Chapter One Hundred and Four

Chapter One Hundred and Four
Ezra 

I come home from work and head straight to my bedroom to strip and shower. It has been a stressful day. All I want to do is shower, then sit down with a Scotch. When I enter, Bella is there, packing a suitcase. 

“Bella, what are you doing? Where are you going?” I ask, confused. She can’t exactly travel far since she is due in a few weeks. She needs to stay close to home in case she goes into labor. 

“Leaving,” she answers emotionlessly, tossing more things into a suitcase. 

“Leaving to go where?” She groans in frustration and finally looks up at me. There seems to be a hatred in her eyes. What the hell have I done now? 

“I mean, I am leaving you. Are you dumb?” she snaps. 

I stroll over to where she is. I have no idea what is going on right now. “What do you mean? Where are you going with my baby?” 

Bella suddenly laughs loudly. “Your baby? She isn’t even yours.” 

“Yes, she is. What is wrong with you? Why are you lying?” 

“I am not. She isn’t yours, okay? I faked the DNA test. We are leaving to go and stay with her real dad.” 

“No, you are lying. Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to take my baby away from me?” I whimper. 

“Oh, my God! She isn’t fucking yours, Ezra! Do you want to see the real DNA test, or even better, we can go and get another one? You are not her father.” 

There is not even a hint of emotion in her voice. No regret. No hurt. Nothing. I study her closely, and I soon realize she isn’t just doing this to hurt me for some reason—she is telling me the truth. I freeze, and it feels like my entire world is shattering around me. 

“W-w-why would you do that?” I am trying to fight back tears. I don’t need to give her another reason to make me feel like shit. 

“Because I could. There was no way in hell I was raising a baby alone, so when her real father decided he wasn’t ready, I needed to come up with a plan. You were that plan. I knew you would be weak and stupid enough to believe me. But now, he realized he made a mistake. He wants me and his baby. We are going to be a proper family.” She laughs. 

Her words feel like a knife in my heart. “What the fuck happened to you, Bella? You weren’t always like this,” I snarl. 

“You happened. You sucked the very life out of me,” she snaps. 

“How did I do that exactly? I took care of you. When we first got together, I treated you like a damn queen. I did everything and anything for you. So don’t you dare try to put all the blame on me,” I speak through gritted teeth, and my fists clench at my sides in anger.

“Whatever, Ezra. I don’t love you. I never did. You were a tool I needed to have the life I deserved. To be used and discarded once you were no longer useful. You never meant a damn thing to me. And we don’t need you now either.” Bella rubs her belly and gives me a sly look. The viper is enjoying every second of this. 

I really don’t understand where her hatred for me comes from. “How could you be so damn cruel? You let me fall in love with her. I have done everything for both of you through this entire pregnancy, and now you tell me she isn’t even mine.” I can’t hold my emotions back anymore. Tears fall from my eyes and roll down my cheeks. 

“I don’t know why you seem surprised, Ezra. It’s probably a good thing she isn’t yours. We all know whose DNA you have and how your childhood went.”  

I wince at the choice of her words because I know exactly what she is trying to say. “You honestly think I would hurt a child? I would be a good dad. You know fuck all about my past, Bella. You are the fucking devil—do you know that?” The anger in my voice is evident. I’m not holding back anymore. 

“Yeah, right. You would be a shit dad. You haven’t exactly had the best role models, have you? Your biological father was a junky who abused you, and your adoptive dad is a lying, cheating bastard.” She laughs cruelly. 

How can a person find another person’s pain amusing? I don’t understand how she could have hidden this side of herself for so long. I should have known she was a monster because I had been around enough of them to recognise them. 

“Get the fuck out of my house!” I scream at her. I need her to leave. I can feel myself falling apart. I am due to break down, but I refuse to let her see me do it. She doesn’t need another reason to make me feel like less of a man. 

“I plan on it, but before I do, you will transfer a million to my bank,” she says seriously. 

Wait, did I hear her right? Does she think I will give her that vast amount after what she has done to me?

I laugh. I can’t help it because her delusion is almost comical. “In what fucked up world are you living in to think I will do that? You ruined my fucking life. You made me believe I was going to be a dad, then took it away from me. You are never getting anything from me again. You can ask your other guy to take care of you, because I sure as hell am not,” I hiss, anger soars through my entire body. 

The same sly look from moments ago reappears on her face. “I don’t think it, babe, I know it.” 

I cross my arms over my chest. “Please enlighten me about how I am just going to give you a million?” 

I wait for her to answer me. I am curious about how she thinks she can talk me into it. She smirks and dips her hand into her bag. She rummages around for a moment before bringing a sheet of paper out. She places it down on the bed, but it seems blank. 

“Because if you don’t, the entire world is going to see your little slut in her underwear or even less.” 

“What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?” 

“Turn it over and find out. I am not a fucking idiot. I know you are still seeing the stupid, home-wrecking skank,” she snaps. 

“Remember who cheated on who first! And don’t you ever talk about Alana like that. She is a better woman than you will ever be!” I yell. She doesn’t get to talk about Alana like that. I have been playing nice for the baby’s sake, but now I know the truth, there is no more Mr. Nice Guy. 

“She is welcome to you. You aren’t worth it, anyway.” She shrugs. 

I ignore her comment and turn the paper over. Right in front of me is a photograph of Alana. She is kneeling on the bed, a seductive look on her face in a red lace underwear set—a photo I had in a locked folder on my laptop. 
I snatch it up, panic takes over me. “How the fuck did you get that?” 

“She really should be more careful with what types of photos she sends. And you need to get better security on your office desktop.” 

Everything comes into focus when she says it. The day I caught her sneaking out of my office, she must have been looking for something she could use against me to get what she wanted. 

“So, if I don’t have the cash amount in my bank by the end of today, that picture, along with another few, will suddenly appear on all social media and adult sites. The choice is yours, Ezra.” 

“You wouldn’t!” I hiss. I know the second I ask it is a stupid question. 

“Really? Do you think I wouldn’t do it after everything I just told you? Will you ever learn, Ezra?” She shakes her head in disgust at me. 

“Get your shit and leave, now!” I demand, pointing to the door. 

“Happily,” she says, as she grabs her things and heads for the door, saying over her shoulder, “You have been warned, Ezra. You have until midnight. I would choose wisely if I were you. I won’t ruin her; I will ruin you.” She laughs and disappears from my bedroom. 

I stand here, trying to process everything that happened. The second I hear my front door close, I sit on the floor, letting go, I break down in tears. My heart feels like it is breaking into a million pieces. An overwhelming feeling of loss takes control of me. How could she do this to me? Cora was supposed to mine! I love her, and I couldn’t wait to meet her, and now, in a matter of minutes, everything has changed. She isn’t mine, and my love for her has nowhere to go. 

I don’t know how long I sit here, but when I finally move, I head straight for the nursery. I stop outside the door and take a deep breath before I step inside. I whimper loudly as I glance around at the ready room. Tears build again, and I take a seat on the rocking chair I bought for night feeds, which I agreed to do since Bella didn’t want to breastfeed. I was thrilled about the prospect of sitting here with Cora in my arms, feeding her and rocking her to sleep. 

I allow the tears to fall again. I will need to clear the nursery out because I can’t deal with knowing it is here. It will stay empty. I will find homes for the things. Give them to people who need them but can’t afford them. 
It wasn’t supposed to be this way! 

I sit there, staring out of the window. I get lost in my head. I need to send Bella the money. I don’t have a choice. I can’t let her do what she threatened. Alana doesn’t deserve any of the fallout! I will do whatever I need to do to protect her. I could report Bella to the police, but I don’t have any evidence to say she blackmailed me and threatened to share explicit photos without consent, which is a crime. I need to hope she leaves us alone after she gets the money. 

I need to get out of this room. Being surrounded by a reminder of something I won’t have is too painful. I have no idea who Bella’s other man is, but I hope they take care of Cora. None of this is her fault. I can only pray she is loved and has everything she needs. 

I wipe away my tears and rush out of the room. I close and lock the door behind me. I can’t be in this house anymore, not today. 
I can’t go through all of this alone. I’m sure it will kill me!