Crossing Paths

Chapter 19: Daddy

Copyright 2014 © Rosesareforever

Crossing Paths

Chapter 19

‘Daddy’

A towel hanging low on his hips as droplets of water still cascaded down his chest, Sedric made his way to the front door of his loft after the bell rang twice. He had no idea who’d want to see him that early in the morning, but he guessed it was urgent if it couldn’t wait until later. Without further delay, Sedric pulled the door wide open to greet his guest. His surprise was great when he noticed Jade standing in front of him, her bottom lip drawn between her teeth as she nervously shifted her weight. She looked like she hadn’t slept a wink.

“Hi,” she mumbled, her eyes focused on anything but him. Sedric got a feeling something bad was going on. It was the only explanation for Jade’s weird, anxious behavior. He stepped aside to let her enter the apartment and frowned when he took note of the folder she was carrying. Anxiety made his skin crawl, a bad feeling twisting his gut.  

“What’s that?” he asked with a frown, his eyes locked on the papers she held in her shaking hands.

Jade inhaled deeply, looked down at the papers for a moment and then handed them over. “You can read everything through before signing. It’s a generous deal for the both of us.”

Sedric’s frown deepened as he looked at Jade in confusion. What the hell was going on? Puzzled, his eyes locked on the papers in his hand in the hope of figuring out what she was talking about. It was a contract drawn up by a lawyer, a contract about the custody of a child. “What the hell is this?” Sedric bellowed, not understanding what was going on.

Biting her lip, Jade hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up. “I found out I was pregnant a few days ago. Obviously, that means our agreement is over. A child needs a stable home and we’re in no situation to be able to offer exactly that if we’re casually dating. This is a game changer. We might’ve agreed to keep seeing each other until I met the man I wanted to marry, but that’s no longer an option. I let our family lawyer draw up some papers concerning child custody. I’m sure you want to be part of your child’s life. If not, we can get the papers changed.”

Sedric stared at Jade, completely baffled. She was pregnant? Jade was carrying his baby? They were going to be parents? What should’ve been a joyful moment shared between lovers had suddenly turned into his worst nightmare. Jade was both telling him she was pregnant and breaking up with him. What the fuck? 

It was deadly quiet as Sedric recovered from the blow Jade delivered before fury took over. She’d completely knocked his sockets off with her declaration. “Are you out of your freaking mind?” he shouted, his hands shaking as he unsuccessfully tried to control his rage. “Don’t you think a child should be raised by both its parents? Don’t you want the best for your own baby?”

Jade paled at hearing his words and nervously shifted from left to right, her voice trembling. “That’s why I wanted to be co-parents. It’ll mean the baby has both its mother and father in his or her life.”

Sedric shook his head, completely perplexed. Did she really think that getting those papers drawn up was in their child’s best interest? Was she nuts? “You truly hate me, don’t you? You say you still love me, but that can’t be possible. If you loved me, you would’ve tried to make this work between us for the sake of that little peanut growing inside your belly,” Sedric stated, his hand hovering over her flat stomach. “I broke your trust and I’ll always regret that, but is it really too much to ask to at least try to learn to trust me again?”