“What?”
My eyes fly open.
“Natalie.” Ethan sounds shocked. “Are you pregnant?”
Shit.
CHAPTER 16
ETHAN
The past monthwithout Natalie forced me to face a few realities.
I always believed if I was persistent enough, I could get what I wanted. And what I wanted was Natalie.
It seemed simple, but I realized in these past four weeks without her that I might be a reminder of the trauma she faced. And that made me feel sick to my stomach.
I had a choice. I could either force her back to my side, or I could have a proper conversation with her and put all my cards on the table. And I’m not a man who puts his cards on the table for the opponent to see.
But then Natalie isn’t an opponent.
My mother asked me if I loved her. I couldn’t give her an exact answer because I don’t look at Natalie and think of the word love. When I look at her, I know I can breathe. When my eyes land on her, this knot inside my chest loosens. She’s the only person who makes me want to put my work aside and focus on her.
When she speaks, I could listen to her talk all day and never get tired.
When she gets angry, I want to rile her up, and then I want to ravish her. I want her smiles and her laughter, all directed towards me.
I want her in every aspect of my life.
She is my obsession. She’s my most twisted desire.
She’s become everything to me.
I don’t think the word love begins to even cover this terrifying obsession I have when it comes to this woman.
But the one thing I cannot tolerate is her pain.
When I discovered what Lucas did to her, the rage that consumed me was never-ending. He will pay for putting his hands on her. I will hit him where it hurts, and I know exactly where to aim.
But I never thought I could be a reminder to Natalie of the worst times of her life. What if that never changes? What if I put the world at her feet, and she still looks at me and is reminded of the night her brother nearly killed her every time she looks at me?
Was this something I was willing to put her through?
This was something I struggled with until I saw her. My brave, beautiful girl looks like she has been through hell and back. The vulnerability in her gaze, the way her hands trembled when talking to me, even when her voice was sharp, had me facing what I ultimately knew. If she wanted me out of her life for her own sanity, then that is what I would do for her.
“What if I don’t want that?”
Her words pierce me through the heart.
Was I wrong?
It seems Natalie has been holding on to her own secrets this past month.
“I hate morning sickness.”
I was sure she had a stomach bug. Maybe food poisoning. But those four words that she uttered sent me reeling.
“Are you pregnant?”
