Contract Marriage: I Will Never Love You-Chapter 73: Be With Me

Back then...

Matthew

I get to Sarah’s apartment at 3 pm sharp, just like she asked me to.

I have a feeling I know exactly what this is about. She is probably going to beg me and try to convince me not to get back together with Amanda again.

But today, I will tell Sarah that there is no point in chasing after me. That Amanda and I are getting back together

I told her the truth. Sarah and I work together. That she’s been a friend. I don’t even remember sleeping with her.

I didn’t mention the boat, or the way Sarah looks at me across conference tables, or how, sometimes, when she laughs, I forget why I’m fighting so hard to fix things with Amanda.

The doorman nods as I enter Sarah’s building. The elevator ride up gives me time to prepare what I’m going to say. I need to be firm but kind. I need to make her understand that whatever happened between us was a mistake, a moment of weakness during a rough patch with Amanda.

Sarah opens the door before I can knock. She’s wearing a simple sundress, hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She looks softer somehow, more vulnerable.

"Come in," she says, her voice quiet. There’s something in her tone that makes me uneasy.

I follow her into the living room, taking a seat on the leather couch while she pours two glasses of water.

"How did it go with Amanda?" she asks, handing me a glass.

I take a sip, buying time. "She’s still hurt, but we had a good talk."

Sarah nods, perching on the edge of the armchair across from me. Her fingers twist in her lap. I’ve never seen her nervous before.

"Matthew, I need to tell you something," she says.

"Me too, Sarah. I had a long talk with Amanda and I think we are going to get back together. Whatever happened between us..." ƒгeewёbnovel.com

"I’m pregnant," she interrupts me.

The water glass nearly slips from my hand. "What?"

"I’m pregnant," she repeats, her voice stronger now. "About four weeks along. It’s yours."

The room seems to tilt sideways.

"That’s... that’s impossible," I stammer.

"Is it?" she says with a small shrug. "We slept together."

"I don’t even remember doing that!" I shout.

Sarah flinches but doesn’t back down. "You don’t remember, but I do," she says, her voice low but steady.

I stand up, running both hands through my hair. I feel like I’m being pulled underwater, like I can’t breathe. "Why didn’t you say anything earlier? Why now?"

"I wasn’t sure," she says. "But now I am. I took the test yesterday. And I thought... I thought you deserved to know."

I stare at her, feeling sick. The talk I’d planned, the speech about moving on and going back to Amanda—it all vanishes in the haze of panic and disbelief.

This changes everything.

Then Sarah says softly, "I’m keeping the baby, Matthew. You don’t have to be involved if you don’t want to."

But that’s the thing—how could I not be? How could I turn my back on this, even if it feels like the whole world is slipping through my fingers?

"I know this is a shock," she says.

A shock? It’s a goddamn earthquake. My entire life plan, crumbling before my eyes.

"I need to see the test," I say, my voice hollow.

Sarah nods, disappearing into the bathroom. I sink back onto the couch, my head in my hands. Amanda’s face flashes through my mind—how am I going to tell her? Just when we were finding our way back to each other.

Sarah returns with a plastic stick, holding it out to me. There it is: two pink lines, unmistakable. My stomach drops as I take it from her, examining it as if I might find some flaw, some evidence this isn’t real.

"You can’t avoid this, Matthew," she says.

I look up at her. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Be with me," she breathes.

It feels like a trap, even though her voice is soft, almost pleading. It feels like I’m being pulled in a direction I never agreed to go.

"Sarah..." I start, but I don’t even know where I’m going with it. My voice dies in my throat.

She steps closer, kneeling down in front of me so we’re eye level. "I know what we had wasn’t planned. I know you still love Amanda. But you can’t leave me now that I’m having your baby."

I shake my head, staring at the test in my hand. "We don’t even have a relationship. We were coworkers. Friends at best. And now suddenly you’re asking me to—do what?"

She flinches. "I’m asking you to step up. To choose to be here, with me."

A flash of heat rises in my chest. "You haven’t even tried to see what this does to me!" I snap. I can’t be with someone just because she’s having my baby. That’s not fair to you. Or the kid."

"So you will just walk away and go back to your perfect life with Amanda?" she snaps.

I know I can’t do that. I am not the kind of man who could walk away from this.

I sigh. "Alright. I will be with you."

"You will?" she finally whispers, as if afraid to believe it.

I nod slowly. "Yeah. I can’t abandon you. Or the baby."

Her green eyes light up. "You will be with me then?"

"Yes," I say, not knowing this was the worst decision I’ve ever made.

Sarah leans in, her eyes shining with unshed tears of victory. She moves closer, her hands reaching up to frame my face.

"Matthew," she whispers. "You won’t regret this. I promise."

But I already do. The weight of my decision sits heavy in my chest, a stone I can’t dislodge.

Sarah’s eyes flutter closed as she eliminates the last inches between us. Her lips find mine, soft and insistent. She kisses me like she’s claiming territory, like she’s marking what now belongs to her.

I kiss her back because I have to, because I’ve just promised to be with her, to raise a child with her. My lips move mechanically against hers, my hands resting limply at her waist instead of pulling her closer. The passion I should feel, the desire that should be coursing through me—it’s all absent, replaced by a hollow resignation.

She doesn’t seem to notice, or she doesn’t care.

When she finally pulls back, she is smiling.

"I’ve wanted this for so long," she murmurs.