Chapter 30
Chapter 30
“Oh yes. I mean congratulations on your new baby.”
Marcus froze.
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His entire body went still. Like someone had pressed pause on him. His eyes narrowed slightly. Confused. Waiting for clarification.
“What?”
One word. Simple. Direct. But loaded with a thousand questions.
Elara’s heart stopped. Actually stopped beating in her chest. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t do anything except stand there and watch her entire world collapse in slow motion.
Shit. This doctor was crazy. Absolutely insane. Out of his mind. She’d specifically told him not to say anything. Begged him. And he’d just gone ahead and said it anyway like it was no big deal.
Withing to
Her brain scrambled for words. Any words. Something to explain. Something to cover. Something to make this make sense.
Shit. This doctor was crazy. Absolutely insane. She’d told him not to say anything and he just went ahead and said it anyway.
“I’m sorry, Marcus.” The words tumbled out fast. just that I didn’t want you to worry and….”
perate. “I could have said something earlier. I know. It’s
Dr. Matthews smiled wider. Like he was enjoying this. Like this was all a game.
“Yes, I mean congratulations on your new baby.” He gestured toward Elara like he was presenting a prize. “Your wife has malaria fever. Well, not malaria exactly. But she’s running a fever. Something minor. A bug she picked up somewhere. Nothing serious at all. But she’s going to
My need to be treated like your new baby for the
next few days because she needs complete rest. No stress. No work. You’ll have to do everything for her while she recovers.”
Elara let out the deepest breath of her entire life.
The kind of breath that came from your toes. That released every ounga
made your whole body sag with relief.
He hadn’t told him,
The doctor hadn’t actually told Marcus she was pregnant,
of tension you’d been holding. That
He’d covered for her. Made up some story about a fever. About being sick. About needing rest.
Thank God. Thank God thank God thank God.
Her knees felt weak. Her hands finally stopped shaking. The panic that had been wrapping around her throat
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Chapter 30
for the past five minutes disappeared like it had never existed.
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Marcus turned to look at her. His expression shifted from confusion to something softer. Almost amused. The corner of his mouth lifted just slightly.
“Oh.” He crossed his arms. “Not like you do any work anyway.”
But he was smiling when he said it. Teasing. Light. Not mean or cold like he used to be.
Elara forced herself to smile back even though her heart was still racing. “Ha ha. Very funny.”
“I’m serious. What do you even do all day? Raid my fridge? Watch reality TV?”
“I keep your penthouse from falling into chaos.”
“My staff does that.”
“I provide moral support.”
“To who?”
“To myself mostly.”
He actually laughed. Small but real. “Fair enough.”
Dr. Matthews cleared his throat. Pulled a business card from his desk drawer and held it out to Elara. “Call me if you need anything. Or if you want to schedule a follow-up appointment. For the fever. Or anything else.”
His eyes said what his mouth didn’t. Call me when you’re ready to do the ultrasound. When you’re ready to tell him the truth. When you stop running from this.
Elara took the card and shoved it deep into her bag. “Thank you, doctor.”
Marcus extended his hand to Dr. Matthews. Professional. Businesslike. “I’ll come back another time. We can discuss the partnership proposal then. When I’m not distracted by my sick wife.”
My sick wife.
There it was again. That word. Wife. Like it already true even though the wedding was still two days away.
Dr. Matthews shook his hand. “Of course, Whenever works for you, Mr. Thorne. And take care of her. She needs rest.”
“I will.”
Marcus placed his hand on Elara’s lower back. The touch was light. Possessive. Guiding her toward the door without actually pushing.
“Let’s go.”
She walked out of the exam room on legs that still felt unsteady. Like she’d just run a marathon. Or survived a
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Chapter 30
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car crash. Her body was processing the adrenaline dump. The panic that had flooded her system and then disappeared just as fast.
They moved down the hallway. Past the waiting room where other patients sat staring at magazines they weren’t reading. Through the glass doors into the parking lot where the afternoon sun was too bright and the cold air hit her face like a slap.
The driver was already standing by the car. Same black Mercedes as always. Waiting. Ready. Professional.
Marcus walked past him without stopping. “Head back to the penthouse.”
The driver nodded. “Yes, sir. Should I take Miss Vance….”
“No. I’ll drive her.”
“Understood.”
The driver walked toward a second car parked three spaces down. Another Mercedes. Black. Identical to the first. Elara hadn’t even noticed it sitting there.
Marcus moved to the passenger side of his car. Opened the door. Held it like a gentleman would. Like this was a date and not the aftermath of almost getting caught in the biggest lie of her life.
Elara climbed in. The leather seat was cold against her legs. She reached for the seatbelt and pulled it across her chest. Clicked it into place with hands that were finally steady again.
Marcus closed the door. Walked around the front of the car. Opened the driver’s side. Slid in behind the wheel.
He didn’t say anything. Just started the engine.
The car purred to life. Smooth. Expensive. The kind of sound that said money without trying.
Elara stared straight ahead. Watching the clin
get
smaller in the side mirror as they pulled out of the parking
lot.
She’d survived. Barely. By the skin of her teeth and a door who’d decided to lie for her.
But she couldn’t keep doing this. Couldn’t keep hidin kon
keep waiting for the next close call.
Marcus shifted gears. The car accelerated onto the main road,
Neither of them spoke.
The silence stretched. Not uncomfortable exactly. Just heavy. Like they were both thinking about things they weren’t saying.
Elara pressed her hand against her stomach. Still flat. Still hiding the secret that was growing bigger every day.
Five weeks.
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Chapter 30
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She had maybe seven more weeks before she started showing. Before the truth became impossible to hide.
Seven weeks to figure out how to tell him.
Seven weeks before everything fell apart.
They drove out of the hospital parking lot and into traffic.
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