“They didn’t know…?” the doctor mutters, his cheeks turning bright red.
“It’s okay,” Maria sighs.
“I think I’ll give you all a moment to, um, discuss things…” he says, backing away.
With the doctor gone, every single one of us is staring at her, not saying a word.
Maria presses her lips together and fidgets with the blanket.
“I’m so sorry,” she murmurs.
“Did you know? When did you find out?” Joe asks.
“I didn’t know for certain. Part of my plan to go to the mall was to get a pregnancy test, but then everything else happened, and…”
Her voice trails off.
Kaz makes a weird groan next to me. “I, uh, I need to get some air if that’s okay?” he mutters.
Maria nods, not looking at him.
She looks broken and embarrassed.
I sit on the side of her bed and take her hand while Joe follows Kaz out. “I’m going to check on him,” he says, glancing at me before he leaves.
Artur sits on the other side of her bed.
None of us says anything. My mind is still processing everything. But I keep her hand in mine to let her know I’m here with her.
Chapter 26 - Kazimir
There is an indoor garden on the ground floor of the clinic, and I find myself standing in the center of it with my hands on my hips as I stare up at the glass ceiling. Lush green plants trail from every available space on the walls and ceiling.
I’m hyperventilating.
Panic is surging through me like a sharp current.
Fear, anxiety and confusion.
Okay, so she’s pregnant. So what?
Well, I never planned to be a father. That’s what. It might not be my baby, though?
Does that make any difference at all? No. It doesn’t.
I let out a heavy breath, not realizing I was holding it in. My stomach is in a knot.
Pregnant. She’s having a baby.
We’re having a baby.
The idea of being a father absolutely scares the living daylight out of me!
But on the other hand…I could never stay away from her. Maria is…she’s everything to me. I would never have the strength to walk away from her, and even if staying means I’ll have to be a dad to a baby that is or isn’t mine…I’ll do it.
Maria is mine. I’m never letting her go.
She’s mine, and her baby is mine. That little thing is a part of her, and I will love it in the same way I love her.
