There’s another beat where she searches my eyes, and I pray to every single molecule in this universe she’ll say—
“Okay.”
She settles back against me, tucking herself into my side again, and I press a kiss to the top of her head and let my hand drift down, resting over the soft curve of her stomach.
My two girls.
My whole fucking world.
Chapter twenty-eight
You plant your feet and hold the line
Carina
The sky is gray, despite the season. That bone-deep kind of gray that doesn’t match the calendar. Today, the light forgot it was supposed to be warm.
My blouse pulls over the curve of my stomach, and I smooth it with my hands. It fits, mostly. The fabric gathers a little higher than it used to, pulling faintly at the buttons. I could’ve gone up a size, but I didn’t want to look like I was swimming in it.
I wanted to look capable and professional. Like the woman who graduated top of her class and published four peer-reviewed studies before turning thirty. Someone who deserves to be taken seriously.
I check the time, then the message draft still open on my phone.
Me:Almost there. I’m okay. Love you x
My thumb hovers, not because I don’t mean it. I do, more than anything. But part of me still hesitates at what those words represent.
A tether. A witness. A reminder that I’m not doing this alone.
I hit send anyway.
Then I slip the phone back into my bag before I can change my mind and text him again, or ask him to come. Ask him to wait outside, like he offered.
I love Reid’s support, but no. Not today. This is on me.
I’ve gone over the phrasing in my head a dozen times. The exact way I’ll lay it out calmly and clearly, with accountability. I’ll confirm the relationship. I’ll explain the timeline and provide a reference point if they need one. Heidi knows the full sequence and is prepared to verify it.
We were never involved when Reid was my patient. We weren’t even really speaking during his last wound check. Everything that transpired—everything that matters—came later.
It wasn’t a breach, but it was reckless. I concede that. But it was also real.
And I love him. I’m living with him. We’re having a baby.
God, we’re having a baby.
My hand settles lightly over my bump as I cross the parking lot and head toward the clinic entrance. I’m just over six months pregnant and into the third trimester, so every movement feels different. Slower and more weighted.
I’ve started waking at night to phantom kicks and dreams I can’t remember. I keep apples in my office now, and granola bars in every coat pocket. I’m exhausted, but I’m grounded and building something permanent.
And if I’m going to keep building this with Reid and our daughter, I can’t keep walking around like I’m waiting to be exposed. Like this thing I’m holding could break under someone else’s judgment.
I straighten my shoulders and swipe my ID card at the side door.
I have nothing to be ashamed of and everything to fight for.
And I will.
The moment I step into Moreno’s office, I know something’s off, because he’s not alone.
