Congrats, ‘Daddy’! Just Kidding—My BFF Stole You, I Got the Abortion Chapter 04

Congrats, ‘Daddy’! Just Kidding—My BFF Stole You, I Got the Abortion Chapter 04

I kept asking for three days straight before he finally told me.

“When you were five months pregnant. I was busy helping Joelle get her company ready to go public. You were handling everything alone

“Joelle lost her shit when she found out you were pregnant. Thought if you had a kid, I’d never leave you. She’d never get her chance.”

“So she swapped out your prenatal vitamins.”

“The day you started bleeding and got rushed to the hospital. I was at her birthday party.”

“By the time they got you into surgery, you’d already lost the baby. You were seven months along. Could see her little face on the ultrasound.”

“It was a girl.”

“You named her. Harper.”

My hand went to my stomach.

Nothing showing yet, but this baby was real.

4 a.m., I drove myself to a private clinic,

“I need to terminate this pregnancy.”

“Ms. Sloane, you’re three months along. The fetus is healthy. You sure?”

I closed my eyes. “Yeah.”

After it was done, I folded up the ultrasound and stuck it in my pocket.

That afternoon I put my parents on a flight to Florida.

Dad tapped my nose, smiling. “You said this was just a little vacation. Why do you look like someone died?”

“I don’t. Just gonna miss you guys.” I tried to smile back.

Watched them go through security, watched them disappear. Then I crouched down right there and cried.

That night I walked into Holden’s place one last time.

He was on the couch with some financial reports spread out. Looked up when I walked in.

“Hey, you’re back.”

I sat down. Just looked at him.

“Holden… if I just took off one day, what would you do?”

He dropped the papers. Both hands came up holding my face

“What? Where would you even go? Ed track you down. Doesn’t matter where.

He kissed my nose. Voice so sure of huselt

“Sloane, don’t leave me

Then pulled me in close. my face pressed against his neck

e had no idea–this was the last time I’d ever let him hold me.

I wasn’t gonna let him find me.

at morning I drove out to this cliff overlook off PCH.

Where Holden first told me he liked me eight years ago.

ok off the ring, flipped it so the engraving was facing up, and set it on the railing.

one next to it. Still had the last thing I sent to future Holden pulled up:

Thanks for telling me everything.”

then took off my shoes, lined them up right at the edge.

That evening Holden got a call from the Coast Guard.

You know a Sloane? We think she’s in trouble.”

What? What happened? Where is she?!”

He drove there like a maniac.

The whole way his brain was spinning.

The past few days–Sloane acting weird. Suddenly visiting her parents. Last night saying that strange shit.

The way she looked at him changed too. Like she was testing him.

But he didn’t think much of it.

Figured it was just pre–wedding nerves. Thought it’d pass.

When she asked what would you do if I disappeared, he thought she was just being dramatic.

Turns out it was goodbye. And he didn’t even hear it.

When he got to the cliff, all he saw were her shoes.

The ring sitting on the railing, J&H engraved clear as day in the sunset.

He picked it up, stared at the engraving, confused as hell.

His hand holding the ring wouldn’t stop shaking.

then dropped to his knees by the railing.

Just then her phone rang.

Video call.

He picked it up, barely thinking, and answered.

A face appeared on screen. His own face.

His Drain short circuited.

What the fuck was happening?

Why did the ring say J&H?

What pushed her to this cliff?