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Thirty-Four
Of course,Elise would have to come in and ruin everything. I really despised that woman.
As I scrambled out of bed to grab my discarded clothes, Jalen did the same.
“Don’t you think it’s time to take away her key?” I asked. The question was serious but didn’t have any bite to it. One look at his face was all the confirmation I needed that he didn’t want Elise here any more than I did.
“I did,” Jalen said. “She must’ve had another one…or we didn’t lock the door when we came in.”
I’d barely gotten the pants back on when I heard footsteps on the stairs. I glanced toward the bathroom, wondering if I could hide in there until she was gone, but time wasn’t on my side. Besides, it wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong. The only reason Jalen and Elise weren’t divorced was because she refused to sign the papers. From what I knew of her, I suspected it had less to do with real feelings for Jalen and more to do with the ‘perks’ that came with being married to a handsome, wealthy man.
“Jalen!”
“I’ll be right down!” he shouted back. He shot me a helpless look. “I’m sorry about this.”
I shook my head and mustered a smile. “It’s not your fault.”
I meant the words too, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t frustrated. I’d had a rough few days, and now that things were on the mend between us, the idea of hiding here with Jalen for a little while was more appealing than I wanted to admit.
The door slammed open, and I straightened, refusing to be embarrassed. I had nothing to be ashamed of; neither of us did. It didn’t stop the flush from creeping up my cheeks, but that could be explained as easily by arousal and physical exertion.
“What are you doing in here?” Elise demanded. Her eyes flicked over to me for the briefest of moments, and then her attention was back on Jalen. “It doesn’t matter. We need to talk.”
“You can’t keep coming in here like this, Elise,” Jalen said. “When I told you to give back your key, I didn’t mean that you could use another one.”
“I didn’t have to,” she said, giving him a simpering smile. “The door was unlocked. You should really be more careful. Anyone could let themselves in.”
Subtle.
“I’ve already told you that we’re not talking about anything without our lawyers present,” Jalen said. He moved closer to me, angling his body so that he was between Elise and me. “You need to leave and call your attorney. He’ll call mine, and we’ll set up a meeting. If you’re not here about the divorce, then I don’t want to hear it.”
She crossed her arms and smirked. “Oh, you’ll want to hear what I have to say.” She gestured to me. “But you probably won’t want her to hear it.”
I stepped up to Jalen’s side and put my hand on his arm. “I’ll leave if he asks me to, but he knows I’m here for him, no matter what you say.”
She looked at Jalen, an expectant expression on her face. When he didn’t say anything, her mouth twisted into a scowl. “Let’s test that theory.”
She stepped into the bedroom, coming close enough to touch. Jalen reached down and took my hand, threading his fingers between mine. Her eyes narrowed, but it didn’t stop her.
“Remember that night when we got together to talk about the divorce? Without the lawyers. We ordered in and opened a bottle of wine.”
Jalen stiffened, and I knew whatever was coming wouldn’t be easy to hear, but I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. If we were going to trust each other, it had to begin somewhere.
“Well, sweetie, I don’t know how else to say it, but I’m pregnant. You’re going to be a father.”
She beamed at him while my stomach dropped. I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. I needed to give him a chance to refute what she was saying, and I kept reminding myself of that as I tried not to look like I wanted to throw up.
“That was more than two months ago.” Jalen’s voice was strained. “You would’ve known before now.”
My hand tightened around his. They’d had sex more recently than I’d thought. Okay, I could handle that. Like he said, it’d been more than two months ago. Before he and I had even met. Hell, I’d slept with Clay less than a week before I met Jalen. If he wasn’t going to hold that against me, it’d be hypocritical of me to be upset about him having sex with his wife.
“Things have just been so stressful lately, you know.” Elise reached into her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “What with you wanting to divorce me and all. I thought that was why I’d been so tired and not wanting to eat, but my doctor ran some blood work just in case, and he called me yesterday with the results.”
I went numb. Elise was pregnant. Jalen was going to be a father.
“I want a paternity test,” Jalen said, his voice cold.
I pulled my hand away. He didn’t believe he was the father. My father had accused my mother of the same thing. Everyone said that was why he’d killed her. She’d cheated on him and gotten pregnant. At least, that was what he’d believed. The DNA test after autopsy had proven his accusations false.
