Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“You never know.” Sybil rubs my back. “Things could get better.”
“They could.” I offer her a watery smile. “But honestly, my well of hope has run dry. I think I just need to be done now.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
STELLA
“ARE YOU OKAY?” Sybil rubs my back as I vomit into the toilet for the second time this evening.
“I’m fine.” I wave her away. “Go have fun. I just need to rest.”
“I’m not leaving you here like this.” She kneels beside me and worries her lip between her teeth. “You’ve been sick since I got back. I think you need to see the doctor.”
“I don’t,” I protest. “It’s just the stress of everything.”
She props her hip against the sink and waits for me while I wash my face and rinse out my mouth. “Stella, I don’t want to ask this, but I think I have to.”
“What?” I stare at my empty reflection in the mirror.
“Did Mr. Carter… you know, wrap it before he tapped it?”
My hollow stomach rumbles, and I shake my head as I confirm what I’ve already suspected. The thing I’ve been too terrified to admit to myself.
“Oh my God,” she shrieks. “We have to go get a pregnancy test.”
“Could you say that any louder?” I narrow my eyes at her.
“I’m sorry, but this is crazy. I can’t believe you haven’t even thought to—”
“I have thought,” I cut her off. “But I’m already pretty sure, Sybil. I don’t know what to do.”
Fat teardrops splash against my cheeks, and she pulls me in for a hug with a promise that everything is going to be okay.
“No matter what, I’ll always be here for you,” she assures me.
“You’re all I have.” I hang my head and slip a palm over my growing belly. It’s already March. It’s been three months since I’ve seen or heard from Sebastian. Pretty soon, I won’t be able to hide it anymore, and I’ve never been so scared in my life.
“Let’s go.” Sybil loops her arm through mine and tugs me out of the bathroom.
“Where?” I ask.
“I have a doctor on speed dial,” she tells me. “My dad says I can see her anytime I want. I’m taking you to her.”
I almost hit the brakes, but I know Sybil is right. I can’t put this off any longer. I need to bite the bullet, and then I have to figure out what the hell I’m going to do.
“SAY SOMETHING,” Sybil pleads.
I stare numbly at the paperwork I brought back to the dorm with me. “Like what?”
“Anything. You’re making me nervous.”
I gaze out the window, imagining what would happen if I saw Sebastian running by right now. What would he say if he knew that in five months, I’d be having his baby?
“Do you think I can make it to graduation without anyone finding out?” I ask.
She eyeballs my belly. “You can hardly tell right now. I think if you wear cardigans and sweaters during the cold months, you’ll be fine. But I don’t know about when it gets warmer. Regardless, we’ll figure it out.”
“I have to find a place to live,” I blurt. “And get a job. And buy things. So many things. Do you know how much stuff babies need?”
“What you need to do is tell Sebastian.” Sybil yanks out her phone, and I watch as she types his name into the Google search bar. Something I haven’t dared to do since I found out about his father. A flood of articles comes up, and when Sybil clicks on the photos, her face scrunches up in anger.
“What is it?” I try to see what she’s looking at, but she pulls the phone out of my reach and hides it behind her back.
“Nothing. You don’t need to see.”
“Sybil.” I reach around her and pry the phone from her fingers. “Quit hiding shit from me. If there’s something I need to see…”
I choke on my words as an image of Sebastian and Megan pops up next to a news article.
Sebastian Carter of Carter Holdings pictured with Megan Hill at a dinner to honor his late father’s memory.
Unable to stop myself, I read on about the hotel tycoon’s unexpected return to New York City, and how he has taken his rightful seat in the business upon his father’s death.
“Stella.” Sybil’s voice cracks as the phone falls from my hand. “I’m so sorry.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
SEBASTIAN
“HAVE YOU MADE A DECISION?” My father’s advisor, Edward Hanson, stares down his nose over his wire-rimmed glasses as he studies the paperwork on my desk.
I barely spare a second glance at the empty signature field before I turn my attention to the New York City Skyline. From up here, the whole world still looks like it’s wide-awake, even though it’s well after midnight. I’d forgotten in my time at Loyola just how noisy living in the city can be. But now, the constant noise is all I hear.