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No, Julie. Not here at the DLSC.

Distance. That was the only thing that could help me push it all away and get through this. Distance from Quentin.

I put my backpack on one of the tables and took off my light gray coat, placing it on the table.

“We also have a coat rack.”

I paused, but didn’t turn around to face him.

He wanted to taunt me. Wanted to drive me crazy. This was definitely not Erik.

With my heart racing, I ignored him and tied my hair back into a very short ponytail. A mistake. Because immediately he was standing at my table, reaching for my coat.

The moment his gaze darted to my stomach – now covered only by a blouse – was the moment I held my breath.

It was only a second. A pathetic second in which this man held me in his thrall. In which I was more vulnerable than ever.

I couldn't interpret his gaze and was glad about that. I didn't want to know what he thought of me or my condition.

And yet, I couldn't deny that there was something incredibly intense and at the same time destructive about the fact that it was his baby I was carrying around inside me.

Everything about this should have disgusted and frightened me, but all I felt was overwhelm and a jumble of emotions that I couldn't classify.

To make matters worse, I could only filter out one emotion. One that I didn't need at all right now: longing.

I bit my tongue and interrupted the fleeting moment by turning away and putting on my lab coat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Quentin rush past me with my coat, which he threw unkindly onto a hook as if he wanted to tear it to shreds.

David, whose glasses also suited him well – even though I wondered why a Ruisangor needed visual aids – seemed to suppress a smirk before disappearing to the other end of the lab with more test tubes.

Overwhelmed, I sucked in my breath.

This day was already off to a disastrous start. How was I supposed to get through this without emotional outbursts?

I needed Salma. And I would never forget it again.

Lost in thought, I buttoned up my lab coat. It wouldn't cover my belly, but the corset did its best. I wore it under my blouse and not over it, unlike this morning.

Some stupid, insecure voice inside me had thought three times about what to wear in front of Quentin, and I wasn't sure if it was the part of me that wanted to avoid my professor's unnecessary judgments or the part that had fallen for Erik and was paranoid that he would find out.

Erik was smart. Just like Quentin.

Once again, my teeth met the tip of my tongue.

God, I should forget about Erik. He was an invention. A mere illusion.

Whatever this man had planned for J, I shouldn't even think about it. Maybe he was looking for compensation, probably texting with several women at once, pretending to be someone he wasn't, just to fuck their brains out in the back seat of his car.

And then I remembered the ring.

What if... No, impossible.

In deep shock, I turned to Quentin. He was standing at his table again, sorting the test tubes. The LED light reflected off the gold of his ring.

I couldn't possibly be carrying the child of a married man...

Finally, disgust and mistrust rose up inside me and pushed away any feelings of attraction.