Page 94 of A King’s Obsession

She looked down at her hands.

I closed my eyes for a second. “Girl. What if you get pregnant?” The question came out sharper than I meant it to, and I regretted it the second I saw her expression.

“Please, Ashlynn. I can’t think about that right now.” Her voice broke again, and she wiped angrily at her face. “I already feel stupid enough.”

I swallowed everything else I wanted to say and moved closer, taking her hand. “Okay. Talk to me.” Whatever I thought about the situation could wait. Right now, she needed her friend.

“He knew why I waited, Ashlynn. I told him I didn’t want to end up like my mama, giving myself to men who didn’t give a fuck. I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to be married.” She covered her mouth, fighting to keep herself together before lowering her hand again. “And I changed my mind because I trusted him.”

I couldn’t look away from her.

“Trusting somebody doesn’t make you stupid,” I told her, squeezing her hand.

“Then why do I feel like this?” She drew a shaky breath, her eyes filling again. “Some woman called him this morning. He acted like it wasn’t shit. Tonight, I go upstairs, and she’s in his office wearing lingerie.”

“Was he—” I started, trying to figure out exactly what she'd walked in on.

“He was telling her to leave. I heard him. But then he said he was married.” Her eyes met mine, and the hurt in them nearly took me out. “He told me yes when I asked. Friend, this whole time.”

My stomach rolled so hard I barely got my hand over my mouth.

I made it to the bathroom, dropped to my knees and threw up. Behind me, Jru followed, her hurt giving way to alarm.

“Ashlynn? Girl, are you okay?” She crouched beside me, reaching for my hair before I could answer.

She gathered my hair off my neck while I leaned over the toilet. When it finally stopped, I reached blindly toward the counter.

“Hand me that towel,” I managed, keeping my eyes closed while I waited for the room to stop spinning.

She passed it to me and rubbed my back. I wiped my mouth, flushed, then sat against the cabinet with my eyes closed.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she asked softly, kneeling beside me with her hand still resting against my back. “You sick?”

I looked up at her worried face and couldn’t dodge another question.

“Fuck it. Cat’s out the bag, bitch. This nigga got me knocked up.” I let my head fall back against the cabinet, waiting for her reaction.

Jru’s hand stopped on my back.

“You’re pregnant?” Her eyes widened behind her glasses, and for a second, she looked like she'd forgotten everything that had brought her over here.

I nodded.

“And we married.” I lifted my left hand before she could ask another question.

She sat down on the bathroom floor.

“Bitch.” She stared at me like I had just announced I'd been living a whole second life.

“I know.” I gave her a weak smile.

“Pregnant and married?” Her gaze dropped to my ring again, then returned to my face.

I lifted my left hand. She stared at the ring, then at me.

“How the fuck you skipped both announcements?” she demanded, looking genuinely offended that I'd managed to keep two things that big from her.

I laughed, and it came out shaky. “I found out I was pregnant right before I showed you the shop. Then he asked me to marry him. We went to the courthouse, and afterward I told him about the baby. Everything happened fast as fuck.”