Do You Remember Baby Girl? (5)

Laura woke up the next day feeling refreshed. She hadn't slept that well in a long time. She wondered what could have made her-

Oh crap.

Suddenly, everything came back to her. She went upstairs to sleep. Except Massimo came into her room. And promised to love her. And apologized.

And ate her out like a man possessed.

She wouldn't lie. It felt good. But she also knew that it wouldn't last. She needed to stay focused. She couldn't let herself fall under Massimo's spell again. Throwing the covers off of her body, she hurried over to the shower to clean up and get ready for the day. The first order of business was being honest with her ex.

                                                                                  ..............

Laura was on her way to her designated office when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"I'm sorry," Mark said over the phone. She smiled before taking a deep breath.

"I know. And I'm sorry too." When she heard him breathe, she knew he was just as torn up about their argument. Granted she now felt guilty, but she couldn't help that. It wasn't planned, but she knew that telling him would only make the situation worse.

"It's just, you're with Massimo right now. And with the history you two have-"

"I know."

"And the way he hurt you, Laura I just want-"

"I know you want me to be happy. And I am with you. I am just here as a favor. And to tie up loose ends."

He licked his lips before continuing to speak.

"About us. I-"

"I think we should call this off," Laura confessed. When he asked why she swallowed before giving an honest answer.

"Mark. You are a great man. And you deserve a woman who can give you all of herself. Who will love you unconditionally, and you should never settle for second-best."

"You're calling yourself second-best?"

"I am," she said before laughing if a bit bitterly. "I am damaged goods. I don't think I have it in me to love another."

"But Laura we talked about his I-"

"You could love me enough for the both of us," she repeated what he told her over the last several months.

"But that wouldn't be fair to you. You deserve real love. A woman who will see you and her heart will race. Who will grin and want you around all the time. Who can't see herself without talking to you day or night."

"Laura-"

"You need a woman who can give you children. I can't do that," she finished bluntly.

"You heard the doctor. She said there is a high probability that you will conceive again."

"With my heart condition? Even if I did it would be a risk. No, I've resigned myself to being without a long of things. I will not subject you to the same fate."

Mark was silent on his end. She knew the intelligent man was trying to work his way out of this plan. He made it no secret how much she cared for him. And that broke her heart even more because she couldn't even reciprocate it to a man who she thought deserved it.

"You know, in the back of my head, I've always known that you felt this way. I thought I could change your mind, and with time, that wound would heal. This hurts, but I want to thank you Laura for at least being upfront and honest with me. From the beginning, you have been nothing but kind."

Laura was surprised and her gasp demonstrated it. He chuckled.

"I surprised you, huh? Well, it's good that I get to do that to you sometimes," he said warmth in his voice.

"Even though we are not together, I would still like for us to be friends," he said hesitantly. She gave a slight nod as if he could see it.

"I would like that too," she said voice thick with emotion.

"You take care of yourself, Laura. And maybe when you're back in town, we can catch up."

"I will call you when I'm back."

"Good."

Before he could hang up, she spoke quietly. Tears evident in her voice.

"I really wished I could've loved you Mark."

He sighed before answering her.

"I wish it too," he said before ending the call. She whimpered before wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I know it seems painful now, but it's all for the best," Massimo's voice said from the doorway. He walked in and came to kneel beside her chair.

"Laura, I-"

"No," she said before shaking her head. He frowned and watched her look down at his hands on her knees. 

"He was a good man. And if I could've loved him as much as he loved me, then I would've been with him. Even after helping you," she said with bitterness. His brow raised.

"Even after last night?"

"Especially after last night Massimo," she said before gently removing his hands from her knees and standing.

"I would've still been with him. I just would've told him that I made a mistake," she said. Massimo ran. a hand over his face before sighing.

"Laura, you ended it with him. That lets me know that you still care for me in some way. I-"

He started only to be interrupted by Laura.

"You want to know why I ended it, Massimo?" She asked. He stood towering over her, hands on his hips.

"A little over two years ago, a man left me. He broke my heart. I was offered no explanation, just a sorry, he's not coming back live your life, here's your money," she said before forcing a smile. Massimo looked away as if in pain.

"I was so sick from worry of you, of no contact, that I just couldn't function. I was so sick, that my friend insisted I go to the doctor's. They ran some tests, and I found out that I was pregnant."

A feeling of dread entered Massimo's eyes as he looked into Laura's sad ones.

"No," he said painfully.

"Yes," she said harshly. "I was three months pregnant. For a moment I was overjoyed. So happy. If I couldn't have you, I'd at least have a child of my own. It was what I always wanted," She whispered.

"Two months later, I was starting to show and was planning on moving to a newer place, and had more rooms when all of a sudden, I had bone crippling pain. I called my friend who rushed me to the emergency room and I was stunned to find out that I lost the baby."

Tears were streaming down her face as Massimo gripped her forearms tears shining in his own eyes. He was still and silent.

"They told me that it wasn't my fault. That sometimes these things happen."

"Laura-"

"I was alone. Sitting in a hospital bed all alone. Again. And I promised myself that I would never be in that situation again. Alone, dependent upon another person. I loved that baby with everything in me. And when that was taken away, my love left with the child." Laura's eyes hardened.

"Know this Massimo. I will help you with you finances, because even though you left me, I know you are not deserving of that. Your father wouldn't have wanted that. But you and I? We can no longer be." Laura walked from around him and rushed out of the room. She knew that he would need time to process everything she just told him, and to be honest, she needed a bit of space.