Chapter 506

• “We are in this together. I won’t sit back and let you deal with all this alone, Bambina. I’ll take care of you every step of the way. I’ll be the guy who gets up and feeds the baby while you sleep, and I’ll change the nappies and take care of mom the best I can. Trust me with this. Trust that I would never leave you to do this alone, even if you decide you don’t want me back.” He kisses me on the nose, and my heart melts at the way he always grounds me; a thought creeps, and I instantly go cold.
• “But this won’t be your first child, Jake. Marissa will give birth before I do and ruin another thing in my life. Your time will be split … between us, between the children, so you can’t promise me anything.” Tears run down my cheeks, and I pull away from him, anger rising again at the thought of him and her, that horrible stomach-churning vision of his mouth on hers, always lingering to make me ache physically. I slide away from him and cross my arms across my chest, glaring at him, daring him to try to come near me because his touch is abhorrent, and I’m spring-loaded for an attack. Having that bitch in my head makes sure of it, and this feeling here is as close to hate as I could ever feel for him.
• He watches intensely for a moment before sliding back against the tub and resting himself against it. He knows when to choose his battles. He’s annoyingly good at reading me sometimes, yet other times as brain-dead an idiot as you could possibly get to what I’m thinking.