The Conspiracy of Baby-Switching novel Chapter 75

I stare at his back; he can't even look at me.

"And then I did, but when I healed, I healed different. I'm not the same

girl anymore, Gabriel, and I don't know how to get her back, it's like I'm dead inside."

His head drops.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "Don't hate me..."

His head rises as if angered. "Touché."

I screw up my face in tears and he walks through the back door without looking back.

The door clicks shut with a sharp snap. "I'm sorry," I whisper to the empty room. "But you have no one to blame but yourself."

The alarm goes off seemingly two minutes after I finally fell asleep, and I turn it off with force. I lie for a moment and stare at the ceiling as I try to collect my bearings.

Did that actually happen last night, or did I dream the whole thing?

Ugh...I drag myself out of bed and walk into the bathroom to see the wild monster staring back at me.

The homewrecker.

I'm not proud of myself or my actions on Saturday night, I should never have slept with him when I knew he had hopes for us. But in my defense I had told him time and again that I didn't want anything with him going forward, he just didn't listen.

Saturday night was never planned, it just happened...when he accosted me in the bathroom in the middle of the night.

It wasn't exactly fucking romantic.

He knew exactly what he was doing, he used my physical attraction to him against me, made it impossible for me to stop. His fingers were already deep inside me before I could even think of a protest, by then my body had taken over from my brain. I will not take the blame for this.

No...this is on him.

I tie up my hair and turn on the shower. It's going to be a long day. I'm exhausted already.

I put the lunchboxes into the schoolbags. "Come on, guys, we have to leave,"

I call. "We're going to be late."

Lucia takes her schoolbag from the counter.

"Go and wait out the front, I'll be out in a second."

She walks out the front door. "Hi," she gasps excitedly. "Mom, Dad's here."

Even Dom seems excited.

"Sure."

Dom runs inside to get his schoolbag and Lucia kisses me goodbye and then walks down to Gabriel's car to wait.

"Are you okay?" I ask him. "I know last night was awkward, but we really are better off as friends."

"Don't talk to me."

My face falls. "What, why?"

"Because I'm not interested in anything you have to say." He turns and walks down the steps to his car.

Dominic comes out with his little backpack on and kisses me goodbye.

"Have a good day, sweetheart." I fake a smile.

I watch them get into the car and drive away, and just like that they're gone...with him. He's going to get nasty, I can just feel it.

This could be the beginning of the end.