Alone (Bone Secrets, #4)(30)

“You knew she had that baby girl?”

Victoria nodded, unease creeping up her spine. A shrill voice inside her head started to scream. No, Seth, no! The baby had been born about a month after Victoria and Seth had gotten together.

“The baby is mine. I didn’t know. She always swore it was Pete’s. He finally had a paternity test, and Eden isn’t his daughter. They’ve broken up and now she says Eden is mine.” His eyes pleaded with her, begging her not to judge him.

Victoria breathed out a sigh of relief, stress flooding out of her body. “She’s lying. Of course she says it’s your baby, but that doesn’t mean that it is! We’ll get you tested and prove that she’s lying to you just like she lied to the other guy.” The words rushed out of her mouth.

A false alarm.

Seth was shaking his head. “No, I already had a test done. She told me last week, and I immediately thought the same as you. I laughed it off and went to have my blood drawn here in town. Her doctor called me with the results last night.” He crushed her fingers. “I haven’t slept since she called; I’ve had to figure out what to do.”

Victoria tried to pull her hands away. “What do you mean, what to do? You don’t have to do anything. She dumped you. She chose another guy over you. Why do you need to fix this?” Clanging bells pealed in Victoria’s brain.

This isn’t happening.

“You don’t understand. I can’t abandon the baby. We need to be together to raise her.”

The pounding sounds in her head escalated. “You don’t have to abandon the baby. You can be there for the baby. You might be the biological father, but Jennifer ruined any relationship the two of you could have together,” Victoria whispered. “She cut the ties. Why start again with her?”

“She wants me in the baby’s life.”

“Of course she does. You’re the money. You can support them. She’s panicked because this other guy has left her and now she doesn’t know where to turn. You’re a great guy. Any woman is going to want you to be the father of her baby!” Her voice rose and people turned to stare, but she didn’t care. She could feel Seth slipping from her and she had to stop it. Her inner foundation rocked, crumbling.

Misery radiated from his face. “Tori, I’ve made up my mind. I told you what my father did to my mother and me. I can’t do that to a child.”

“But Seth—”

“I told you, I have to do this. It’s the right thing to do. I won’t let a kid grow up wondering why her father isn’t with her.”

“You can still be a part of this child’s life—”

“No. I have to be there. I never had a man in my life until my uncle came along. I’ve told you the difference he made for me growing up. I can do that for my daughter. Eden is my daughter.” Amazement touched his eyes as he said the words. “I have a daughter, Tori, and the most important thing is that she grows up feeling loved and wanted. I can provide that.”

“But what about Jennifer?”

“We can make it work. We did once.”

Every connection between them snapped in half, stinging Victoria. “You’re dumping me for a woman who left you? Who cheated on you? What about medical school?”

“I’m applying to the University of Arizona.”

“That’s not Stanford. It won’t be the same,” Victoria argued.

“It doesn’t matter. I can go to medical school and Jennifer can still be near her family, who will help us raise the baby.”

What about me? What about us? Victoria shrieked in her head. She stared at Seth. She couldn’t say the words out loud. What weight did an eight-month relationship have versus a baby? And Seth’s issues about his father’s history were heavy on his mind. They always had been.

He’s leaving you. He’s walking out on you. Exactly what Jennifer did to him.

“You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re choosing an unknown over everything we’ve planned together.” She grasped at straws. The look on his face said there was no changing his mind.

“School gets out in six weeks. I’m going back to Arizona for good,” he stated.

Victoria stared at him. His eyes were dead. The life and love that usually shone from them had vanished. How had he changed overnight? Was this the true Seth?

“I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

“How am I not to see you when you’re a TA in my class?”

He winced. “I’ve asked the professor if it’s okay if I’m not present for lectures. I’ll be working out of his office more.”

He’s already made plans how to avoid me.

Her shoulders slumped under the colossal weight. Seth had already emotionally disconnected from her and made the necessary plans to cut her from his life. Her stomach heaved and she swallowed hard. She could cry. She could break down right here in public and make a scene. She wasn’t that type of woman. If this man no longer wanted to be with her, she was going to let him go. She wasn’t going to humble herself as a ploy to keep him from his daughter.

“Why here?” she whispered. “Why did you have to do it in public?”

He shifted in his seat, guilt flooding his face. “I couldn’t do it at one of our places. If we were alone and things got too emotional, I was afraid…”