Page 168 of Twins for Three Bad Boys

Before, Max had been desperate. Trying to reel me back in. “Come home.” “We can fix this.” “I miss you.”

Now it feels sharper. Accusatory. Feels like he’s lost patience and decided that if he can’t have me, he’ll burn whatever I build.

I don’t respond. I take screenshots instead.

Naomi’s voice echoes in my head: Document everything.

Another buzz.

Unknown Number: Don’t make me come to you.

My blood runs cold.

He doesn’t know where I am.

He can’t.

Right?

But he, or whoever sent that email to Wayne, knows who my employer is. That means…

I lock the phone and press it face down on the counter like it might bite me.

I don’t have space for this.

I don’t have space for threats and pregnancy and Wayne’s silence all at once.

I push off the counter and walk down the hallway on shaky legs.

My room feels smaller.

The yellow sweater I tossed across the chair this morning looks like it belongs to someone else. Someone who thought her biggest problem was nausea.

I sit on the edge of the bed and stare at the wall.

Options.

That’s what Millie said.

You have options.

Do I?

If I keep it, everything changes.

Whose baby is it? How do we even begin to navigate that? DNA tests? Awkward conversations? Shared custody in a town small enough for everyone to know before I’ve even decided for myself?

If I don’t keep it…

My hand drifts to my stomach again.

Three weeks.

It’s barely anything. Cells. Possibility.

But it already feels heavy.

I think about Evan’s small hand in mine.