I re at him. “Who the fuck do you think you are, Noah?”


    He grinds his teeth, his jaw clenched so tight I swear it’s going to snap. His eyes ze with something violent, something dangerous. If looks could kill, I’d be dead ten times over.


    “You know what?” I add bitterly, “at this point I’d prefer if the baby belonged <i>to </i>anyone but you.”


    He doesn’t flinch, not that I expected anything like that from him. I think I stopped expecting anything


    from him long ago.


    “I don’t care what you say. That baby isn’t mine,” he bites out, after what feels like an eternity. “I used a


    condom.”


    “Did you?” I ask quietly.


    “I fucking did! I would’ve remembered if I’d taken you raw!” he roars, and for a moment I think he’s going


    to literally explode.


    “Could you keep your voice down?” I snap, ncing toward the door. “Last thing I want is for anyone to


    know I slept with the biggest asshole on earth.”


    He scoffs.


    “And you think I’m thrilled that I slept with you?” His voice drips with disdain. “Besides, the office is


    soundproof. No one’s hearing a thing.”


    I grit my teeth and let out a shaky breath. “You can have a DNA test when the baby’s born, but I promise


    you, this baby is yours.”


    I don’t even see iting. One second, he’s standing in front of me, and the next, he’s punching the wall


    behind me with so much force I feel the splintering crack in my bones.


    “Get out!” he roars, his voice like thunder.


    He turns, eyes zing and takes a step toward me.


    I freeze. The look in his eyes–it’s not the man I once loved. It’s not even someone I recognize.


    There’s a wildness in his eyes I’ve never seen before. Something untamed. Something dark and terrifying.


    Noah has never hit a woman. But this is me we’re talking about. And there were times, if I’m honest, when I thought he might actually want me gone for good.


    I step back, heart in my throat, as fear for me and my baby takes root. My fight–or–flight response kicks in as he continues advancing on me.


    “Get the fuck out,” he growls again, every word dripping with fury, “before I do something I’ll regret.”


    I don’t need to be told twice. My hand finds the door handle, and I bolt out of there as fast as my legs will


    carry me.


    I hear Mary’s voice calling after me, but everything’s drowned out by the thunder of my heartbeat. By the fear still clinging to me like the smell of smoke on clothes.


    Everything’s a blur. The elevator. The lobby. The street. I don’t see anything. I don’t hear anything. I might as well have looked the devil in the eye and lived to tell the tale, because whatever version of Noah I just faced in that office, it wasn’t human.


    When I finallye to, I’m sitting on a park bench. I think I walked here, though I don’t remember.


    The breeze is soft. The sounds of childrenughing, dogs barking, and birds chirping. It all feels surreal. Like I’ve slipped into someone else’s life. One that isn’tplete chaos.


    I scan the green space. Watch the kids with their balloons. The babies in their strollers. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, letting the normalcy wrap around me like a nket.


    I knew Noah wouldn’t take it well. But knowing something and living through it are two very different things.


    He looked like he wanted to destroy something. Or someone… Me.


    But I’m here. I’m safe.


    And I did it. I told him.


    I take a breath. My hands aren’t shaking anymore. The tightness in my chest is loosening bit by bit. The worries that had been choking me since yesterdaypletely disappear.


    I ce a hand on my belly and exhale slowly.


    “I promise,” I whisper, “You will never feel unwanted.”


    Something unfurls from within as that promise settles inside me and my love for my baby begins to bloom. I will give my baby every drop of love I have. I will make a home for us just like my mom did for me and we will be happy, with or without Noah.