I was in a complete daze when I walked back into my apartment.My heart broke and it felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I didn't want to believe that Killian was gone. I didn't want to believe that he had left me again. Maybe it was all a dream, maybe if I closed my eyes or if I pinched myself hard enough he'd—"Great, you're back," Scott's voice pulled me out of my tailspin. He stepped out of my kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand and looked at me like nothing had happened; like he hadn't just sold his pride and driven the love of my life out of the door. "Now that you're here, we can talk about your flight schedule." My fist clenched by my side. When I said nothing but glared at him with all the hate and anger and fury I could muster, he released a long breath. "Come on, why are you looking at me like that." He walked toward me and stretched out his cup. "Drink this, you'll feel better."I slapped his hand along with the cup out of my face and watched as it shat
Killian My heart wasn't made of stone. It was just like everyone else's, and right now, it hammered against my ribs so painfully I was sure I'd die. But I didn't stop.I squeezed the stirring wheel as I sped down the freeway, trying to exhaust myself, trying not to think. I was running—away from my life, away from my thoughts, away from Hope.The look on her face when I'd zoomed off taunted me. Hearing the pain in her voice as she begged me to stay wounded my heart. It felt like someone had cracked open my ribs and gripped my beating heart in their hands only to nearly squeeze the life out of it. The guilt ate me alive. I shouldn't have left her that way, but despite the pain, I did it because I was hurting, because I was scared that if I stayed, I'd only be caging her. I couldn't do that. I couldn't hurt her any more than I already had. So I wanted to go. I wanted to go back to my life where she meant nothing to me.But how could I ever do that when she'd taken up all the space t
KillianI sleepwalked through the all process of wiping the blood away from my hands and strapping into a blue overall. My brain didn't recollect any information, except the one where I was being ushered into a room with doctors hovering around the elevated bed like wild animals. I carefully stepped inside, My heart wrenching painfully in my chest as my eyes landed on Hope. She was laying with a thick pink blanket draped over her parted legs. Her pale face was strained with tears, her hair flying wildly across her face. She was sweating, eyes closed tight with the pain."Hope, you need to push," the doctor demanded, but she shook her head, groaning in pain. "I can't," she breathed, keeping her eyes closed as her legs quivered. "I can't. It hurts.""Hope..." My voice broke as I moved closer to her, calling her desperately and I wasn't sure if she had heard me but then her bloodshot eyes pushed open and the moment they met mine, my chest felt tight; like I was being suffocated. "Ki
HOPEA month later. Giving birth was the easy part— the heart-stopping contractions. Sweating like a donkey and trying to push while being spread out like some farm exhibit with strangers gawking between my knees. The yelling, the bleeding. Having my vagina stitched—it didn't seem terrifying at all.Know what was?Having to deal with all this baby weight that came after.I cursed my misfortune, turning to look at myself sideways in the mirror. After my pregnancy with Ryan, my body has yet to regain its original shape and for me, that was pretty devastating. "What's taking so long?" Killian asked, as usual, walking into my room unannounced but I was too annoyed to care if he saw me standing in my underwear or not. "What's wrong?" He strolled with lith grace towards me, and I found it ironic how he got to look this perfect while I carried all the scars and weight that came with birth. "The dress I picked out didn't fit. I feel humongous." "Hope." He sighed and stared at me through
HopeI'd never do it. I mean... This wasn't me.Nah, no, nada, nil, zilch. It couldn't be me. I was the responsible one. The one always prepared, always early and on time. On weekdays, I worked my butt off at the diner and on weekends I stayed huddled up in the book store down the block. That right there was the full autobiography of my life. Pretty basic and plain, and I was the last person you'd expect to worry about an accidental pregnancy. So why the hell did I just spend a hundred bucks on a box of target-brand pregnancy tests?Three words.I. Fucked. Up.Rewind two months back to Pampam's bachelorette party and my insistence on staying home because attending a cock fest and seeing a bunch of naked penises writhing at me wasn't exactly on my to-do list, but Lesley being the persistent friend she was, didn't take no for an answer. "There aren't going to be naked cocks, Hope. It's a strip club, not pornhub." She reasoned, taking off my reading glasses. "Besides... It's not gonna
Killian"That all you got, tough guy?" She purred, her hot whiskey breath fanning my face as we staggered into the hotel room. I couldn't remember her name. Charlotte? Charlene? Scarlett? Hell, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered right now was those lips and the obscene things I planned to do to them. "Seriously you have to come up with something better than this." She mocked. "You said you were going to manhandle me up. Is this how you plan to do it?" Filthy little kinky brat. She looked somewhat younger than me, twenty-something or thereabout, certainly not young enough for me to give two fucks. "You have no idea what you're asking for, blondie," I growled, reaching for her ass and squeezing hard. "I'm not an easy pony to ride." Her breath wavered. "Try me." "Oh, I will." I gritted. "And when I'm done cuffing you to that bed, spanking your ass bare and fucking you so hard, you'll be begging me to use you, and I'll do it, I'll mar
HopeFor the rest of the week, I threw myself into my unread novels and my job at Joe's. Lesley was busy too; trying to work her shifts while helping me locate my baby daddy's whereabouts. Apparently, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, and turns out, he was a hard man to find. I admit it did get me riled up. I mean, choosing to keep this child was a tough decision. What if Lesley never found him and I had to raise my child alone without child support or a father figure? Needless to say, by Wednesday, I felt much better. I'd visited the hospital for an official report. Thankfully, a local clinic took me in, though they made me wait a day. Later that evening, I called my mom to check on her, I felt guilty hiding the fact of my pregnancy from her but I didn't think she was ready to know. Most especially when she still played matchmaker and tried setting up blind dates with every single hot-looking bachelor in her block. She proceeded to tell me about her job
HopeThe subway ride from Bayview to Powell street was long and I had to endure the cacophony of noise usually brought about by people constantly fighting over free seats. Fast forward half an hour later and I was standing in front of an enormous lobby whilst running my hand over the red dress Lesley had picked out for me. Taking a deep breath in and adjusting my little dress one more time, I made my way through the entrance.The receptionist; a flawlessly dressed auburn-haired girl around my age sat behind a marbled desk. She smiled pleasantly at me. "How can I help you?""Hi, yes, please. I'm here to see Killian Fobster." "Is he expecting you?""I called to schedule a meeting yesterday.""What is your name?""Hope Sterling."She smiled. "Excuse me one moment, Ms. Sterling," she consulted something behind her desk for a moment. "Great, you are expected. Please take the last elevator on the right to the sixteenth floor."After handing me a security tag stamped with the company's lo