A ball of sensation takes up residence in my throat. It feels like a heavy weight is pressing down on my chest. I try to breathe, but my lungs burn. I’m not going to break down. Not now. Not after I’ve come this far. I need to get out of here with my dignity—whatever’s left of it—intact.
"Liam, please," I whisper.
"You don’t get to tell me what to do; not after that stunt you pulled."
"I know, it’s a surprise—"
"A surprise?" He seems to have trouble forming the words. "You think what you did was a surprise?"
I swallow. "I know it’s not something you were expecting."
"You know nothing." His voice is so hard, I wince.
"I know I should have told you about my… condition."
"You think?"
"It took me a while to come to terms with it, you know. I've been coming to grips with it for the past five years. I knew I needed to come out and show my true self to the world, but I couldn’t do it. And after everything you’ve done for me, I decided I owed you."
"So you decided you were going to publicly bare yourself?"
"Seemed like the best way to do it."
"And you didn’t think you should share it with me first?"
I hesitate. I still haven’t looked up at him, but I can see the pulse beating at his throat.
"I thought it best to do it all in one go. Like pulling off a bandage, you know?"
“Do you have any idea what you put me through? I thought you were going to announce we were splitting up. Instead of being upfront with me, your hurt me, but more importantly, you hurt yourself." His voice is low.
"It was going to happen." I raise a shoulder.
"I would have done anything to protect you from it. I can’t bear to see anyone hurt you, Isla. Not even you."
I swing my gaze up to his face. He’s watching me carefully, an expression I can’t fathom on his face.
"Do you see me, Liam?" I point to my bald head. "This is who I am."
"I know who you are, LadyBird," he says gently.
I blink. This is not making any sense. He should be upset with me for hiding this from him. He should be angry that the woman he married is less than perfect. That the possible mother of his child is someone who lives with this condition.
"No, I mean do you really see me?"
"I’ve seen only you from the moment I set eyes on you."
I search his features. Those gray eyes of his are the clearest I’ve ever seen them, like the surface of a lagoon where the water is so still you can see all the way to the depths below. Like fish darting below the surface, blue and green sparks streak through his irises. His pupils expand and his nostrils flare. He desires me.
He still desires me, even after what I told him? Nope, it’s not possible. It’s my mind playing tricks on me. More likely, he despises me. His emotions haven’t caught up to his logical mind and what he’s seeing in front of him. Or perhaps, he’s just being polite. That’s all this is.
"Liam, I’m bald." I wince even as I hear myself. Turns out, even after my big reveal, I’m not used to saying the words aloud.
"And you’re even more beautiful than before."
"Don’t you want to know why I’m like this?"
"I already know."