Keep the Kid, I'm Out

Josephine sneered, "Why did I ever let Jasper marry a jinx like you? Quit your job? What now—just mooch off him?"Raymond jumped in. "You couldn't even hang onto a golden job. What good are you? If I'd known you were this useless, I'd have never let you marry Jasper."Natalie's health is delicate, raising a kid costs money, and instead of helping, you're just dead weight. What kind of wife is that?"I let out a laugh."And what kind of husband gets another woman pregnant while his wife's out of the country?"Jasper snapped, "Emily Haden, that's enough. I did this for you!"His eyes were ice. "You can't have kids, so I let Natalie carry one—for you. I was trying to give you a shot at motherhood. Why can't you see how hard this was for me?"We used IVF. It was perfect—Natalie gets her dying wish, and you get a baby without going through labor. What are you even mad about?"If she hadn't saved me in that car crash two years ago, I wouldn't even be here. She lost her parents, she's

Natalie spotted me first. "Emily! I thought that was you. Jasper said no way."Her eyes dropped to the job flyer in my hand, and she gave me that fake-sweet smile."So... you're job hunting? A waitress gig? Even if you're mad at Jasper, no need to punish yourself like this."I didn't say a word. Some teen on the sidewalk handed me the flyer—looked frozen, so I took it to be nice.But when I didn't answer and kept clutching it, Natalie's smile grew even smugger."If you'd said something, maybe I could've helped. We're all family, right? If you're doing okay, then Jasper and Nathan can have a better life. That would really put me at ease."To them, my silence was all the confirmation they needed.Jasper looked confused at first—then straight-up disgusted.His mouth tightened, eyes cold."What's there to help with? She's the one who walked away from a killer doctor gig. If she ends up broke, that's on her."Then he turned to me."Emily, really? All this just to guilt me into gi

"What are you doing? Don't start something you can't take back."He grabbed my sleeve, eyes wide, whispering like it'd fix anything. I slipped free without a word.If you've got nothing to hide, why are you freaking out?I faced the crowd, steady. "Thanks for coming today. A lot of you were there when Jasper and I got married. I never forgot your well wishes. But I bet you all saw that family portrait by the entrance."Jasper's face locked up.He lunged, reaching for the mic. I swerved and held on tighter."Yeah, I was shocked too," I said. "I was gone a year for training. Came back, and boom—Jasper's playing house with someone else."They even had a kid. Then had the guts to say it was for me, like I'd just raise their baby and smile about it. Nope. Not happening. I'm not taking that hit."I yanked the divorce papers from my coat and dropped them at his feet."Jasper Carter, I want out."I'd been carrying them ever since I caught him and Natalie together.He went ghost-whit

Jasper sat there, head down, looking like a kid who knew he blew it.Raymond's yelling set Nathan off—he started wailing in Jasper's arms.Fed up, Raymond grabbed the baby and dropped him onto a plastic chair. "Crying again? What is he, royalty or something? Jasper, he's your kid. Handle it."Jasper didn't even blink.He pulled out his phone, dialing Emily. Maybe she could still get through to Dr. Holgate.But the call wouldn't go through.Emily was already on a plane, gone.***On the plane, I leaned against the window, watching the world shrink as we lifted off.It didn't feel real.From here on out, I wasn't tied to any one place—I belonged to the world now.After a brutal ten-hour flight, we landed completely wiped.This wasn't Crenova's calm. This place was chaos—armed patrols everywhere, one wrong move and you're done.While we rested in the truck, our team leader filled us in on what we were walking into.He handed each of us a gun.Said saving lives mattered—but

I looked him dead in the eye, voice sharp and steady."I'm not going back to the man I walked away from. And I'm definitely not playing free babysitter for you and your kid. Give it up."Jasper's eyes welled up. He opened his mouth to speak.I shut it down."I've got work to do. It's dangerous here. You should go back to Crenova."I turned and walked off toward camp.Behind me, he called out, "Emily! If you're not leaving, then I'm not either. I'll stay here. And when you're done, I'll go back with you."I didn't even flinch. Wasn't about to entertain that.But I'd barely made it a few steps before I heard him on the phone—his voice tight, panicked."What? Natalie's dead? I'm heading back to Crenova now. Just wait for me!"Right then, two bombers roared overhead.My body moved on instinct—I shoved Jasper to the ground."Emily, are you crazy?" he yelled, but the blast drowned him out.The ground shook hard, dirt and debris raining down like a storm.I didn't waste time. Li