Kyle’s POV
Panic and pain. That was what I felt the moment I flung my eyes open to see that it was morning, and shining brightly outside, meaning I had overslept.
f**k!
I flung myself out of bed instantly, ignoring the ceaseless pain beating into a side of my skull. It was as if my migraine got worse even after the aspirin and sleep. Sleep? Who am I kidding? I couldn’t sleep a damn wink.
My thoughts were all on Phoenix, and the sheer fear and excitement of seeing Ava again.
“Why do you need to see her? What would you do if you met her?”
Alex’s words slid through my thoughts as I pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt. Maybe he was right. What would I do if I saw her? I didn’t have a f*****g clue. I couldn’t think of a single thing. But what I did know was that I needed to see her for both my sanity and peace of mind. I needed to know she was fine. Yeah, that was
- it.
But if that was the case, why was my heart beating so hard against my rib cage as I drove closer to their neighborhood? Why did I find myself gulping for air with every turn I took, knowing I was a moment away from seeing Ava again? Why did the thought of seeing her feel both thrilling and terrifying? Why?
The moment I took the U–turn to reach the same place where I had stopped the day before, that enabled me to see the apartment in secret, my heart did a screeching stop before hammering hard against my chest.
A few meters away from me, just outside the apartment, was a blue sports car. However, that wasn’t what
stole the air from my lungs, it was the woman who was about to get into the car.
Ava!
I could only see the side of her head as she ducked into the car, but I was sure as hell it was her. How couldn’t I recognize that honey–blonde hair with a slight wave I could see even from here?
Ava!
My grip tightened on the steering wheel, my pulse wildly. I was so amazed I didn’t even think someone would
spot me from the way my face was practically glued to the front window. I wasn’t even aware until the car in which Ava was rolled forward, gliding down the street. My heart did a flip, and without thinking, I drove after them. It wasn’t until I was a few meters behind them that I realized how stupidly close I was to being noticed. With my heart still pounding furiously and my hands trembling on the wheel, I forced myself to slow down,
keeping my distance but never taking my eyes off the car.
The overwhelming urge to speed past them, to block their path and demand to see her, clawed at my chest, but I restrained myself.
Then the car came to a stop.
My brow furrowed when I saw the building they had pulled up to.
A hospital?
My stomach clenched. Why was she here? Was she sick again? Guilt tore through my chest at the thought. I
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was right all along. She wasn’t fine, and I had been living my life while she was still suffering because of me.
Ava and the man got out of the car, and my grip on the steering wheel tightened the moment his hand rested on the small of her back. Rage boiled in my veins, and my eyes narrowed on his hand position. Who the hell
was he?
Jealousy was an ugly thing, but on me? It was gut–wrenching, disgusting because I don’t deserve to feel it,
but I couldn’t control the way it burned through me like a wildfire. That should be me. I should be the one walking beside her, the one touching her, the one she leaned on. But I wasn’t. Some other man had taken my place, and the realization left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Without thinking, I killed the engine and followed them inside, my blood roaring in my ears. I had no plan,
nothing but this burning need to know what the hell was going on. Who was he to her? Why was he touching
her so intimately? Was she sick? Why was she here, and especially with him?
As soon as I stepped into the hospital, I lingered in the corner of the reception area, pretending to focus on
something on my phone. My heart raced as I waited, observing people coming and going. I tried to maintain
steady breathing, but my thoughts were a mess. My mind kept replaying that moment, the way he had
touched her so gently and familiarly, the way she had allowed him to. Ava isn’t a woman who lets just any
man touch her, especially regarding something as personal as her health history.
Had she moved on? Had she found someone else? Is that guy the one?
The thought sent a sharp stab through my chest, bleeding with anger, twisting with something much worse.
Loss. Pain. Regret.
Then I saw her again.
Ava and the same man, walking past me.
Her back was turned toward me, just like earlier. I had been so lost in thought, so deep in my own anger and confusion, that I almost missed her. But now that I saw her, now that she was right there, so close, I acted
without thinking.
“Ava,” I called, my voice came out louder than intended.
I saw the way her shoulders stiffened, the way her steps faltered to a stop. She recognized my voice.
Good.
I wanted her to turn around. I wanted her to look at me. I needed to see her face, to look into her eyes, to see her reaction. But she didn’t turn. However, the man beside her did, but I didn’t spare him a glance.
“Ava….” I called again, “…is that you?
This time, she turned.
And my breath left me.
My world tilted to a stop.
She did not only change with a bit of weight gain and a radiant glow but also…
She was pregnant.
Like a huge stomach type of pregnancy.
My mind went blank. My heartbeat pounded loudly into my ears. A thousand emotions and a thousand
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questions slammed into me at once, each one more confusing and frustrating than the last. How? How was she pregnant? Who? How? The doctor had specifically said she couldn’t get pregnant, and if she did, which was unlikely, it would be risky. So why was she…? How did she get pregnant and who did that?
Scrap that, that could never be another man’s child because she couldn’t have gotten this big after we separated but I would have known if she was before we separated.
My stomach twisted. My head pounded so painfully with so much confusion and anger. She was pregnant,
and if she was already this big, it meant that the child was mine or maybe not. How? Why in the hell….?
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt as raw rage burned through my veins. She was pregnant with a child which I
couldn’t tell if it was mine or not, and that fact is what makes me tremble with so much anger. That…coupled
with the fact that she shouldn’t have kept a pregnancy knowing her health. She was carrying a baby, and I was just finding out now. Did she have a death wish? The thought of never knowing about this if I hadn’t sought her out dug into my chest, fueling my anger. And the i***t beside her chose that moment to step in front of her as if shielding her from me, intensifying my rage even more. The only reason I hadn’t stepped forward and ripped him away from her was because I was too stunned and angry to care about someone like
him.
Wait a minute! Could he be the one responsible for the child? Didn’t he know about her health status? No, that can’t be the case. Ava isn’t like that. She would never give her body to another man, especially not even a year after our divorce. So that leaves one question: Could it be me? But how could that be possible? Had she been pregnant before she left? Did she keep it all to herself, and I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t sought her
out?
I balled my fist as anger cursed through my veins.
“You’re pregnant, and I didn’t know?” My voice came out louder and harsher than intended.
Her response to my questions not only shocked me but also fueled my anger. Before I knew it, I lost my cool and found myself shouting at her.
Everything happened so fast. One minute, we were throwing words at each other, forgetting the world around us, and the next minute, Ava screamed, doubling in pain, and the next she was being transferred into a stretcher while the nurses shouted for help.
I just stood there, too stunned and barely able to understand what was happening. However, one thing was clear amid the chaos. Ava was in pain. Real, undeniable pain and I had no idea what the f**k to do.
She let out a gut–wrenching scream again and I moved without thinking. I reached for her hand, my fingers closing around hers as she twisted in agony.
“Ava,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
Her fingers trembled in mine, her face scrunched in unbearable pain. I had never seen her like this. Never.
And the realization hit me like
slap.
I had done this to her. She might not have been in such pain if I hadn’t shown up.
She screamed as another wave of pain wracked her body, and I stood there, helpless, my heart tearing apart
as they rushed her away into the theatre room.
And for the first time in my life, I was truly, truly terrified.
C
