“Nope.” I take a step back. “What is this? I hate needles.”
He chuckles. “It’s just a blood test. Quick. You’ll have results in a few hours.”
I eye the stool like it might bite me. But Chris’s face is patient, calm. Kind. Fine.
I sit.
It’s over before I can really protest. Barely a pinch.
“That’s it. Now go to him,” Chris says, handing me a small box. “Vitamins. One a day. And please, eat real meals. Sleep. Take care of yourself.”
I glance at the box, confused. My fingers tremble slightly as I take it from him.
“Why do I feel like you’re testing for something… else?” My voice is barely a whisper. “Are you… thinking I’m pregnant?”
Chris doesn’t answer right away. He just gives me that cocky little smile of his—the one that makes him look like he knows something I don’t.
“I know I’ve missed a few,” I say, trying to sound casual. “But things have been chaotic. I’ll catch up once we’re home.”
“Sure, but in the meantime—take the vitamins.” He gives me a wink. “Better safe than sorry.”
I roll my eyes and start walking backward toward the door. “Yes, Sir.”
Chris laughs as I storm down the hall, but my heart isn’t light.
Back in the corridor, I hover near Nathan’s door again.
I clutch the vitamin box to my chest and stare at the tiny label, the ridiculous thought blooming in my mind like wildfire.
I peek through the doorway again.
He’s lying back on the bed, eyes closed, hand resting on his chest.
So strong.
So broken.
So… mine.
Chapter 29
Nate
I miss her.
God, I miss her more than I’ve ever missed anything in my life.
Every breath I take without her feels like punishment.
It will take me a lifetime to thank Isabel for standing by me, for every moment she held my hand through hell when I deserved to be left in it.
Even when I tried to push her away—yelled at her, made her feel like she didn’t belong—she didn’t run. She stayed. Until the day she didn’t.
And I ruined it.
I destroyed the one thing that ever made sense in my messed-up world.
She told me she was pregnant…
