Chapter 2

At first glance, Patrick still looked completely calm. But I had already sensed trouble.

I could see his grip on the ballpoint pen tightening until his knuckles turned white. Even the pen tip had bent at an absurd angle, the pressure tearing through three sheets of paper.

Come on, man. That was my medical chart, not a murder list!

"Could she be pregnant?" my mom asked, sounding almost thrilled.

Without missing a beat, I shot to my feet. "Actually, I think I'm fine now. I swear it feels like my period's about to start any second."

With how possessive Patrick was, I knew I'd be doomed if I stayed a second longer.

But my mom shoved me right back into the chair. "Don't be ridiculous! Do you know how hard it was to get this appointment? Now that we're here, tell Dr. Hayes whatever's bothering you."

At that moment, I was on edge in every possible way.

Patrick finally softened his voice and said, "Valerie might be a little embarrassed with you here."

Suddenly, my mom got the hint. As she headed out, she muttered, "What's there to be shy about? I've seen everything there is to see."

If only she knew what kind of man Patrick was. He may have looked respectable, but he was an absolute menace in bed!

If this were a movie, my life would've landed squarely in the disaster genre. And right now, I deserved a dramatic close-up.

I watched the exam room door slowly swing shut behind my mom. In my eyes, it might as well have been a guillotine dropping.

With our only audience finally gone, Patrick dropped the act altogether and set down the pen.

The emotionally detached, self-controlled doctor pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses before letting out a sneer.

"You truly are something, Valerie. Who's the father? It's only been two months since we broke up, and you're already pregnant. The person who texted me wasn't lying. You really are easy…"

Patrick paused for a beat. Then, in an icy voice, he added, "Forget it. From here on out, you live your life, and I live mine. You're here for a checkup, that's all. Whatever's going on with you isn't my problem."

I was completely lost. What text? And what did he mean by I was easy? Had he fallen for some phishing scam?

God knew I had always been nothing but loyal to Patrick. Sure, before I met him, I had been a little wild.

In fact, our first meeting wasn't romantic, touching, or exciting.

That night, after finally meeting a client deadline, I called up a few friends and planned to go check out some male strippers. But our stupid navigation app glitched and led us to an upscale bar instead.

We barely glanced at the sign before going in.

The bar was classy, but my taste was down-to-earth. After scanning the menu, I ended up ordering a whole bucket of soda.

As luck would have it, Patrick was one of the bar's investors, and he happened to be there that night. When he brought our drinks over, he even reminded me, "Go easy on the soda and alcohol combo. Too much of it will make your heart race."

My friends had me drinking like crazy, and by then, I was totally woozy. So, when I saw a handsome guy standing in front of me, I immediately grabbed his hand and blurted, "What the hell! This place hires some good-looking escorts!

"How much for a night? Damn! Look at his hands and abs! What an outstanding man!"

I was too drunk to remember, but according to my friends, I didn't just grope Patrick. I even tried to grab his waist and plant a kiss on him.

Back then, they were so mortified that they wished the ground would swallow them. They even acted like they didn't know me, their embarrassing country bumpkin of a friend.

When I sobered up the next morning and learned what I had done, I wanted to die of embarrassment too.