Page 99 of Embracing the Beat
“Jax isn’t an ex.”
“You want to know the problem with liars, Michaela? Eventually, their lies catch up with them. Did you think I’d just keep on believing you? That I’d be okay with fucking someone I didn’t know? Someone who pretended to be something she wasn’t?”
Fucking.
According to him, that’s what we were doing.
I’m such an idiot. Here I was, falling in love, while he was getting off. Proof that I once again made a bad decision when it comes to men.
“I wish I never would have let you touch me.”
“Please,” he scoffs. “Like you weren’t begging for it. Fuck, you initiated things between us more than I did. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was your plan all along. You simply needed someone to warm your bed between Tucker and Jax. But maybe I wasn’t the only one.”
“What are you saying?” I’m done making assumptions. I need to hear him say it.
“I find it hard to believe that you were celibate between Tucker and me. That’s an awfully long time for someone like you.” He raises an eyebrow.
“Go to hell.”
“I’m already there. Because history is repeating itself. The woman I’m screwing is trying to pass some other bastard’s kid off as mine.”
I cross my arms over my stomach in a protective gesture, even though the baby is so tiny where it grows.
“This baby is yours,” I tell him. “Whether you want to believe it or not.”
“Not. And I’m not interested in raising a kid with a cheater now any more than I was with Ashley.”
“You’re an asshole,” I say, tears of anger and frustration burning my eyes. I don’t recognize this person. He’s not the West I spent the last month with. And he’s damn sure not the one I remember from my childhood.
“Better an honest asshole than a liar.”
“I’m not lying!”
Frustration bubbles out, and I step toward him, wishing he would believe me. Instead, he only raises an eyebrow, the condescending expression on his face shredding any hope that might be left after the last few minutes.
He lifts his hand, his finger tracing along my jaw. The touch is sweet, even if his words are nothing but poison.
“Here’s the thing about liars, Mikey. They always tell you they’re not lying. But eventually people stop believing them.”
I yank my face away from his finger, stepping back against the bathroom counter.
“I’m not lying.”
“I don’t believe you.” He shrugs like he couldn’t care less about what he’s saying. About something so beautiful turning into nothing but ash. All because of him. “I will say—I enjoyed your ‘talents,’ but I’m not attracted to liars. Which means there will be no repeat performances. I don’t fuck a woman pregnant with another man’s kid.”
“Get out.” I’m tired of listening to the shit he’s spewing.
“Gladly,” he says with a grin that has bile rising in my throat.
What the hell had I been thinking? I should have left early on when he told me sleeping with me was a mistake. But like a sucker, I stayed.
“Get the fuck out!” I scream after him as he walks away.
Slamming the bathroom door, I push the button for the lock before spinning back and dropping to my knees in front of the toilet. Tears drip down my cheeks and into the bowl as my stomach tries to empty itself of nothing.
Finally, I stop heaving. In the stillness, my heart pulses around its cracked edges, creating a new kind of pain. One I’ve never felt before.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, lifting my hand to my abdomen. “I’m sorry he doesn’t believe me. But we don’t need him.”
