***
Kayla’s eyes were red from crying. She felt so humiliated for losing it in front of Dr. Cyril Hawk. God only knew what the handsome doctor was going to think about her. She remembered all the subtle flirts between them before she’d started dating Dean. Cyril was a nice guy…too nice for her to lose her shit in front of. He probably thought she was some silly girl who had been stupid enough to get knocked up out of wedlock and too chicken to look after a kid.
“Are you sure you can go all by yourself?” Cyril asked. He felt sorry for the sexy girl, who he would have given his left ball to have as his…minus the baby of course. He wasn’t ready for that kind of baggage.
“I’ll be fine. Thank you very much.” Kayla sniffled and stepped out of the room.
She just wanted to get home, get into bed and cry herself to sleep. She had taken some days off for her upcoming final exams so she could just take the drugs the doctor had given her and relax. By the time Dean got home, she would be calm and in a better shape. God, she was a mess. What she wouldn’t give to be in Dean’s arms right that very minute. She just needed to be held… to feel like everything was going to be okay…to feel…
“Dean…” Kayla gasped and came to a halt.
Standing directly in her line of vision, on the corridors of the hospital, staring right at her, were Dean and Jean. And whilst the look on Jean’s face was pure rage, Dean’s was downright dejected. Both men were oblivious to the stares they were getting from people passing by them. They were handsome, had a presence, and looked exactly alike…why would people not stare?
Kayla opened her mouth but nothing would come out. Then Jean looked her up and down with so much disgust in those dark blue eyes which were so much like his brother’s, Kayla’s breath hitched in her throat. They knew. How the hell had they found out, Kayla wondered silently. She couldn’t have spoken a sentence to save her life.
“Where are your car keys?” Dean asked quietly, stretching out his hand with his palm up.
Kayla dipped her hand into her bag and brought out her keys and placed them into Dean’s palm. Then her eyes lifted to Jean as he abruptly turned to go.
“Let’s go,” Dean said and also turned to go.
At the parking lot, Kayla noticed that Jean went straight to a navy-blue Cadillac parked beside her own sleek metallic silver Audi Q5, a gift from Dean on her twenty-fourth birthday three months earlier. She had protested when he’d purchased it for her, saying it was too extravagant a gift but Dean had insisted. She loved the car. But seeing Dean holding the door for her to climb in with that distant look on his face made Kayla wish she were very far away from the car that very moment. Just as Dean closed her door, Jean tore out of the lot with tires screeching. The guy was furious, Kayla thought with dread.
Dean got behind the wheel and drove them home without a word. The radio remained off. Kayla didn’t know which was worse, the dead silence in the car or the look on Dean’s face.
When they got home, Dean tossed the car keys to his chauffer and walked slowly into the house. The way he walked, like he’d been defeated in a fight, tore at Kayla’s heart. She followed closely till they got to the huge elegantly decorated living room. Dean’s house looked like a house out of a catalog. The fact that he was a kick-ass architect couldn’t be over-emphasized. The house was classically beautiful.
Dean went to the bar and poured himself a drink. He drained the glass and refilled it. Then he slowly turned around to face Kayla, who was just standing, staring at him.
“Did you do it?” Dean rasped.
Kayla remained quiet for a while. She didn’t have to ask what Dean meant by that question. She slowly shook her head. “No.” She replied quietly.
The relief that flooded through Dean was so palpable it almost left him breathless. That heavy pressure that had remained on his chest since Jean dropped the bombshell that morning, slowly loosened up. He felt such tenderness at the thought of his child, growing inside Kayla. Then pure anger reared its ugly head. Anger at Kayla for not only keeping it from him but for also attempting to destroy it. Dean however managed to look so cool and controlled that Kayla couldn’t guess the emotion running through him. From where she stood, Dean didn’t show any emotion at all… his expression remained the same.
“Why?” He asked tersely. His face, an expressionless mask as he waited for her answer.
Kayla shrugged. “I just couldn’t do it.” She said quietly.
“How is the baby?” Dean’s voice softened.
“The baby’s fine.”
“How long have you known?” Dean’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Two weeks,” Kayla responded softly.
Dean nodded. “Were you ever going to tell me? If you had gotten rid of it, would you have told me that there was even a baby?”
Kayla seemed to think about that question. She remained quiet for so long Dean thought she wasn’t going to answer. Then she again slowly shook her head and whispered;
“No.”