The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn

~SCARLETT~

My eyes are wide. My father just informed Carter and his entire family that I was pregnant with his baby.

The silence is unbearable as I wait for someone to say something.

There are looks of shock throughout the room. No one was expecting him to say something like that.

“Did you say he got Scarlett pregnant?” Carter’s mother asks. “Not Clara? Scarlett?”

His mother’s reaction tells me that Carter never told her about us. She looked surprised that we were even that close to each other.

“Carter.” His father growls. “Is this true?”

I don’t think he’s listening to him. Carter’s lost in his own world. His face is white, and he looks like someone who’d just been given the worst news possible.

Did the news of my pregnancy really make him feel so horrible?

Why was I even expecting a different reaction? Carter didn’t even want me. He used me to get his way and disposed of me when he was finished. Of course, he wouldn’t be happy with this news.

It turns out that Carter actually cared more for Clara than all of us thought. He didn’t even touch her, not once. He made sure to protect her from his player ways. But with me, he took all that I had to offer him. He took all of me and left me completely broken without him.

“Don’t ask him.” My father shouts. “My daughter wouldn’t lie about something like that. He’s the father of her unborn child! He took advantage of my daughter’s innocence and must now own up to his awful behavior!”

“Carter?” His mother tries again.

He ignores her and surprises all of us when he removes my father’s hands from his collar and walks over to me. He doesn’t stop until he’s inches away from my body.

His eyes are glued to mine, and even now, I’m still happy to be this close to him despite everything that happened between us. It’s been too long since the last time I saw him.

“Is it true?” He whispers. I can barely recognize his voice.

I don’t open my mouth to say a single word. I’m still trapped under his gaze. He’s searching my face, waiting for me to give him an answer.

“Did I?” He closes his eyes briefly before opening them again to reveal raw pain. “Did I get you pregnant, Scarlett?”

My lower l*p trembles as I slowly nod my head to give him the confirmation that he needs.

His hands tighten into fists at his sides, and he looks angry. Did he think that I came here to trap him? Did he think I would use this as an opportunity to force him to take care of me and our baby?

He was utterly wrong if he thought I would ever stoop that low!

“You don’t owe me anything,” I tell him. “This is my baby. I can take care of my baby on my own. You don’t need to support me. You don’t need to be there for me. I don’t need anything from you.”

“Scarlett!” My father roars. “Do not let him get away with what he did to you. He must support you. He cannot get away with it!”

“Father, please,” I beg him. “We can have this discussion at home. Carter didn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to do. I know you’re angry, but please don’t force me to be here. I want to go home.”

“If Carter did this,” his mother cuts in. “Then he must take responsibility for his actions. We didn’t raise our son to be irresponsible. We will support Scarlett through the entire pregnancy.”

“Mrs. Sonia, I know that you want to do the right thing, but I do not want to force Carter to do something he doesn’t want to do,” I inform her. “The only reason he knows that I’m pregnant today is because of my father. I never planned on telling him anything. He clarified to me that what happened between us was a mistake. I do not need him.”

It was a lie. It wasn’t easy without him, but I wasn’t about to admit it in front of him. He’d hurt me too much. Even now, he was still hurting me.

“But sweetie,” his mother tries again. “Our son got you pregnant. It’s our grandchild. Our first grandchild. We want to have him in our life. We want to have you in our life also.”

“He doesn’t want our baby.” My voice broke when I said those words. “I do not want my baby to grow up in a home where his father doesn’t want him.”

Carter’s head snaps up at my words. It’s hard to read the expression on his face as he announces, “I will marry Scarlett tomorrow.” He pauses before he looks me directly in my eyes and says, “She will be my wife.”

He will do w-what?