My Unborn Daughter Warned Me Not To Marry Him Chapter 09
Hit and Run
Josh takes a step forward.
I step back. Both hands over my belly.
The look on my face- pure alarm, pure disgust- hits him like a slap.
Every word takes effort.
“Autumn. I know what I did was wrong.”
“I was blind. Sloane wasn’t sick. She’d been better for over a year. She was faking the whole thing. Playing me like a fiddle.”
“I let a woman like that hurt you. I’m lower than dirt.”
I stare at him.
Even now. He’s still blaming Sloane.
I let out a small, tired laugh. Cut him off.
“Josh. If it hadn’t been Sloane faking sick, it would’ve been some Sasha faking broke. Or some Sarah faking sweet.”
His mouth stays open. Nothing comes out.
“Admit it. You’re not stupid. You knew when women were playing you.”
“You were hooked on the feeling. Playing the hero. Rescuing the damsel.”
“I was the first one you saved. Remember?”
“But then I got better. I stopped needing saving.”
“And the second I stopped needing you, I stopped being interesting to you.”
“Sloane wasn’t your temptation. She was your fix. She let you feel like a hero again.”
I say every word calmly. Steady.
Every word drains a little more color from his face.
His mouth opens to say no, that’s not true.
But deep down, he knows.
I’m right.
Sloane wasn’t the villain. Sloane wasn’t the sin.
It was him. From day one. It was always him.
“Josh. You need a woman who’ll always need you. Always be drowning. Always be waiting for you to save her.”
“I can’t be that woman anymore.”
“Thank you. Really. For not giving up on me back then.”
“But the rest of my life? I’m blooming on my own. Growing on my own. Alone.”
“So, ten more tries, a hundred, a thousand, it wouldn’t matter.”
“Let’s call it. Clean break.”
Josh drops his head. Wipes his face hard with his sleeve.
“But, our baby, she needs a dad, damn it!”
I hold my belly tighter.
“Josh. We never got married. Legally, she’s not yours. Don’t use her against me again.”
“You can visit. Once a month. That’s it.”
My phone buzzes. My Uber finally picked up.
I climb in fast. Slam the door. “Please just go. Please.”
In the mirror, Josh gets smaller and smaller. I let out one long breath.
Then, bang.
The world snaps sideways.
I curl forward. Both arms around my belly. My head cracks against the window. Something warm runs down my temple.
The car spins into the median. Stops hard. Metal groaning. The driver and I, pinned. Neither of us can move.
Dawn is screaming.
“MOMMY! Don’t die! DON’T DIE!”
“I changed it! I changed everything! Why isn’t it working?!”
I try to yell for help. All that comes out is air.
“Baby… please…”
Right before everything goes black.
I think I see a thin figure. Running toward the car. Full speed. Rain flying off him.
Like his life depends on getting there.
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