The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 5

A child...

The pain hit Petty so hard it felt like her whole body was splitting apart. It was sharp, cold, and it went all the way through her bones.

She still remembered that night near the end of last spring. Franco had gotten drunk and wandered into her room by mistake. She could never forget how, in the middle of everything, he pressed close and whispered her name right next to her ear. Petty. Just once, soft and rough at the same time.

That was the night she got pregnant.

Things changed between her and Franco after that. Not in any obvious way. He still disappeared for days at a time, but suddenly there was a nutritionist making sure she ate right, someone checking on her every meal. For a while, she let herself believe this was the start of something good.

But then winter came. She was eight months pregnant when the doctor told her the baby’s heart had stopped beating. Just like that, it was over. She had to go through delivery knowing there was no life at the end of it.

The hospital staff wouldn’t even let her see the baby, worried it would break her completely. She never got to say goodbye. Never got to hold his tiny hand. After that, no one ever mentioned children in front of her. It became this silent, empty space in her heart, a place nobody dared to go.

Now, just hearing the word again, it felt like falling straight into ice water.

Someone was coming up the stairs. The footsteps were light, careful. It was a maid. “Petty.”

Petty blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. She wiped her eyes and picked up the tray, stepping into the room.

The conversation stopped on a dime. Adelaide’s eyes landed on her, full of pity and regret. If she’d known Petty was nearby, she never would have brought up the baby.

Adelaide looked over at Franco, probably hoping he’d do something, maybe offer a little comfort. But Franco just stood there, cold and distant, barely glancing at Petty before leaving the room without a word.

After Adelaide finally fell asleep, Petty checked her temperature again to make sure the fever was really gone, then slipped out into the hallway.

Tonight, Adelaide had told her and Franco to stay at the White Estate. The butler had been ordered to personally walk her back to the suite that had been set up as a wedding gift all those years ago. It was in a small building by itself, just for the two of them.

She was barely holding it together. Last night, one of the men who’d attacked her had kicked her leg—three times, if she counted right. He’d put everything he had into it, like he wanted to break her. Two more hits like that and she’d probably never walk right again.

Once the police caught those bastards, she’d make sure they paid for what they did.

“Should I come over and carry you myself?”

The voice came out of nowhere, low and cool, cutting through the dark.

Petty jumped, heart racing. She hadn’t even turned on the lights yet. She squinted through the shadows, following the sound. Slowly, a figure took shape by the open window, the faintest glint off a pair of glasses.

Franco was leaning there, a cigarette between his fingers, watching her with that unreadable look in his eyes.

Petty’s heart twisted, tangled up in a mess of anger, pain, and something she couldn’t quite name.