The Bride's Revenge A Surprise You Can't Survive

“Gotta say, you're pretty cute when you're jealous.”

I lost it. My hand came up and cracked across his face.

“Jealous? I'd have to be out of my goddamn mind to ever fall for a piece of shit like you!”

“We're done! It's over!”

Carter pressed a hand to his already swelling cheek. He wasn't angry. He was grinning, eyes alive with excitement.

“Damn, nice swing. Hits harder than Lily's, too.”

His words churned my stomach.

When he saw me doubled over dry-heaving, the playfulness vanished and his face shifted to concern.

“Ronnie, what's wrong? Are you sick? I'll take you to the hospital right now!”

I shoved him back.

“Get away from me!”

“Don't touch me!”

Only then did it hit him that I wasn't sick. I was disgusted by him.

He stared at me, wounded, his eyes rimming red.

“Ronnie, you don't love me anymore?”

“I was willing to tell you everything, no secrets. Why won't you believe me?”

Something seemed to occur to him, and he immediately booked a hospital appointment on his phone.

“If you don't believe me, I'll go get bloodwork done right now! I'll prove I'm clean!”

He actually thought that as long as he hadn't caught a disease, he was clean.

Unbelievable.

I took a deep breath and said it to his face, word by word.

“Carter Rowe, in my eyes, every inch of you is filthy.”

He went rigid, eyes wide, swearing to God.

“Lily's an innocent college girl, pure and obedient. There's no way I'm dirty.”

I grabbed my phone and refunded the thirty-two thousand on the spot.

“Clean or dirty, it's got nothing to do with me anymore! You and I are done. Finished!”

Seeing me refuse even the money on top of breaking up with him, something in him panicked.

He grabbed my arm, dragged me out of the private room, and told Lily, who'd been waiting by the door, to come with us to the hospital.

The whole way there, he kept pulling Lily along, the two of them swearing oaths together.

“Ronnie, once the bloodwork comes back, you'll see I wasn't lying.”

At the hospital, he rushed Lily to the blood-draw window, frantic to get them both tested.

But Lily never made it to the window. She collapsed right there on the floor.

Carter caught her on instinct, scooping her up and rushing her straight to the ER.

Half an hour later, a doctor came out holding a test report and congratulated him.

“Sir, your girlfriend is pregnant. Congratulations, you're going to be a father!”

Carter went stiff. His eyes darted to me, panicked.

“Ronnie, let me explain, there's got to be a mistake! I used protection every single time, there's absolutely no way……”

The doctor looked at him, then at me, and instantly understood that the three of us were a story.

She gave me one pitying glance before turning to Carter, her tone cold.

“Mr. Rowe, a urine test can give a false positive. A blood test cannot.”

Carter's lips were trembling. He reached for me.

I slapped the other side of his face, the side that was still unmarked.

“Cheater!”

“Animal!”

“We're done!”

Carter took that slap without flinching, head bowed, and apologized.

“Ronnie, give me ten minutes. I'll go take care of everything right now.”

He drew a breath, looked up, asked the doctor to schedule an abortion, and walked into the ER.

Seconds later, I heard Lily sobbing from behind the door.

“Carter, I don't want your money, I don't care how much you offer……”

What Carter did about that baby was none of my business.

I picked up my bag and went straight home.

I'd barely lain down when the doorbell rang.

“Please, I want to keep this baby.”

“I'm begging you……please don't make me go through with the surgery……”