She pulled back and cupped my face in her hands. "Let me tell you what your father won't. Love worth keeping is never easy. Your father and I have had our struggles over the years, moments where it would've been simpler to walk away. But we stayed, we fought for each other, and we we're still here because we made that choice."
"He thinks Ember trapped me."
"He thinks every woman is out to trap his son because he's terrified of losing control." She smiled sadly. "But I've watched you these past months, and I've seen the way you look at her, the way she smiles at you. I see how you care for each other even if it is a bit… unconventional."
"You think I'm doing the right thing?"
"I think you're doing the brave thing. And I think you're going to give me a grandchild, which brings me more joy than I can express."
Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I don't care what your father says or what the committee thinks. I'll support you and Ember and this baby in whatever way I can."
The tightness in my chest eased slightly. "Thank you."
"Now go home and rest. Tomorrow will bring its own challenges." She kissed my forehead the way she had when I was a child. "And tell Ember she's welcome here anytime. She's family now, whether your father accepts it or not."
I left with those parting words, but I'd never convince Ember they were true.
My father had treated her more poorly than he ever did me, and with this log on the fire, the flames would only intensify.
We were on our own—us against the world—but I was determined not to let it bother me.
And if my mother and father could make it through anything, then I was determined to do that with Ember.
Because I did love her.
And nothing would stop me from caring for her the way she deserved.
21
EMBER
After more than an hour of hugging my toilet bowl, I knew I couldn't go into work today.
HR was really nice about it, though they had no clue I was lying about the nature of my sickness.
I assumed Nate would figure it out and call me, but I also knew he had too many meetings this morning to take time off to stop by my place.
Which was why after another hour of not being able to keep anything down—breakfast, crackers, and even ginger tea that was supposed to help—I found a clinic across town not associated with Beacon Hill or its medical system at all.
As much as I wanted to weather the storm on my own, I needed help.
Never in my life had I been so sick.
I was supposed to be gaining weight, but I'd already lost several pounds just because I couldn’t keep food down.
This doctor, however, a sweet lady in her mid-fifties with silvering hair and a genuinely warm smile, drew some blood, and now I waited.
My legs swung haphazardly under me at the end of the exam table where the paper beneath me crinkled with each movement.
The bloodwork would confirm my hormone levels, which hopefully would give the doctor an indication of how far along I was since I couldn't exactly dive into doing a sonogram without submitting it to my insurance.
All of this just to get some prenatal drugs and anti-nausea medication so I could work more.
But the stress of it all was the real problem.
I knew losing weight in early pregnancy wasn't a good thing, and I didn’t need medical training to understand that.
When I’d told the doctor just how much weight I'd lost in the past month—almost ten pounds—she was concerned too.
