Congrats, ‘Daddy’! Just Kidding—My BFF Stole You, I Got the Abortion Chapter 06

Congrats, ‘Daddy’! Just Kidding—My BFF Stole You, I Got the Abortion Chapter 06

He turned around and went to the detention center.

Joelle sat in the visiting room. Saw him walk in, voice totally calm.

“You know Sloane was pregnant?”

He went completely still.

“What?”

“She was pregnant. Three months.”

Joelle looked at his pale face, gave this bitter smile.

“When I showed up at the studio, I saw her ultrasound sitting in her bag. Total accident.”

She kept going.

“I was already figuring out how to make her lose that baby.”

“But she beat me to it.”

“Before she took off, she went to some clinic herself. I checked. She got rid of it on her own.”

The room went dead

quiet.

All Holden could hear was this ringing in his head.

She’d been pregnant. With his kid.

Had to be future him who told her something.

It was him. Using lies. Scaring the shit out of

er. Made her give up and get rid of their baby.
He walked out of the detention center, crouched on the curb.

Hands on his knees, whole body shaking.

1

Right then his phone buzzed.de from the PI firm he’d b

“Her rental dropped off

in

some

town outside Tampa.”

He didn’t sit around feeling sorry f

himself.

hired.

Got in his car. Drove straight the

Day and a night.

Cops traced her to the city. After that? Nothing.

He had to wing it. Started going street by street.

Day eleven, spotted this little studio that just opened on some old block.

Knew that design on the sign right away.

He stood across the street. Looked through the window and saw her.

she’d chopped her hair short. Bent over a drawing board working on something.

MRFF Stole You, I Got the Abortion

He just stood there, holding that ring in his pocket–the one that only said “H” now. Tears running down his face.

But she happened to look up and saw him.

We locked eyes across the street.

Seeing him again, I felt nothing.

This man had nothing to do with me anymore.

I just put down my pencil, walked to the window.

Pulled the blinds down one slat at a time.

Left to right, light to dark.

The last slat fell, shutting him out completely.

The day the lawyer brought the documents to my studio door, I stared at them for a long time.

“Ms. Sloane, Mr. Holden has asked us to return all original design copyright files to you. Please sign here.”

Every design file had the original timestamp and my signature.

He’d used legal means to return everything Joelle stole.

I signed for it.

A week later, Dad got an anonymous call saying a top cardiac team was willing to fly over for a checkup and surgical evaluation.

All expenses covered.

I knew who arranged it.

Day of the surgery I waited upstairs for five hours.

After it went through, Mom called. Said there was this car she recognized sitting downstairs. Been there since morning.

I just said, “Got it.”

Holden put out this public statement about the studio mess.

Didn’t try to cover his ass. Didn’t use that future bullshit to take all the blame either.

Just wrote what actually happened: “My money got used by someone else to rip off designs. Wasn’t me doing it, but I should’ve been paying attention.”

After that dropped, his reputation took a massive hit.

One night he went to see Dad.

Dad didn’t mess around.

“Holden, I don’t know what went down between you and Sloane, She won’t tell me, so I’m not asking.”

“But she’s my kid. Whatever call she makes, I’m backing her.”

Silence. Then Dad sighed

“Twenty years ago you were only six. Her mom and I treated you like a son. Even now I can’t completely see you as an outsider. But when it comes to Sloane, I only listen to her.”

Holden wanted to say something, but swallowed it.

Just called out to Dad as he was leaving.

“Sir, I’m ab

omething*

the real story. Different from what Sloane knows. I’m not trying to get her to forgive me. Just think she deserves to know the

Patted his shoulder and left.