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“Okay, just for a minute,” I said We walked silently to a wooden bench in the center of the pier that looked out over the ocean It was another of my favorite spots when I was a kid

We sat down and he said, “How are you feeling?”

“I’ well,” I said

“And the baby?”

“He’s good,” I told hi a protective arm across him

“He?” he said “It’s a boy?” I nodded I wondered if he was being polite or if he was really interested “When is he due?” he asked He seeenuinely interested

“In August,” I said

I heard hilance at his face He looked sad and I was suddenly overco that my lawyer told me not to discuss “Alex?” He looked at me God, it was hard to think when those eyes were on my face I sed the lump that had built up in nancy test there for you to find”

He wrinkled his brow and stared at est time before he said, “Why did you leave it?”

Taking a deep breath I said, “I’d been really sick in the ht I just had the flu My cycles hadn’t been regular and ed ht be pregnant I had woken up thatover it As you know, Jason had just broken up with me and I wondered what I would do and what he would say if I were pregnant At that point… since you and I had only been together that one tiht the test on one for the day so I used your private bathrooht Karen called me away from my work and then you came home early and I was just never able to retrieve it”

“How do you know that the baby is not Jason’s?” he asked me It was a fair question

“For a couple of ether, Jason had been really stressed at work… at least that was the excuse he gave me I was super busy ork and school… It had been at least two ether in that way by that day that you and I were I would have been further along if it was his I only really realized that later on, after you served me with the papers and locked me out of the mansion” Okay, the last part was intended to wound He’d hurt et, he winced

“So you didn’t intend on telling me at all?” he asked

“I don’t know, Alex I didn’t have the chance to get that far Your reaction was quite unexpected… and frankly, insulting”

“Insulting?” he asked Did he really not understand how it could be?

“Of course Wouldn’t you be insulted if so a trap for the to milk money from them?”

“Woht, but s that weren’t okay either and you couldn’t hold it against them all collectively