All Chapters of My Life Long Crush: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

After everything that happened at my parents, with announcing the engagement, I couldn’t mention the baby. It felt like a heavy secret that I was carrying around, especially with the way I was feeling. The nausea had worsened, and I couldn't keep anything down. But I didn’t want to worry them any more than we already had. Days turned into weeks, and soon the pregnancy was going to became more obvious. My breasts grew tender and my stomach began to show. We had to tell my parents eventually, but every time we talked about it, the fear of their reaction held us back. Rawls was incredibly supportive, but I knew he was just as nervous as I was. He had become an integral part of my life, my protector, my confidant, and now the father of my child. I was torn between the joy of our little secret and the dread of how my parents would react to the news. One evening, when the nausea had subsided and I had managed to keep a meal down, we decided it was time. We sat down at the dinner table w

I cannot believe Rawls and my dad kept everything from me, I thought as I stumbled away from the house, the fresh air doing little to cool the burning in my cheeks. How could they think it was okay to hire someone to follow me around like I was some sort of helpless victim? The anger grew inside me like a storm, threatening to spill over. Rawls and Dad followed me, their footsteps heavy on the ground. I heard the worry in their voices as they called out to me, but I was too lost in my own thoughts to respond. The truth was, I was scared. Scared for the baby, scared for myself, and scared of what Jonathan might do next. The fear was a living, breathing entity inside of me, and it was consuming everything else. As I reached the house, I turned to face them, my eyes brimming with tears. "You can't do this to me," I choked out. "You can't just make decisions like this and expect me to be okay with it." Rawls stopped a few feet away, his hands up in a placating gesture. "Claire, we neve

I gripped the seatbelt, willing the car to move faster as the blood soaked through to my skin, a reminder of how fragile this baby is. The sirens of our own personal hell were blaring in my ears, drowning out the sound of the car's engine. As we pulled up to the emergency room, I could feel the panic rising in my chest, my breaths coming in shallow gasps. Rawls was out of the car before I could even process what was happening, rushing around to my side to help me out. He scooped me up into his arms, his eyes never leaving mine as he carried me into the hospital. "We need a doctor, now!" he yelled, the urgency in his voice echoing through the halls. The nurses looked up, their expressions quickly turning to concern as they saw the blood staining my dress and the fear in our eyes. They whisked me away into a cubicle, the bright lights overhead glaring down on me as they began to check my vitals. Rawls hovered by my side, his hand tightly gripping mine as we waited for the doctor t

Now that we know was this Jonathan person is capable of, I am going to put security on Evie as well. I trust what they have at the facility. Once I get Claire home, I am getting personal security and upgrading our alarm system. I look at Claire, who is still in a daze, and I realize that the reality of the situation is setting in for both of us. The man who attacked her is still out there, and he knows where we live. I refuse to let fear control us. I lean down and whisper reassurances into her ear. "Rawls," she whispers, her voice shaky, "What if he comes for me again? Or what if he tries to get to Evie?" The thought sends a chill down my spine, but I don't let it show. "He won't," I tell her firmly, stroking her hair. "I promise you, I'll protect you both. I won't let anything happen to either of you." Her eyes search mine, looking for the truth in my words. "You can't be with us all the time," she points out. "No," I admit, "but we're not going to make it easy for him. We

Days passed, and despite the fortress we had built around ourselves, a sense of unease remained. It was as if the walls were made of paper, ready to be torn apart at any moment by the monster we knew was out there. And then, it happened. Evie went missing from the facility. "No," Claire whispered, her hand flying to her mouth. "It can't be." But it was. Evie was gone, vanished without a trace from the very place we had thought she would be safe. The facility's director looked at us with a mix of regret and urgency, his words barely penetrating the fog of dread that had descended upon us. "We're doing everything we can," he assured us, but the tremble in his voice did little to ease our fears. Robert's eyes met mine, and I knew what he was thinking. We had been so focused on keeping Claire safe, we had neglected to consider that Jonathan might come after Evie. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. We had played right into his hands. We sprang into action, phones to our