Page 65 of The Broken Keys

If I’m pregnant... If those tests are positive, it’ll destroy him. He’s barely holding himself together as it is, fighting so hard to stay sober and to be worthy of a second chance.

And I’ll have to tell him I’m carrying another man’s baby. A man I’ve hidden from the world.

Jesus, there’s no way I could’ve messed this situation up worse. I want to throw up, but that just makes this whole thing more treacherous.

Jax helped make Callum’s sobriety possible. He’s the man who funded his label and gave him creative freedom. The irony is so brutal it makes me dizzy.

What will this do to Callum? Will he spiral? Will this be the thing that sends him back to the darkness he fought so hard to escape?

My hands go numb as I set the phone down without responding. I can’t think about Callum right now. I can’t think about what this means for him when I don’t even know what it means for me.

Another text comes through.

Callum:I love you, Lily. Whatever you’re thinking about, we can figure it out together.

I close my eyes, guilt crushing my chest like an elephant is sitting on it.

He thinks we have a future. He thinks there’s a chance and that we’re building something together. And in the meantime, I might be carrying Jax’s child.

The man who pushed me away, who gave me a house instead of answers. The man who won’t fight for me, even though I can see in his eyes that he wants to.

I suck in a breath, trying to stop the tears from building.

What do I want?

The question hits me like a slap.

Forget Callum and Jax. Forget the lists, the logic, and the impossible choices.

If I’m pregnant, what do I want?

I sit with the question and let it settle in my bones. The answer comes quietly and gently, like it’s been there all along.

I want the baby.

If I’m pregnant, I want this child. I want to keep it, raise it, and love it. I have the money and the resources.

There’s no reason I can’t have a baby. I can figure out the rest later.

Sure, there might be custody agreements, co-parenting arrangements, and conversations I’ll have to have with both men who might think they have a claim on my future. But first, I need to know.

I glance at the clock. Forty-five minutes have passed. Fifteen more to go.

My phone buzzes again. Not Callum this time.

My King:I can meet you after work. The Malibu house at six o’clock and we’ll go from there.

My breath catches. Four hours from now, I’ll be sitting across from him. And depending on what’s waiting for me upstairs, I might be telling him we need to figure out our relationship because we’re going to be parents.

The harshness of it presses down on me until I can’tbreathe. I stand and pace the kitchen. My heart races and my hands won’t stop shaking.

Another glance at the clock. Fifty-five minutes.

“Oh, come on. Just hurry up.”That’s right. Talking to myself is absolutely normal right now.

My phone rings and I nearly jump out of my skin.

It’s Callum.