Novel-novel oleh Bob1

I tried to turn around, but the room was spinning. My legs wouldn't work.“Easy.” Strong hands held me steady. “When did you last drink water?”I blinked up at him. He was beautiful sharp face, dark eyes, the kind of guy you see on magazine covers. Tall, with broad shoulders, wearing a black shirt that fit him perfectly.“Who are you?” I managed to ask.“Someone making sure you don’t get attacked.”He guided me toward a quieter area. “Did you take something?”“Maybe? It was blue.”“Christ.” He sat me down on a leather couch. A bottle of water appeared in my hand. “Drink.”I drank because his voice made it impossible to argue.“Better?” he asked.I looked at him really looked and felt something stir inside me, despite everything. “You saved me.”“Those guys are predators.”“Thank you.” I set down the water and leaned closer. The drugs were making me brave. Reckless. “What’s your name?”A pause. “Brody.”“Brody,” I repeated. “I’m Eleanor.”“Eleanor.” The way he said it made my name sou

I gasped, doubling over one hand flying to my stomach."Eleanor?" Marcus's voice changed, fear creeping in. "What's wrong?""I don't" Another cramp, stronger this time. Radiating through my abdomen in waves that made my knees buckle. "Oh god."I felt it before I saw it. Wetness between my legs. Warm and wrong.I looked down.Blood.Soaking through my dress Running down my legs."No." The word came out as a whimper. "No no no no.""Oh my god." Marcus grabbed me as my legs gave out. "Eleanor, we need to get you to a hospital"The baby." I clutched his shirt, my hand leaving bloodstains on the white fabric. "Marcus, the baby""I know, I know Come on." He was already pulling out his phone, calling emergency services, but his voice sounded distant. Everything sounded distant.Another cramp, vicious and relentless.I felt something shift inside Something ending."No," I sobbed. "Please no. I'm sorry I'm sorry, baby, I'm so sorry""An ambulance is coming," Marcus said, and was he crying? I c

I was fifteen weeks pregnant now. The morning sickness had finally passed, replaced by a small but undeniable bump. I'd felt the baby move little flutters that the books called "quickening," like my child was trying to wake me up to something.Maybe it was.I'd tried to show Marcus one night, placing his hand on my stomach. "Feel that? The baby's moving."He'd smiled, said "that's amazing," and moved his hand after exactly three seconds. Then his phone had buzzed, and he'd been gone mentally first, physically five minutes later. "Emergency at work Be back soon."He'd come home at 2 AM.That was two days ago.Now, I sat in my car outside a Starbucks on Wilshire, hands shaking as I stared at my phone screen.I'd told myself I wouldn't do this. Wouldn't check up on him. Wouldn't become that wife who tracked her husband's location like a detective.But desperation made liars of everyone.I'd noticed the Find My Friends app was still sharing his location he'd probably forgotten to turn it

The new password on his laptop now. How he'd started taking calls outside, on the balcony, claiming it was work but speaking in that low, intimate tone I recognized.I noticed him smelling like unfamiliar perfume again.I noticed everything and said nothing, because what was the point?He was lying. I knew he was lying He knew I knew.But acknowledging it would mean making a choice. And I wasn't ready for that choice.Not when I was thirteen weeks pregnant and already showing. Not when I'd just scheduled my twenty-week anatomy scan. Not when I'd finally told my parents we were going to be grandparents and heard the joy in their voices.So I played my role. The mother-to-be planning a nursery. The woman who pretended her marriage wasn't dying while her baby grew.One night, I was folding laundry in our bedroom when Marcus came up behind me, hands sliding around my waist, resting on my small but visible bump."Hey, beautiful," he murmured against my neck.I stiffened. I couldn't help it

The Grandview Hotel - Reservations. A confirmation email from three days ago. Room 512. Check-in 6 PM, check-out 11 AM. Three days ago, when he’d texted: Jensen’s having a meltdown. Gonna be another late one. I scrolled through his email. Another confirmation. Two weeks ago. Another. Three weeks ago Another. Another, Another. A new email notification popped up. Kelly Martinez: Last night was amazing Can’t stop thinking about you. Same time next week? Months of emails. Flirty, then sexual, then intimate. Inside jokes. Pet names. Photos. Kelly in a hotel room, Marcus’s arm visible the watch I’d given him catching the light. Kelly in lingerie a message below it : For when you’re stuck at home. Stuck at home That’s what I was. I closed the laptop carefully,hands trembling so badly I nearly dropped it. walked to the bathroom, and vomited.When Marcus came home that night at 9:30 "Sorry babe, traffic was insane" I was sitting on the couch, the ultrasound photo face-down on the coff

I cooked while he settled on the couch, beer in one hand, phone in the other. I could hear him laughing at something a low chuckle that used to make me smile but now just made me wonder what was so funny.Who was so funny.When I called him to dinner, he came but kept the phone face-down beside his plate. We ate in near silence, the TV filling the void with some crime show neither of us watched."This is great, babe," he said around a mouthful of penne. "You're such a good cook.""Thanks." I pushed my own food around, appetite gone.His phone buzzed. Once. Twice. Three times in rapid succession.He glanced at it. His expression shifted just slightly. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth."Work?" I asked, keeping my tone casual."Yeah. Jensen freaking out about tomorrow's presentation." But his fingers moved fast across the screen, typing something that required his full attention.I watched him over the rim of my wine glass. Watched the way his eyes softened at whatever he