I cough into my fist. “Okay, then.”
And that’s how we spent the rest of the afternoon.
ChapterThirty-Eight
Ava
Groaning, I lean back in my chair and swivel to face Bastien.
“I’m done for today,” I admit. “I don’t think I can read anymore.”
It still doesn’t feel real.
Lights flicker across Bastien’s face from the screens as he turns his silver eyes toward me.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, hesitantly.
I think it over, picking through my jumbled thoughts.
“Like we’re talking about somebody else,” I murmur. Placing my hands on my stomach, I cup it gently.
“I know it’s not their fault,” I whisper. “But it feels like my life has been stolen from me, Bastien.”
He slides closer to me, a question in his eyes as he lifts his hands.
Holding my breath, I nod in permission, watching his large hands settle gently onto my stomach. The warmth of his hands penetrates the thin cloth of my nightgown, heating the skin underneath.
“I think,” he says quietly, not moving his eyes. “That if we blamed everyone for their beginnings, the world would be an unforgiving place. But I also think that everyone deserves to make choices in their own lives.”
His hand comes up slowly, making sure that I can see him before he gently cups my face.
“You didn’t have a choice about coming here,” Bastien says quietly. “We know that. Every choice you’ve had since your awakening was taken from you. This is your time to think about whatyoureally want, Ava.”
My eyes search his as confusion twists in my chest. “I don’t know what I want.”
He leans back in his chair, giving me space to breathe.
“You have options,” he says carefully. “Even if it doesn’t feel like it.”
I laugh humourlessly. “Do I, though?”
He stares at me, his eyes boring into mine. “You have several. You can decide to go your own way. I can create a paper trail that will show you’re a beta, not an omega. You could decide where to go, and what you do. You’d have to be very careful, but it’s a possibility.”
His stilted offer hits me like a punch to my solar plexus. “You could do that?” I whisper, and he nods.
But where would I go?
“People would ask questions,” I say, looking down at my stomach.
Bastien looks away from me, his shoulders tight as he hesitates. “Adoption is another option.”
My eyes widen as I stare at him, and he meets my gaze with a sad glint in his eye.
He shakes his head at what he sees. “I’m not saying that you should, or you shouldn’t, Ava,” he says. “But you deserve to have a choice.”
A shiver works up my spine as my hands move to my stomach.Give them up?
“I…” I don’t know what to say to that.
