Page 89 of Beautiful Obsessions
“Yes.”
She tilted her head slightly, studying me.“Don’t think I don’t see you.You’ve been throwing up every morning.You look exhausted.And?—”
“Stop.”
My voice came out sharp, firm.She didn’t stop.
“You could be?—”
I moved before I could think, a hiss tearing out of me as I lunged, grabbing her wrist and shoving her back a step.
“Swallow those words,” I snapped, fury spiking hot and sudden.“Right now.”
Izzy stilled.She wasn’t afraid of me.But I knew she loved me like a sister and would never say or do anything to hurt me.If anything, she’d been my champion with Raze ever since she came into our home.
“Tone,” she said softly, “you didn’t use protection, did you?”
The room started to spin.
My grip on her wrist tightened.My pulse roared in my ears.And then, I let her go and stepped back.Because the answer was already there.Loud and clear and unavoidable.
“No,” I said, but my voice came out weaker this time.
The realization dawned on me in on feel swoop.
My mind replayed my time with Archie in brutal, vivid flashes.The heat.The urgency.The way nothing else existed in that moment except him.Us.We hadn’t even thought about it.Hadn’t cared.
And now—my stomach twisted again.But this time, it wasn’t just nausea.It was fear.
“Don’t tell Raze,” I said quickly, turning back to her.
Izzy blinked.“Tone?—”
“I mean it,” I cut in, voice low and firm.“Not a word.”
“You need to?—”
“I’ll sort it out,” I said.“On my own.”
She studied me for a long moment.Then pursed her lips into a tight line and nodded.
“Okay.”
The relief that followed was immediate.But short-lived.Because now—now the thought had taken hold.And it wouldn’t let go.
I didn’t trustanyone else to do it, so I bought the test myself.
I drove out under the pretense of needing air, ignoring the way Raze’s men tracked my movements, ignoring the weight of their eyes as I stepped into the pharmacy and walked straight to the aisle I never thought I’d need.
It felt surreal.Like I was moving through someone else’s life.Until I wasn’t.
Until I was standing in the bathroom, door locked, heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.
I stared at the test in my hand for a long time.Second guessing what I was doing.Would not knowing for sure make any difference?
Then, I took the test and waited.
I counted the seconds like they might undo something already set in motion.But they didn’t.
