I had been hiding all of my symptoms from Jacob with the fear that if he found out I was pregnant, he’d go ballistic. The third month, however, was proving to be the most difficult so far.

I felt different, that’s for sure. I felt wholly ungrounded and nauseated to my core. When Jacob left the house, I tried my best to take walks around the neighborhood. I kept my spirits lifted by sitting at the playground. I imagined what life could be like with Cole.

I didn’t want to think about the other side of things, but Cole was so fucking far from me. It was hard not to face the reality of the day. He kept promising me that the time for change was coming. But when was he going to drive back here and take me away from this place?

I walked back into Cole’s old room. The community was trying their best to sell the house and bulldoze it. I knew that Cole didn’t care about that, but I did. We had so many memories in that house together. All of a sudden, it felt like everything was being taken away from us.

I opened his desk drawer with an old key that I found hidden in his piggy bank, underneath some dusty coins. Inside the drawer was a simple note: “I’m sorry, Piper.” Next to it was a small key. I knew what the key was for. I took it and quickly pocketed it.

Life felt at its darkest during these moments. I closed my eyes and thought about how this experience could be different once I left this city. I wanted to taste him again, to feel him inside of me. I just wanted to be close to him, but it wasn’t possible.

Times were tough for both of us, but our baby was growing inside of me. For as long as I could, I dreamt about what our family could be. I imagined us buying a house in a beautiful town, far away from this one.

I blocked out a lot of the bad memories from when I was a kid. For me, there were so many beautiful times. I remembered my parents taking me to the bus stop down the street on the first day of school. I pictured all those times at the park, running around and pretending we were cops and robbers.

Our baby was going to have so many of those. No matter how hard Jacob tried, he couldn’t get his hands on him. I wouldn’t let him. It was the instinct of an omega to fight for his child. I’d fight, even if that meant giving up everything.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I heard a pair of heavy boots step down against the wooden floorboards inside this house. “Piper. I know you’re in there.”

Jacob. My eyes darted open with fear. My hands instinctually fell across my belly as I raced to open his window. I wasn’t thinking. It was so apparent that there was no escape from him.

I heard his deep voice resonate, “Don’t you dare run from me!” The words were violent and horrifying. His hands fell across my back. He brought me to my knees and turned me around. I shut my eyes and put my hands in front of my face.

“Don’t!” I screamed. “Don’t touch me!”

Jacob took a step back. The rage wore off as he saw me at my most vulnerable. This was precisely how he wanted me. The sight of me, completely weak and terrified was the thing that calmed him the most.

“Why are you here?” Jacob asked, controlling his breath.

I couldn’t find a way to feel calm. I trembled with tears in my eyes. There was nothing I could do or say to get out of this, so I told him the truth. “Because I miss him,” I said with a low growl. “Is that what you want to hear? I miss Cole!”

Jacob nearly raised his hand, but he decided it would be better to hear more of my confession. “And you are planning on leaving me,” Jacob said. It wasn’t a question, but I knew that I had to answer him.

“Yes. I’m leaving you and everyone else in this godforsaken hellhole,” I said, crying. “I hate that I’m even saying this, but I’m sorry. Jacob, I apologize, okay? This isn’t the life I ever wanted.”

Jacob turned around and put his hands on the top of the door. He held his entire weight against the opening, unable to control himself. “That isn’t the point!” Jacob screamed.

I hung my head in silence, waiting for the right moment to speak, but it never came. Instead, Jacob turned around and kneeled down in front of me. “Nobody lives the life they want. Life is about sacrifice,” he said.

I shook my head, feeling defeated. He had it so wrong. We all did. “No, Jacob. Life is about loving people and experiencing the best it can offer. I want to be free. Why can’t you let me be free?” I asked him.

Jacob was lost in his head. He didn’t know how to answer me because he genuinely didn’t love me. If he did, he wouldn’t subject me to all of this madness.

“You can’t be free because I am the man of the house,” he said.

My eyes dropped to my tiny baby bump. I felt sick to my stomach, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the pregnancy or from how he was treating me. I fought to hold back the nausea, and somehow, I was successful.

“I won’t apologize to you,” I said, feeling the courage rise up inside of me. “I can’t apologize. Not anymore. You have to own up to what you’ve done.”

“I’ll set this house on fire before I apologize to you,” Jacob said flatly. His eyes weren’t angry anymore. They were circling his troubled mind, lost in confusion.

“Then, I have nothing to say to you,” I said. “You can take me home if you want, but I’ll remain silent for the rest of my days.”

Jacob lifted me from the ground, nearly dragging me out of the room. I pushed myself on my feet in defiance and shoved his hands off of me. I walked in front of him without fear, stepping outside of Cole’s room.

The worst part was that all of our plans were now out in the open. There was no going back. That was also something extremely powerful. Jacob couldn’t see that yet, but I could.

When we walked into Jacob’s house, I held my breath. This place was my prison, but not for long. Soon, Cole would be coming back for me. At the very least, I had hope.

I got into bed fully clothed and stared up at the ceiling. We didn’t say a word to each other. There was merely silence. After a few minutes, Jacob fell asleep, but I sat awake for hours waiting for the love of my life to swoop me off my feet once again.