Page 99 of The Betrayal

I finally let myself out of my head, then my face falls and I lose myself in my book for just a while, well, long enough for me to let the minutes slip by.

I am so desperate to talk to my friends about it, but I can't. The only one I could talk to is Kaleb but honestly, I don't want to. I don't know why, but I feel judged by him. He has always been so put together. He was never a playboy, a drunk, a loose cannon... he was level-headed and grounded. His job was everything to him, dedicated his life to it until Connie. He always swore off love after watching my mom and dad's shit show of a marriage, whereas believe it or not, when I was a kid, I wanted to be married and have the big family. But as I got older, that dwindled to nothing, The thought of starting a family scared me. I am just grateful I never had kids with Satan. That would have been a disaster. Marriage ruined me... until it didn't.

I married Arizona King. Sure, it wasn't ideal, but it felt pretty damn perfect and that factored with the twins... well, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

I had it all.

The dream that I once wished for that dwindled to nothing for years was slowly turning back to the way I always wanted it, where now, suddenly, I felt like I was going to lose it all again and I had no idea why.

The minutes slip by and she walks into the living room like a god damn goddess dressed in a soft white dress with knee high heeled boots. Black knitted jacket thrown over her arm, bag hooked over her shoulder.

“Hey,” she smiles, and I let my eyes do one last sweep over her body.

“Hey,” I stand slowly, placing my book down and closing the gap between us in four long strides. Four strides too long in my opinion. “You look beautiful as always,” I lean in, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. She smells delicious too. Fresh apples and elderflower and all I want to do is sink my teeth into her skin.

“You don't look too bad yourself hubby,” she winks, stepping away and walking towards the door.

Hubby. I liked that a little too much.

I follow her out like a lost dog, not looking back as we walk along the sidewalk. My hand skims round her back as I gently move her over to the inside of the sidewalk so I can walk closer to the road. The urge to protect her is too strong. She gives a sweet smile, dimples presenting themselves in her cheeks.

“You excited?” she asks me, slipping her hand inside mine and everything feels right in that moment and the doom that once stormed deep inside of me slowly melted away with every step we took hand in hand.

“I am, a little nervous too,” I admit, my heart heavy for just a moment.

“Don't be nervous. Everything will be perfect.”

It didn't take us long to get to the Doctors office and I kind of wished it did. The walk was too short. I wanted to walk it three times over just so I could enjoy a little more of us time. Buzzing us in, we walk past the reception where Ari checked in. My eyes scanned round the waiting room, looking at the posters on the wall. Mad to think this will be us in a few short months. Two babies to love and cherish. Me and Kaleb didn't have the best childhood, but I was going to make sure I tried my hardest to give my children the best damn childhood. That's the thing when you come from a shitty background, you vow to never put anyone through what you had. You constantly try to do better. Sure, I am a sarcastic selfish prick when I want to be, but I still have a heart that beats and a body that bleeds. I still care. Deep, deep, down in the crevices of my heart is the light. Arizona is slowly pickaxing away at the ice that surrounds the warmth, edging closer and closer to finally releasing me from my iced heart.

“Arizona King.”

I lean across to her, my lips pressed against her ear, “You need to change your name to Mills.” A smile slips across her lips before we stand at the same time, fingers brushing as we walk closer towards the brown-haired doctor.

“Hi,” Ari says as the doctor steps aside, letting her walk into the room with me following. Nerves cripple me but so does excitement.

“Nice to see you again, how are you doing?” the doctor asks as she sits at her desk, Ari and me taking our seats and my face is turned towards her, eyes watching as she speaks to the doctor, answering her question.

“I feel okay, still some sickness lingering of a morning.”

“That should ease off in the next few weeks,” she gives Ari a warm smile before her eyes lock on me. “And you must be Keaton?” I blink a couple of times.

“Yeah,” I'm a little hesitant as I answer.

She constantly smiles, this woman. I haven't seen her lips turn down once.

“Nice to meet you, I'm doctor Kyra. Just in case you hadn't realized,” her eyes fall to the name plaque on her desk.

I nod. What am I meant to say back to that?

“Okay, another round of bloods today and scan. What do you want first?” her fingers lock as she focuses on Arizona.

“Bloods,” I watch as she rolls her lips and my hand slips onto her lap, rubbing my palms over her thigh.

Kyra pushes a button on her phone and an older nurse walks through a door to the side, pushing her trolley through with a tray topped with everything she needs.

I'm not queasy, but there is something about drawing blood that doesn't sit right with me. It makes my stomach flip before bottoming out and my skin goes clammy.

“You okay?” Ari looks at me concerned as she shrugs her cardigan off, and letting the nurse get to the veins in the crease of her elbow.