Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

PEYTON

I didn’t sleep at night. 

By morning, my eyes were swollen, my head was pounding, and my wedding dress was still lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

I stared at it from where I was sitting on Holly’s bed.

Yesterday, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever owned.Today, I couldn’t stand looking at it.

The door opened and Holly stepped inside carrying a tray.

“Morning, Pey. I brought breakfast.”

“I don’t want it.”

She placed the tray on the nightstand anyway.

“You need to eat something.”

I sat up slowly. The room spun for a second and I pressed my fingers against my temple.

“Gosh, my head hurts.”

“Are you still feeling sick?”Holly asked, her voice laced with concern.

“A little.”

“Then we’re going back to the hospital.”

“No!” I groaned.

“Pey. You nearly collapsed yesterday.You’ve been nauseous for days.”

“It’s probably stress.”

“Maybe.But I’m not taking chances.We’re leaving now”

***

Less than an hour later, we were back at the hospital. The nurse checked my blood pressure and ran a few tests. After it was done, Holly and I returned to the waiting area.She sat beside me, scrolling through her phone.

The doctor suddenly walked into the room holding a file.

“Miss Peyton. Come with me, please.”

Holly immediately stood too.

“Can I come with her?”

The doctor nodded.We followed him into a small consultation room as he sat behind his desk and opened the file. I sat opposite him, my hands clasped tightly in my lap.

“Your initial tests only showed dehydration and low blood pressure. We ran a pregnancy test this morning because of your persistent nausea.”

He gave me a small smile.

“Congratulations, Miss Peyton.You’re four weeks pregnant.”

Everything inside me stopped.For a few seconds, I couldn’t breathe.

I stared at him, waiting for him to laugh and tell me it was some kind of joke.

“I’m…” My voice cracked. “Pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my God, Peyton.”Holly grabbed my hand.

I scoffed. The universe had to be playing some cruel joke on me. How had I gone from preparing to walk down the aisle to discovering I was carrying Logan’s child?

A tiny life was growing inside me while my own life was falling apart.

 Suddenly, yesterday’s heartbreak didn’t seem like my biggest problem anymore because if Logan found out about this child, I knew exactly what he would do.

He would come back not because he loved me but because Logan Reign had always been determined to have control over everything he considered his.

And my baby would be no different. The thought of that terrified me.

****

I couldn’t stop thinking about the baby. Not even when Holly drove me home and I stepped through my front door and saw Aunt Marie sitting on my couch with  my cousin Faith beside her.

The moment Faith looked at me, I knew something was wrong.

She was pale, her lips almost colorless, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.

“What happened?”I rushed toward her.

“Holly called and explained everything. You mean the wedding isn’t happening?”

“Aunt please…not now”

“Fine! Your cousin’s condition has gotten worse.The doctor says she may not make it through the month.”

“What?”I froze.

“Her kidneys are failing faster than they expected,” Aunt Marie continued. “The dialysis isn’t controlling her condition anymore.”

I looked at Faith and she gave me a small smile.

“Don’t worry about me. “I’ll be okay.”

Tears gathered under my eyes. As an only child, Faith was the closest to a sibling. She didn’t deserve to have kidney failure.

“She needs a transplant,” Aunt Marie  pulled a folder from her handbag and threw it onto the table. “The doctor said they found a possible donor.”

Hope immediately flickered inside me.

“Then that’s good, right?”

“They need the money before they can proceed with the surgery.”

I picked up the folder. The amount written on the estimate made my stomach drop.

It was far beyond anything I could afford.

“This is a lot,”

“Exactly,” Aunt Marie spat. “You had Logan.”

“Aunt Marie—”My expression hardened.

“He was willing to pay for Faith’s surgery.” She interrupted.

“He broke up with me.”

“Then you should have done whatever was necessary to keep him.”

Holly, who had been standing quietly near the door, stepped forward.

“That’s enough.”

Aunt Marie glared at her.“This doesn’t concern you.”

“It concerns me when you blame Peyton for a man cheating on her with her best friend.”

Faith immediately looked uncomfortable.

“Mum, please.”

“You stay out of this.” Aunt Marie turned back to me. “Your wedding was supposed to solve our problems. Instead, you came home with nothing.”

“I didn’t ask Logan to leave me."My eyes was getting teary 

“But you failed to keep him.”

The words hit hard like a punch on my face.

“Mum, please stop!” Faith’s face crumpled but Aunt Marie ignored her.

“If anything happens because you couldn’t keep Logan, then I’d never forgive you,”

“Mom!”Faith suddenly burst into tears.

“I’m going home.”Aunt Marie grabbed her purse and headed toward the door before turning around.

“Find the money, Peyton.” She said as the door slammed behind her.

For several seconds, nobody spoke. Faith wiped her tears.

“I’m sorry about mum,” She reached for my hand. “Peyton, if things get too difficult, let me go.”

“Don’t ever say that again.”My heart shattered.

“I don’t want you destroying your life because of me.”

“You’re not destroying anything. I squeezed her hand. “I’ll find the money.”

“But how?”

I didn’t have an answer. My job was uncertain.My savings were nowhere near enough and now I was pregnant. Everything I had planned for my life had collapsed in less than twenty-four hours.

By evening, I couldn’t breathe inside my own house.

I needed air.So I drove to the first bar I could find.The moment I walked inside, the loud music swallowed me whole.

I took a seat at the counter, glancing at the alcohol I couldn’t drink because I was pregnant.

“A penny for your thoughts,”

I froze. I remembered that voice.

I turned around and Zayn Blackwill stood a few feet away.

He was dressed casually tonight, wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

“You again.” I stared at him. “You followed me?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”His lips curved.

“I was here first.”

“I own the bar.”

I blinked at him before looking away. 

“What happened?”He pulled out the stool beside me and sat, staring at me.

“Nothing.” I sighed.

“You’re alone in a bar without a drink,”

I said nothing for a few seconds as I contemplated if I should pour out my heart again.

“I feel like there’s Episode two of your story,”

“You really know how to get on my nerves,”

“At least I have your attention,” he smirked.

I paused and turned toward him, properly taking note of his form for the first time. He was slim muscular, with a face that had an intimidating kind of handsomeness.

“I’d be irritated by this, but I’m too in my feelings to add any extra emotions,”

“I guess I’m in luck. Talk to me,”

I sighed and told him what had happened so far. Interestingly, he listened with such wrapt attention that it felt like I was narrating a buisiness proposal.

“I’m really sorry about your cousin,” he said. “How much does the surgery cost?”

“More than I could make in ten years.”

He was silent for a bit.

“And you have no one else who can help?”

“If I did, would I be sitting in a bar  without a drink and talking to a stranger?”

Something shifted in his expression. He leaned back against the counter.

“I actually have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition. What kind?”

“My grandmother needs me to get married to claim her shares,”

I blinked, not sure what he was driving at.

“Okay?”

“I need a wife, you need money. We both have what we need from each other. Let’s strike a deal. Get married to me and I’ll take care of your cousin’s surgery?”