"That's where you're wrong." She grins at me before cocking her head to the side. "I know you'd rather forget about all the plans we made for the future, but my memory is better than yours, Raphael. And I, unlike you, remember that you froze your samples to use for IVF when we decided to go forth with the kid thing."
"What the fuck are you on about, Elise?"
She flutters her lashes innocently. "The clinic we were supposed to do the IVF at doesn't know we broke up, Raphael."
"I'll correct that today."
"But it'll be too late." She smiles shyly, rubbing her palm over her belly. "I already went there, weeks ago. I wanted it to be a surprise for you."
My heart speeds up. "What fucking surprise?"
"I got the IVF without you," she announces. "I'm pregnant, and it's your baby."
The ground rocks beneath me and for a moment I'm convinced I'm going to have a heart attack. Then I realize the pain I'm feeling is my heart breaking.
"You did fucking what?"
She laughs out loud, throwing her glossy blonde hair over her shoulder.
"I'm not going to regret what I did, Raphael. And there's no going back. I've already taken three positive tests. My doctor's appointment went well yesterday – they confirmed what I already knew. I tried to tell you plenty of times, but you turned me away."
Guilt threatens to swallow me up. My world is falling apart in front of me and there's nothing I can do to stop the carnage Elise has just wreaked on my life.
As I stare into her triumphant eyes, I realize she's not lying. She is pregnant, and she plotted against me to do this, to make sure I'd end it with Willa. My stomach twists into a thousand knots and I feel fucking sick. This can't be it. This can't be the end.
"Don't worry, Raphael," Elise drawls sweetly. "This is only the beginning of our happily ever after."
Today is going to be the worst day of my life.
Three days have passed since Elise's admission. I've gone to a doctor's exam with her and they confirmed what I didn't want to hear – she's almost a month into her pregnancy. I saw the ultrasound with my own eyes, and after calling the clinic, they confirmed Elise had been there, lying through her teeth.
While Elise is triumphant about her win, I'm fucking devastated. I've stayed away from Willa for days, my guilt making it impossible to hold a conversation with the woman of my dreams. But now I have to break things off.
I've already decided not to tell Willa about Elise's pregnancy. It would only hurt her more. Instead, I'm going to focus on her own future. And perhaps this is for the better for Willa, as hard as that is to accept.
She's only eighteen. Our age difference is huge. She deserves to have a life of her own, to see the world, to experience things before being tied down with a man three times her age. As much as I want her, I was being selfish by trying to keep her tethered to me. She deserves so much more.
"Miss Willa here to see you, sir," my receptionist says through the phone.
"Send her in."
I lean back in my chair, running my hands through my hair. My heart is hurting and so is my head. I'm fucking livid it's come to this. But I only have one task left now, and that's to protect Willa from further pain and harm.
The doors to my office open and she strolls in, a vision like she always is. Looking at her is painful, so I avert my eyes and pretend not to notice her face falling.
Willa comes to a stop in the middle of my office, instantly asking, "What's wrong?"
"Come sit down, Willa."
She follows me to my desk, sitting on the opposite end of it. Her hands tremble as she folds them in her lap. I don't know if I can bear this pain myself, and yet the thought of staying with Willa and hurting an innocent child feels fucking wrong. My father was never present in my life, and I cannot do the same thing to a baby, my baby. And Willa... she doesn't deserve any of this. I need to break things off before she gets hurt even more. I need to end this so she can be happy, even if I'll never know what that emotion feels like again.
"What's going on?"
Her voice shakes. I can't bring myself to look at her.
"I've thought about some things," I force myself to say. "About New York, and Parsons... about your family."
She remains silent, her eyes examining me, already begging me to change my mind as if she already knows what I'm about to say.
"You have to go to New York, Wills."
"I will, maybe," she whispers. "If you support me."