Chapter 70
This was the weirdest question Elara had ever heard in her entire life.
“What?” she said, staring at him in complete disbelief.
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“How long have you been seeing him?” Marcus repeated, in case she didn’t hear it the first time. “How long have I been seeing who?” Elara asked, her confusion genuine. “Marcus, what are you talking about?”
He didn’t answer. Just stood there on the stairs, looking down at her with that hollow expression like he was disappointed in her.
Elara took a breath, forcing herself to stay calm even though she was a few seconds away from having a panic attack. “You know what? Let’s sit down and have a conversation like proper adults. I’ll let you talk, and I’ll explain myself too. And if you have any other questions, I promise to answer them. All of them.”
Marcus didn’t move.
She walked toward the stairs slowly, reaching out to take his hand. “Marcus, please.”
His body was stiff at first, resistant to her touch. But after a moment, he finally eased out, letting her fingers wrap around his. She led him back down the stairs, across the living room, to the couch where they’d sat together just last night. Where everything had felt perfect and uncomplicated.
They sat down, and the silence between them was suffocating.
Marcus looked at her, his eyes searching her face for something she wasn’t sure she could give him. “How long have you been seeing him?” he asked again, this time his voice was flat-and emotionless. “Remember the contract? We agreed we wouldn’t see anyone while it was in effect.”
Elara’s heart broke a little at the accusation in his voice. She leaned forward, making sure he was looking directly at her when she spoke.
“I promise to give you nothing but the truth in this conversation,” she said clearly. “There’s nobody, Marcus. Don’t let those weird people’s comments get to you. I swear on everything, there is no one. I haven’t even seen any other person romantically for like a year before you.”
Marcus shook his head, frustration creeping into his expression. “It says you’re seven weeks pregnant, Elara. We just had sex yesterday. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to agree with those people. The math isn’t mathing.”
Elara stared at him for a long moment, and then something inside her snapped. Not with anger, but with the absurdity of what he’d just said.
“Are you kidding me right now, Marcus?”
“No, I’m not. I’m just a little confused.”
“We just had sex yesterday?” She couldn’t believe she had to spell this out for him. “Seriously? What happened in the fire exit? The end-of-the-year gala night in December? Hello? Boss? Does that ring a bell?”
Recognition dawned on Marcus’s face like a lightning strike. “Oh shit,” he breathed. “Oh shit.”
14:56 Mon, May 11
Chapter 70
“Yeah, oh shit,” Elara said, shaking her head.
“Wait, but I used protection,” Marcus said, his brow curved a little. “I know I did. I remember putting it on.”
“Well, news flash, Marcus. Protection sometimes fails.” Elara’s voice softened slightly. “The condom must have probably broken because you weren’t going easy on me either. It was almost rough sex. Both of us couldn’t get our hands off each other.”
A tiny smile rested at Marcus’s lips despite everything, and she saw a faint blush creep up his neck. Even now, even in the middle of this mess, the memory of that night still affected him.
Elara continued, her voice quieter now. “I found out I was pregnant about a week after it happened.”
The smile disappeared from Marcus’s face immediately. He looked like someone had punched him in the stomach. “Why didn’t you tell me, Elara?” The brokenness in his voice nearly undid her.
“We didn’t have this relationship we have now,” she said, gesturing between them. “You weren’t nice to me, you know. You were cold and distant and treated me like I was just another employee. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you I was pregnant from a silly drunken one-night stand-”
“It wasn’t silly,” Marcus cut her off sharply. “Don’t call it that. Stop.”
The intensity in his voice surprised her. She nodded slowly. “Okay. It wasn’t silly. But I still didn’t know how you’d take it. I didn’t want to lose my job at that moment because it was all I had to take care of my mum. I needed that salary, Marcus. I needed that stability.” She paused, remembering those dark weeks of panic and indecision. “I planned to get an abortion before you brought the marriage contract.”
Marcus flinched like she’d slapped him.
“At first, I thought you’d found out somehow,” Elara continued. “I thought you just wanted to marry me so I wouldn’t have your child outside of wedlock. But then I noticed you genuinely didn’t know, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. Every day that passed made it harder. How do you tell someone something like that when the moment just never feels right?”
She reached for her clutch, which she’d dropped on the coffee table when they came in. Her hands were shaking as she pulled out the folded paper, the ultrasound results she’d been trying to show him at the
restaurant.
“See?” She handed it to him. “It’s from just a couple of days ago. Mimi and I went to the hospital to confirm everything.”
Marcus took the paper, unfolding it carefully. His eyes scanned the medical terminology, the dates, the confirmation of what she’d just told him.
“That day you did your makeup and went out for dinner?” he asked quietly.
Elara nodded. “Yeah. That’s why I was so stressed when I came home. That’s why I couldn’t tell you where I’d been.”
“So that’s why you looked drained,” Marcus said, more to himself than to her.
She smiled sadly. “Yes. And I planned to tell you tonight, over dinner. I was trying to bring out the paper to show you when the news came through.” Her voice cracked slightly. “I’m really sorry, Marcus.”
14:56 Mon, May 11
Chapter 70
She slid off the couch and knelt in front of him, taking his hands in hers. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you. I wasn’t trying to trap you or use you or any of the things those comments said. I was just scared and confused and I didn’t know how to tell you.”
Marcus looked down at her, and for a moment neither of them moved. Then he reached down and helped her up, pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent.
They stayed like that for a long moment, just holding each other in the quiet of the living room.
Then Elara pulled back slightly, just enough to look at his face. Her heart was pounding again, but for a different reason this time.
“There’s a tiny detail I left out, Marcus,” she whispered.
He released her from the hug, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. “What detail?”
Elara took a breath. This was it. The last piece of information that would either make this better or so much worse.
She looked into his eyes, those dark eyes that had watched her so coldly for three years and now looked at her with utmost passion.
“It’s twins, Marcus.”
The words hung in the air between them.
His expression didn’t change immediately. He just stared at her like he was trying to process the words, translate them into something that made sense.
“What?” His voice came out as barely a whisper.
“Twins,” Elara repeated, her own voice shaking now. “A boy and a girl. I’m carrying twins.”
Marcus’s hands dropped from her shoulders. He took a step back, then another, until he had to sit down on the couch. His face had gone pale, all the color draining away as the reality of what she’d just said sank
“Twins,” he repeated, the word sounding foreign in his mouth. “Two babies.”
“Yes.”
He looked up at her, and the expression on his face was something she couldn’t read. Shock, definitely. Fear, maybe. But there was something else there too, something that looked almost like wonder.
“We’re having twins,” he said again, like he needed to hear it one more time to believe it.
Elara nodded, tears streaming down her face now. “Yes, Marcus. We’re having twins.”
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