Spinning in my chair, I fist-pump into the air. This is the biggest break we’ve had in months.
I turn back to the monitors as my fingers fly across the keyboard.
A genuine smile curls my lips at the sight in front of me. Emma’s lying on her bed, fast asleep-her hand resting on her baby bump.
August thought he was slick, enlisting the Jacobis to help him put cameras in her room. He should know. Not much gets past Q.
“We’ll all make this up to you, Dove. Just hold on a little longer.”
EMMA
“Twins,” Shay exclaims, staring at the sonogram. “I still can’t believe I’m going to be an auntie!”
Even after it was confirmed, I still couldn’t wrap my brain around the fact that two lives were growing inside me. “You and me both,” I quip as Reign parks the car in the student lot on campus.
He and Elias will be my guards today while Fernando works on some secret project with my dad. Everyone was tightlipped, outside of saying it was a personal matter when I questioned what he would be doing. My guess is that it has something to do with his family in Polanco.
Shay and I both have classes. She has chemistry, and I have sociology. I’m still miffed that we don’t have even one class together this semester.
“Were you able to find out what you’re having?” She asks as we unbuckle and gather our bags.
My sixteen-week appointment is next week, and Dr. Jaffri said if I wanted to and the twins weren’t being shy, I could find out the sex of the babies.
“Not yet, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I want to. The only thing I care about is having a safe and healthy pregnancy. Everything else is pretty much white noise.”
Shay waits until we’re on the sidewalk before speaking again. “Sigh. Fine. Out the window goes my gender reveal idea,” she laments in quite a dramatic fashion, placing the back of her hand on her forehead and throwing her head back like a damsel in distress.
I snort, “You really need to be a drama major instead of a science one. I think you’d have a more lucrative acting career than one in forensic science.”
“You wound me further,” she gasps. “Have you not heard of Henry Chang-Yu Lee?” My face scrunches, and when she notices my confusion, she continues. “He’s only, like, one of the fathers of forensic science. He’s helped solve numerous cases through crime scene investigation and reconstruction.”
Her excitement is palpable, making me smile. She knows I was only joking, but her joy makes me grateful that she’s still here with me. I shudder at the thought of how close I came to losing her.
“You could play a forensic scientist on television like they do on
CSI or
Dexter,” I joke.
She rolls her eyes. “I know at your last appointment you mentioned Dr. Jaffri looking into what could’ve happened with your implant. Did anything come of that?” Shay steers the conversation back to the original topic.
I shrug. “We have some ideas, but until we find the doctor who was supposed to put in the implant and didn’t, we won’t know who was responsible.”
“But you used condoms as well. Shouldn’t that have helped mitigate the probability of you becoming pregnant if the implant failed? I mean, I know condoms aren’t one hundred percent, but they should’ve helped some, right?” Shay inquires, handing me back the ultrasound pictures as we walked across campus.
I nod. “It should’ve, but as you said, they aren’t foolproof, and without knowing why the doctor didn’t insert the implant, choosing instead to give me a fertility shot, I won’t know the extent of why this happened.”
We’re approaching the Quad, where we’ll separate when she asks, “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Nope. I’m absolutely not sure, but I know when all options were presented to me, the path I chose felt the most right.”
I’m too young to be a mother to one child, much less two, but I knew the instant I heard their heartbeats, I’d burn the whole fucking world to the ground before I let anything or anyone harm them.
Shay hugs me. “And I’ll be here with you every step of the way. Even if those ras eediots can’t pull their heads out of their asses.”
I squeeze her back but don’t respond. Any mention of them still feels too raw after what happened earlier this week. Since then, I’ve seen one of them in each of my classes, but they don’t speak or acknowledge me. So, I’ll do the same.
The onus is on them to reach out, and if they never do, I might be a single parent, but I’ll have a village supporting me. It will also fuel my desire to bring the Fraternitas to heel.
Releasing each other, we agree to meet here after classes are over before saying goodbye.
Reign and Elias position themselves on each side of me. We walk in silence as we approach the Humanities building. It’s not until we’re outside of my sociology class door that Reign speaks. “August will be in there.”
My throat tightens at the mention of his name. The one who claimed me so boldly that I believed him despite my reluctance to trust.
Some good that did me.
Inhaling, I ease the air past the lump in my throat and stiffen my spine. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I encountered him. I’ve been dreading seeing them in my classes. I quickly curse the registrar’s office. Only my luck would make it so they’d each be in one of my classes.
“It’s fine,” I lie. “Which one of you will be inside with me today?”
They both study my face, quickly reading that I’m full of shit, but neither calls me on it.
“Both of us,” Elias answers.
I arch a brow, conveying my silent question.
“Two guards will be outside during classes from now on, and there will always be at least two of us inside with you,” Reign explains.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I grumble, knowing there’s been some new development I’m not privy to.
Reign’s eyes soften at my obvious annoyance. “There’s no big conspiracy on this one. After the incident in the cafe and discovering you’ll have the Heirs in your classes, we’ve revised your detail.”
“Fine,” I sigh, then pull the door open. I’m the first to arrive, so we find seats in the back of the class. Since day one, they’ve insisted that this provides the best vantage point.
We’re situated in our seats before people start to trickle in. I’m scrolling through Summer’s social media accounts when I feel his presence.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.