“I love you, Jake,” I moan, and my head falls back as he thrusts deep into my sex. I never imagined it would be like this. Feel like this. I’ve surrendered my entire being to him, and with each stroke of his cock, I lose myself to him even more. “Oh god, Jake, I’m—I can’t—I’m going to—” My walls clench around him, and I dig my nails deep into his flesh as my orgasm blasts through me. I climax, holding him close, and he whispers his love for me just before his own release. His brows tight, his hands grip my hips as he powers into me until he’s groaning out my name.
He falls on top of me, our hearts beating rapidly against one another. I’m still riding the highs of what we shared, enjoying the simple touch of his fingers grazing up and down my sides. When his breathing labors out, he slowly lifts his head to assess my mood.
“You okay?” He tucks a piece of hair away from my face.
My lips curl into an upward smile. “I’m perfect.” His muffled laugh vibrates against my neck as he presses wet kisses along my skin. “You are perfect. And that was perfect. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fantasized about having you this way. It was better than any fantasy.”
I lift up and capture his lips, savoring this moment. The taste of his mouth. The feel of him wrapped around me. I fight the reality of what awaits us and focus on the rhythmic beating of his heart, the long strokes of his tongue against mine, but eventually, my mind wins over.
Jake senses the change in me and pulls away as the first tear falls. “Why the tears?” he asks, and I turn my head away, needing them to stop. He pulls me back. “What’s wrong. Do you regret—?”
“Oh, God no. That was just…it was everything. I’ve wanted you since I knew how to love. When you left me the first time—”
“Willa, I didn’t leave you.”
“I know. But it didn’t hurt any less. I’d never felt so alone, and my heart broke every time I had to watch you go. But now, after this…I can’t fathom being apart. We’ll see each. Once I’m at school and you’re doing your residency, we’ll be close enough to—”
“Willa—”
“We can be to—”
“Jakey? Jakey, dear, are you out here?” We both freeze at the sound of his mother’s voice.
“Shit.” He climbs off me, and we quickly dress. “Hide inside the closet. I’ll go out first and get rid of her. You follow a few minutes later.” There’s no time for a goodbye. A kiss. A second to remember this moment. He’s out the door, greeting his mother. A second voice sounds, and my heart burns as it cracks in two.
Rebecca.
“There you are, honey. They’re ready to give a speech and serve cake. We need the guest of honor.” Their voices fade, and I slide down the wall, holding my knees to my chest, fighting back tears. I hate how cruel life can be. How unfair this world is. I grip my knees, inhaling a slow breath to gather myself, holding on to the fact that soon, our destiny will fall into place. We will be together, and they will no longer stand in our way. Finally, we will have our happily ever after.
Chapter Three
Three weeks later
This can’t be happening. I take a deep breath, inhaling through my nose, and exhaling through my mouth. I can do this. I can do this. Or not. Running back to my bathroom, I vomit for the third time today. As I brush my teeth, banging sounds against my door—the knock of my furious mother. I was supposed to be downstairs thirty minutes ago. Today, we leave for school.
“What in heaven’s name is taking you so long? My word, the world doesn’t just wait for you—oh good lord, what are you doing on the bathroom floor in that dress? Have some respect for couture. Get up.”
I try, but my stomach turns, and I hide my head in the toilet bowl and throw up again. “For goodness sake, what’s wrong with you now? If this is another stunt to stall us leaving, I swear to it, Willa, I will dump you with a driver, and he can take you. Get up.”
“I can’t,” I moan, a Tilt-a-Whirl ride happening in my stomach. “I don’t feel well. Something I ate—” Another round of harsh vomit expels up my throat. Anger seeps off her in waves, and I decide right now is not the best time to confess I’m sick because I’m pregnant. When she turns away, I slide the test under my dress.
“You ate the same thing we did.” The heat of her disappointing stare burns at my back. “You inconvenience us all. I’ll let your father know to go on with his meetings. We’ll send for a driver to take you tomorrow. By God, Willa, pull it together.” And she walks away.
“Ughhh,” I groan into the toilet as I flush, then wash out my mouth again and crawl back into bed. I take out my phone and dial Jake’s number for the millionth time, but it goes straight to voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. Where are you? Please call me. We need to talk.” The same voicemail I’ve left every time. All have gone unanswered. My stomach turns again. Gripping my belly, I curl into the fetal position, hoping the sickness passes.
I need to talk to Jake.
He left the guest house without another glance my way, and it was the last I saw of him. He was gone when I returned to the party, and when I walked over to say goodbye in the morning, I was shooed away by his mother, who said he’d already left.
“What do you mean he already left?” I ask, my eyes wide with confusion. He wouldn’t leave without saying—
“Oh dear, he left last night. So eager, my Jakey is. He and Rebecca just couldn’t wait to get started on their new journey.” Her sickly-sweet smile causes knots to form in my stomach.
“Rebecca? I…I don’t understand.”
“France, dear.”
I sway to the right and grab onto the doorframe to keep steady. “France? I thought he was doing his residency in—”
Mrs. DuPont waves me off. “Honey, those were just the stepping stone plans. His father has made sure his future is even more promising.”
We weren’t going to be close to each other and away from our parents once I went to school. Because he was doing his residency in France. Along with Rebecca. I felt the wind being knocked out of me as she smiled once again, wished me well at school, then left for her yoga class. He left for France and never told me. With her. My tears shed in horrid waves down my face as I ran home, threw myself onto my bed, and sobbed. He made promises that night. He said we would still be together. But did he? Or were those just the words that fell from your naive lips? Everything I confessed, looking back, he had the chance to tell me. But he let me fall into this belief we had finally found our path to one another. All along, he knew…
It’s been three weeks since that night—twenty-one days since I last heard from him. I try to bury the worry that he’s avoiding me. I refuse to allow myself to believe he regrets what we shared. Maybe he had his reasons for keeping the truth from me. He was protecting me. But why hasn’t he called? Returned any of my desperate pleas to speak to him? For three weeks, I’ve obsessed over it. Over him. Waited for him to call. A simple text. But nothing. He’s become a ghost. I’ve pushed off leaving for school as long as I can. And seeing how angry my mother is, I know I’ve used my last excuse. It’s now or never. It’s time to confess a secret I’ve been harboring.