Chapter 4 — A Scare

Darkness closes in around her. Everything is blurry, her head is pounding. Lying on the floor, Isabella doesn't understand what happened. She tries to get up.

When she tripped on the rug, she'd hit her head on the corner of the dresser. Something warm and wet was running down toward her ear. She was bleeding.

"Damn my luck. Is something else going to happen today?" She got up carefully.

She grabbed a towel and pressed it to the wound. There was a lot of blood on the floor. She cleaned it up, and once everything was in order she started gathering her things.

If Jed didn't love her, there was no reason to stay. She wouldn't abort her child — but what if he came looking for her to force it? She wrote him a note.

Jed,

You were right. I lied to you. I thought you'd propose the moment I told you I was pregnant. I've decided to stop wasting my time and my youth on you.

Isabella

That ought to be enough to keep him from looking for her. She knew his pride well — Jed would never stand for being laughed at. He wouldn't come after her, and her child would be safe. She left the note on the bed, along with the money and jewelry he'd given her, got in her car, and drove out of the city.

Her destination was uncertain, but she had to put distance between them. She wouldn't stop until she'd reached another city.

Jed finished the whisky, picked up his phone, and told his driver to bring the car around. Then he called his friend Roberto to invite him to dinner — he wanted to clear up a few things about Isabella's pregnancy.

Roberto was the one person he could talk to with complete honesty; he trusted him completely. Jed knew nothing about the realities of pregnancy, and although deep down he didn't believe Isabella had been unfaithful, he preferred to ask Roberto: when could paternity actually be confirmed?

He left his office and rode the elevator down to the lobby.

He'd tell Isabella his decision once he arrived. He could already picture the look on her face when she found out he was willing to make her a respectable woman.

Over dinner, Roberto congratulated him on his impending fatherhood. He'd only met Isabella a few times, but from what he'd observed she didn't seem like the kind of woman who'd use that kind of tactic. Still, if Jed wanted to be certain, Roberto could tell him, once the pregnancy stage was confirmed, when the right time would be to do a DNA test.

After dinner, Jed asked his driver to drop Roberto off first, then take him to Isabella's apartment.

Jed had his own place, but nine months ago he'd bought Isabella's apartment — without her knowing. When he first met her, she'd been sharing a house with classmates. He'd sorted out the apartment through a friend who was traveling abroad. Isabella would be the live-in tenant, but then the idiot had gone and fallen in love on his trip, so he'd sold the apartment outright. It now belonged to Isabella.

He pulled up in front of the building and noticed the lights were out. He took the elevator up and let himself in with his key. The whole place was dark.