But Ben's sharp tongue didn't let up, and within a few cutting remarks, he had Jamie feeling utterly humiliated. She tried to explain, "There's really nothing between us. We just ran into each other today and talked for a bit."

Ben cut her off before she could finish, "Oh really? Then it just shows you've been surrounded by men for the past four years. A woman like you probably wouldn't even know who the father is if you were pregnant."

Jamie's body tensed at his words. He could insult her, but she wouldn't allow him to bring her child into it.

"Ben, I've only ever been with you. If I'm pregnant, the child would only be..."

"Are you trying to say the child is mine?" he challenged, staring directly into her eyes. "I remember asking you, the night before you left, what you would do if you got pregnant. You told me, without a second thought, that you'd abort it."

Back then, he had been thinking that if she were pregnant, they would get married. He was ready to defy his parents if needed, willing to go to courthouse to make it official. In his mind, they would have been a family, the happiest trio. And even if his parents disapproved, he was prepared to cut ties if necessary.

But Jamie's response had felt like a slap to his face. She had chosen abortion without hesitation, and now she had the nerve to bring this up as if he had just fall for it.

"Your lies are pathetic. Do you actually think I'd believe you, feel sorry for you, and accept your child as my own so we could play happy family?"

"I'm not lying. don't want to be tied to you. I want you to let me go. You look down on me so much, so just think of me as a rat in the gutter and let me be," Jamie said, her voice full of desperation. She didn't want anything from him, just freedom.

But letting her go was the last thing Ben was willing to do.

"Not happening. You're coming back with me," he declared, grabbing her and pulling her toward the exit. "And since you used my card, you're going to return every penny."

He wasn't concerned about the

or

$10,000 itself. If Jamie had used the money for her own medical bills or to buy luxury items, he wouldn't have said a word. But using it for prenatal exams for what he thought was another man's child? He couldn't stomach that.

"Ben, that money's already been spent. You can't take it back now," Jamie protested, growing frantic. That payment ensured Charlie could continue his treatment. If she returned it, he would be forced to leave the hospital. She had lost

everything else; she couldn't lose her

son too.

Ben scoffed, "Did you hear me say I lent you that money? It was for your sister, meant for her delivery fund. If she insists on giving it to you, fine, but then she's on her own. No prenatal exams, no pain relief, none of it."

"Ben!" Jamie couldn't believe how cold he had become. "That's your own flesh and blood. Are you even human? How can you deny her prenatal care? What if something's wrong with the baby?"

Taking care of Charlie over the past few years had completely drained her, leaving her exhausted in every way. She had no choice as Charlie's illness couldn't have been detected before birth. And now that he was here, there was no turning back.

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