Chapter 4

Dominic took his bath and left without saying anything.

I didn’t try to stop him this time.

What was there to say?

He had already told me the truth.

He was with Mirabel.

And he didn’t feel bad about it.

I was still sitting on the bed long after he left.

I didn’t move.

I just sat there, staring at nothing.

My body felt… numb.

But my mind wasn’t.

It wouldn’t stop.

How could Dominic love Mirabel like that… without even knowing she didn’t love him back?

How could she stand in front of him, look him in the eyes, and pretend?

How did she do it in high school?

How is she doing it now?

My thoughts stopped abruptly as a sharp wave of nausea twisted in my stomach.

I pressed my hand against my mouth and rushed to the bathroom.

I barely made it.

I dropped to my knees and threw up into the toilet.

My head spun as I stayed there, gripping the edge tightly.

It came again.

I threw up a second time, my body shaking slightly with it.

When it finally stopped, I stayed there for a while, breathing unevenly.

My whole body felt light.

As if something had been drained out of me.

My head was still spinning.

“What is this…” I whispered under my breath.

I pushed myself up slowly and rinsed my mouth, splashing water on my face.

It didn’t help much.

I walked back into the room and sat down on the bed again.

My legs felt weak.

Unsteady.

At first, I thought it was just stress.

Yesterday had been too much.

Everything had been too much.

But then—

The thought came, making my mind freeze.

Slowly, I turned and reached for my phone.

My fingers moved quickly as I opened the calendar.

April 26.

I stared at the date.

My period…

I hadn’t seen it this month.

My grip tightened slightly around the phone.

No.

There was no way.

There was no way it was what I was thinking.

I stood up immediately.

I needed to be sure.

I couldn’t sit here and think about it.

Not when everything else was already falling apart.

I went into the bathroom, took a quick bath, and got dressed.

I picked up one of Dominic’s car keys from the dresser and walked out of the room.

The house was quiet as I stepped outside.

I got into the car and drove out of the mansion.

There was no way I was pregnant.

Not now.

Not in this situation.

Not when Dominic was with….

I stopped the thought before it could finish.

My fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel.

I kept driving.

By the time I got to the hospital, my heart was already beating fast.

A nurse led me into a doctor’s office.

A female doctor.

She greeted me politely, her tone calm and professional.

I nodded and sat down.

Everything after that felt… distant.

Routine.

She asked questions.

I answered.

She took blood samples.

Wrote things down.

Explained things.

I heard her.

But I wasn’t really listening.

After she was done, she told me to wait.

So I did.

I sat there alone.

The room was too quiet.

The ticking of the clock felt louder than it should have.

Time passed.

I didn’t know how much.

My thoughts didn’t settle. They just kept circling.

So what if it was positive?

What would that even mean for me?

People said children were a blessing. That they brought warmth into a home.

But my home…

My home was already breaking.

What kind of life would that be for a child?

What kind of home would I even give them?

“Mrs. Kings.”

The doctor’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I looked up.

She was standing there now with an envelope in her hand.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.

“Congratulations,” she said gently. “You’re pregnant.”

My fingers tightened against the chair.

“Huh?” The word slipped out before I could stop it.

“It’s positive,” she repeated with a small smile.

I blinked once.

Then again.

And then—

Something shifted.

I didn’t understand it.

A small flicker of happiness rose in my chest.

Soft and Unexpected.

But it didn’t last.

Dominic’s voice came back.

Clear.

You don’t understand how much I’ve missed you… all these years… thanks for coming back to me.

My stomach twisted.

Just like that, the feeling disappeared.

I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel.

Happy?

Sad?

Both?

Neither?

I just sat there, staring at nothing for a moment.

But somewhere inside me…

There was still something small.

A quiet hope.

I couldn’t explain it.

But it was there.

How would Dominic react?

Would this change anything?

I didn’t have an answer.

I stood up slowly.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

Then I turned and walked out.

By the time I got back to the mansion, I was exhausted.

Not just tired.

It felt like something had been drained out of me.

I checked the time on my phone as I stepped out of the car.

2:00 p.m.

I hadn’t even realized how long I’d been gone.

I walked up to the door and pushed it open.

The moment I stepped inside, I paused.

A sound echoed through the living room.

A laugh.

Light. High-pitched.

Familiar.

My whole body went still.

I knew that laugh.

I would recognize it anywhere.

My fingers tightened slightly around my phone as my heart began to beat faster.

Slowly, I walked further in.

Each step felt heavier than the last.

And then I saw her.

Mirabel.

The last person I ever expected to see in my home.

Everything in my head went quiet.

My body froze.

I couldn’t move.

She was sitting comfortably on the couch, her legs curled beneath her like she belonged there. Her blonde hair fell loosely across her face as she laughed, her head tilted slightly down.

And Dominic—

My gaze shifted to him.

He was sitting close to her.

Smiling.

No… not just smiling.

It was more than that.

His entire expression had softened in a way I had never seen before.

There was something warm in it.

Something real.

A faint flush colored his face as he looked at her, like he couldn’t stop himself.

Like he didn’t want to.

Something pressed against my ribs.

He had never looked at me like this.

Mirabel’s laughter slowly faded as her attention shifted.

Her eyes lifted and landed on me.

A smirk curved on her lips.

That same infuriating smirk.

The one I had never been able to forget.

The one that always made it clear she knew exactly what she was doing.

“Oh! You’re back,” she said lightly.

Dominic turned at the sound of her voice.

His eyes met mine.

And just like that, the smile on his face disappeared.