“Oh, he’ll definitely want to talk to me,” Milan said, that superior smirk back on her face as she unbuttoned her long jacket. She placed her hand on a small, but discernible, baby bump. “He’s going to be a father.”

Fuck. My. Life.

I stared at her stomach for a long moment, willing it to just go away, but no such luck. She laughed then, an ugly, humorless sound, and said, “I’m not going away, Blaire.” She spat my name like it was distasteful. “So, you might as well let me up.”

I tried to swallow the fearful lump that had formed in my throat and said, “I’ll talk to him. You wait here.”

“Make sure to tell Daddy Axel the good news, won’t you?” she cooed, winking at me as I picked up the box and headed for the elevator.

Oh my God, I did not like that bitch at all. All of my bravado disappeared as soon as the elevator doors closed, and I felt hot tears stinging the insides of my eyelids. We’re finally back together. We’re so in love. I marched slowly to the apartment door—like I was headed to my own execution—and inserted my key. Before I could even turn it, Axel swung the door open. He grabbed the box and set it aside quickly before pulling me into his arms.

“I missed you, baby. Do you have any idea what I’m going to do to you tonight?” he growled as he bit the side of my neck. At my lack of response, he pulled back and looked at my face, concern filling his blue eyes. “What’s wrong, Bear?”

“M-M-Milan,” I managed to stammer through the tears that insisted on pouring down my face.

“Fuck. Is she still down there? I told Vincent to get rid of her. I have no idea what the fuck she’s doing here, Blaire. Or how she even found me.”

“She came to deliver some good news,” I said bitterly. “She says she’s pregnant with your baby.”

Axel staggered back a few steps, releasing me from his arms as his face contorted with horror. “No. No. That can’t be right.” He was shaking his head wildly from side to side. “I used condoms, Blaire. Every fucking time. I swear.”

“Yeah, and you got me pregnant while I was on the pill,” I shot back. “Did you use your own condoms, or did she provide them?” I asked, blown away that I was even having this conversation with him.

“I, uh, I used mine at my apartment, but she had a box at her house for when we were, um, together there.” I gave him a pointed look, and he shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t sabotage condoms. She wouldn’t do that. She knew we were casual. She didn’t want anything serious.”