He Always Said Yes, But Never Heard Me Until I Left Chapter 04

“I told you I wanted to break up, and I canceled the wedding. Whether you heard me or not doesn’t change my decision.”

My voice carried across the entrance. Everyone around us fell silent and turned to stare.

Reid frowned at me, his eyes fixed on my face, though his fingers were still pressed against his earbud.

When I finished speaking, he raised a hand, signaling for me to wait again.

I suddenly laughed. After all this time, I’d finally figured out how to make him listen.

I turned on Paige.

“You really can’t stand giving up my seat, can you?”

Reid immediately pulled out his earbuds.

“Why are you going after her?”

He pointed at me, his voice dropping.

“She’s been running herself ragged getting everything ready for you. What more do you want from her?”

Paige got out of the car and approached me with tears in her eyes, reaching for my hand.

“Fine, I’m the problem. I’ll ride in one of the other cars. You get in, okay? Don’t keep everyone waiting because of me.”

I shook off her hand.

But she grabbed my arm again and tried to drag me toward the car.

“Don’t touch me!”

In the struggle, I stepped on the hem of my dress, throwing Paige off balance.

Reid, who’d been watching her every move, immediately caught her and pulled her into his arms.

I fell beside the steps, a dull pain spreading through my lower back and abdomen.

With his back to me, Reid looked down and checked Paige’s hand.

“Where did you hurt yourself?”

I tried to speak, but my vision gradually went dark.

When I woke up, the smell of antiseptic filled my nose.

Reid was sitting beside my hospital bed, holding my hand. To my surprise, he looked happier than I’d seen him in a long time.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Before I could make sense of his question, he lowered his head and kissed my fingertips.

“We’re having a baby.”

The doctor explained that I was still in the very early stages of pregnancy. I hadn’t been eating or resting properly for days, and after the fall, they wanted to keep me in the hospital for observation.

Reid tucked the blanket around me.

“You hear that? You can’t keep acting like this.”

I stared at his hand, remembering how close he’d been when I fell.

The doctor asked that someone bring me a change of clothes and said I could eat something once I felt better.

Reid nodded, then immediately turned to Paige.

“You haven’t had breakfast either, have you?”

Paige held a hand over her stomach and said she wasn’t hungry.

He frowned. “You get so caught up in work that you forget to take care of yourself.”

Only then did he turn back to me.

“Just rest, baby. I’ll go get you something to eat.”

The two of them left the room together.

But I couldn’t bear the thought of our child growing up to stand in front of him one day and ask over and over, “Dad, did you hear me?”

More than an hour passed before they returned.

Paige carried a takeout bag, and there was a new bracelet around her wrist.

“We passed a jewelry counter, and Mr. Callahan insisted on getting me something. He said I’d been treated unfairly today and wanted to make it up to me.”

Reid helped me sit up.

“Eat something first.”

I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open. He held a spoonful of creamy oatmeal up to my lips.

“Paige picked it out especially for you. It’s been blended until it’s smooth. Easy to eat.”

I swallowed it, and a moment later, I recognized a faint, familiar taste.

“What did they put in this?”

“Yeah, take your time.”

I grabbed his sleeve.

“Are there peanuts in this? I can’t eat peanuts.”

Still listening through his earbuds, he absentmindedly said he knew.

Paige picked up the container and glanced at the packaging.

“I only added a little peanut butter and blended it until it was smooth. You can still taste it?”

I immediately pushed the spoon away.

The first time I’d had an allergic reaction in front of Reid, I’d ended up in the ER. Afterward, I’d even taped a list of foods I couldn’t eat to the refrigerator.

Whenever we went out to eat after that, I had to remind him all over again.

Every time, he’d said he knew.

And now, even grabbing hold of him wasn’t enough to make him pay attention.