Part 2My Unborn Son's Secret

The way Leo and I met was like something out of a movie. A very strange movie. He was a self-made small business owner. I was just a regular girl with a nine-to-five.

One night, I was drowning my sorrows after my college sweetheart dumped me for some trust-fund kid. I was drunk and looking to do something reckless. As it happened, he’d just escaped a business meeting where someone had drugged his drink. We ran into each other on the street.

We were a perfect storm of desperation and bad decisions. The next morning, he said he had to take responsibility.

He was tall, handsome, surprisingly wealthy, and I was his first. What reason did I have to say no? We were at the courthouse by noon.

Leo was quiet and his work kept him busy, so I never felt that all-consuming kind of love from him. But he was generous with his money, and that was a language I understood. I didn’t fuss over the love part.

Then, the market turned. His company went under, and he was left with nothing but a mountain of debt. Still, he shielded me from the worst of it, never letting me go without. That, plus the fact that he was still gorgeous, meant I hadn’t seriously considered leaving.

Until this afternoon, when a random number sent me that video. That’s what triggered my demand for a divorce.

As for the little guy in my belly, I had no idea he even existed until I heard his thoughts.

Leo must still care about having a child, right? The thought gave me a sliver of reassurance.

He was quick in the shower, emerging in under ten minutes wrapped in a single towel. Water droplets clung to the hard lines of his muscles, his skin a warm bronze. For a second, my mouth went dry. Then I remembered the tiny passenger I was carrying, and the heat fizzled out.

“Is pasta okay for dinner?” My mood had been so foul I hadn’t bothered to cook.

Leo dried his hair with a towel, his tone cool. “I’ll make it.”

He walked into the bedroom without another look at me to change. I could tell he was still stewing over the divorce comment. I honestly thought he’d cheated, that’s why I’d said it. Now, thinking about the baby, a strange wave of self-pity washed over me. My nose prickled, and tears started to well up.

When Leo came out, he glanced at my face but said nothing, heading straight for the kitchen. I wanted to tell him I was pregnant, but my pride was still smarting. Besides, we’d just slept together last night. The thought made me decide to slip out to the pharmacy for a couple of pregnancy tests first.