have this baby with me. I’m not a good enough man to be given the responsibility of raising a child, Mollie.” My lips part to say something but he doesn’t let me as he raises a hand, forcing me to stop. “Don’t say that I am, please, just fucking don’t.” He looks up. “I’ll never change because I don’t fucking want to. All I want is you. Unless you can give that to me, then we’re done.”

My feet fall back as I stagger. I never expected those words from him. I never envisioned what we have ending like it is now. Heavy. Hot. Raw. It’s agonising the way his words are slicing through me. My heart quickens, my eyes fill and flood with my tears. I want to reach out and grab him. I want to run into his arms and tell him what he wants to hear; that I will give himwhat he wants; which is for it to always be just me and him.

But I can’t. Because, giving him what he wants means giving up a life we created. We may not have intended it, but we still made it. And no matter how scared he is, or how worried he feels, I can’t help but despise his inability to see how selfish he’s being.

My feet don’t move. Confusion blazes across my face. I never thought he would give me an ultimatum. Even though I can see his sadness, it’s our chaos that’s tearing us in two. The tears roll like sorrowful rivers down my face, and it takes every morsel of restraint I have to not go to him. “Don’t make me choose between the life inside me and you. That’s not fair.”

With a sigh, he looks at me like it physically hurts him to move. Still, the door clicks open, and my heart all but stops. “Then I’ll make this easy for you.”

With the closing of the door, my resolve shatters. I collapse to the floor, my arms wrapping around my body.

He’s gone.

Chapter Thirty-Two

MOLLIE

Actions speak louder than words. With the ringing of my phone, I drag my eyes open, realising I haven’t moved from the sofa all day. Since he left, this is where I’ve been. He’s not here. I stare at the door, seeing it close in my mind’s eyes. Gone.

My phone rings again, and I’m forced to blink. I lift my head. See no phone close to me. Then rest my head back down.

The noise stops.

I breathe out.

It starts again.

With a push, I get to my feet, my legs prickling as the blood returns to my toes. I see my phone on the counter, watching as it begins to dance across the surface. It won’t be him. It will be Janette wanting to know whether I’m pregnant. Well, I am. And it cost me my relationship. I’m not happy. Not angry. Neither sad nor upset, just, numb. Emotionless. Completely out of fight, but not out of love.