Chapter 4- First betrayal

I did my best to look presentable and not like I had been crying all day in my room

The address Ines sent wasn’t a restaurant or an office. It was a private floor of a building downtown, the kind with a separate elevator bank and a keycard reader instead of a lobby directory.

A woman was waiting for me when the elevator opened, mid-thirties, I think, composed in the specific way people are when discretion is part of their job description.

“Ms. Ferro. Thank you for coming on short notice. Mr. Reyes is just through here.”

I didn’t remember agreeing to give her my name or to be thanked for anything. But I kept that thought to myself and I followed her down a hallway lined with windows overlooking a city I suddenly felt very small in.

She stopped at a wide double door, knocking once. ‘Sir, Ms. Ferro is here,’ she announced, before giving me a curt smile and leaving. My hands shook as I reached for the door handle, realizing that behind this door is the father of my child.

He was standing when I walked in. Not sitting behind some desk like I’d half-expected, just standing near the window, hands in his pockets, like he hadn’t decided whether this was a meeting or not.

He was younger than his photos suggested, or maybe just more tired. Dark hair, a jaw set hard enough that I understood immediately why he never smiled in pictures, it didn’t look like an expression that came easily to him.

“Ms. Ferro.” His voice was quieter than I expected from a man with a building named after his dead wife. “Thank you for coming.”

I cleared my throat, trying to shake off my nervousness. “I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.”

His expression softened just slightly. Recognition, maybe, like he’d expected me to say something sharper and was almost relieved I hadn’t.

I crossed my arms, mostly to keep my hands from shaking. “Then let’s start with what you do know. Because I spent the last six hours finding out my husband left me, and that the baby I’m carrying belongs to a stranger who apparently owns half the skyline.”

“You’re a divorcee?,” he asked

“Yes but that's not the part I need you to focus on.”

“No,” he agreed. “It isn’t.”

“Then focus,” I said. “Tell me exactly what your ‘stake’ in this is. Not in careful sentences. Say it plainly.” I stated, knowing the risk. Either he claims full rights to the child or worse, removes me from the picture. The thought alone made me shiver inside

“I need you to understand something,” he said, with a serious undertone . “I didn’t ask for this to happen to you. I would never have chosen this for anyone..”

“Thanks for the sympathy for me,” I said sarcastically, my voice rising. “I’ve had one person today decide what I deserve to know and when. I’m not doing that twice in the same day.”

His jaw tightened, and I silently swallowed a gulp but tried to keep up my confidence

“It’s not simple,” he said finally.

“Try.”

He held my gaze as if thinking whether to tell me or not.

He looked like he might actually answer, and then didn’t. The silence went on a beat too long, and something in me, some leftover reflex from the hallway with Ines, from Trent’s folder on the dresser, refused to stand still for it a second time.

“Forget it.” I turned toward the door. “I don’t need to sign anything or agree to anything tonight. I came because Dr Ines made it sound urgent. It’s not urgent. It’s just inconvenient, for both of us.”

“Noelle.”

It was the first time he’d used my first name. I stopped, hand already on the door frame. My heart was racing and my hand was turning cold, I didn’t know if I should be offended that he used my first name or not.

I slowly turned back to face him, his gaze watching my every move

“That sample wasn’t a mistake I can undo, even if the process that led to you having it was.” He held my gaze, and for the first time since I’d walked in, something in his composure cracked, just slightly. “It’s the only one I have left.”

The room went very quiet.

“What does that mean?”

“That’s not something I can explain tonight,” he said. “Not yet.”