CHAPTER FOUR

Ondina's POV

"VIP patient in room four. Sperm extraction and freezing. Get in there now."

I took the chart from my supervisor without looking up. "Yes, ma'am. I am on my way."

"Do not mess this up, Ondina," she warned sharply. "This client pays a lot of money to the pack hospital. Everything must be perfect."

"I know," I muttered.

I did not even glance at the patient details on the paper. My body felt heavy and exhausted. I cried until my throat burned the night before. When I woke up this morning, I cried all over again because for one tiny, stupid second before my eyes opened, I forgot what happened. I thought my life was still normal. I thought Ezra still loved me.

I almost called in sick. But the head nurse already hated my guts, and giving her another excuse would only invite more misery. So I dragged myself into my fresh nurse uniform and came to work.

I pushed the heavy door of room four open and walked inside.

I froze instantly.

He sat comfortably on the medical bed in a standard hospital gown. He looked totally calm and relaxed, like he sat there waiting specifically for me. The same man from the hallway. The same burning gold eyes that locked onto mine before he let me go.

Hot shame rushed over my cheeks all at once. I spun around immediately, ready to run back out the door.

"I am sorry," I stammered, grabbing the doorknob. "I will get another nurse for you."

A warm hand closed gently around my wrist before I could pull the door open.

"Wait," he said.

His voice was not sharp. It was not demanding. It sounded steady, like he already knew what I wanted to do and decided to stop me.

"I cannot do this," I whispered, keeping my eyes glued to the floor. "Please, get someone else."

"There is no one else free right now, and I do not have the time to wait," he said. His grip loosened slightly on my wrist, but he did not let go. "I am in a bit of a hurry, if you do not mind."

"Fine," I breathed out, knowing I had no real choice. "Just let me get this over with. But do not ask me any questions about last night."

"Not that it is any of my business," he said smoothly.

Something about the way he said those words told me he already knew every single thing that happened at the banquet.

I had performed this procedure a few times during my nursing training, but I had never done it completely alone. I was the only nurse on duty in this wing. My hands shook slightly as I prepped the sterile tray. I applied the lubricant on his job and began giving him a stroke to collect the sample.

A low sound slipped out of his throat, right between a rough laugh and a deep groan.

"Is this even funny to you?" I snapped, my cheeks burning like fire.

"Is this your first time doing this alone?" he asked back, his voice sounding much rougher now. A small smile still pulled at the corners of his lips while his breathing changed under my hand.

"Were you taught to answer my questions with your own questions?" I retorted.

"You are doing the exact same thing."

I rolled my eyes and kept working. I refused to give him the satisfaction of another response, even though my entire body felt way too aware of him. I felt the intense heat radiating off his skin. I heard the low, guttural growls that slipped past his lips the closer he got to the end. When he finally finished, I caught the warm sample quickly in the sterile cup. I kept my head down, too embarrassed to look at his face.

"I will send this sample to the lab for testing," I said quickly, stepping back. "You can see the doctor now."

Another nurse opened the door to walk him out. He stood up from the bed and buttoned his gown. But right at the doorway, he stopped walking.

He did not turn around to face me.

"You looked beautiful last night," he said clearly. "Any man who does not see that beauty is not worth your time."

Before I could say a single word back, he walked out of the room.

I stood completely alone in the quiet clinic room, my heart doing a strange flip I had no name for.

I thought about his surprising words the entire day. By the time my long shift finally ended, I made a major decision that sat quietly in the back of my mind for months. If Ezra refused to give me a family, I would build one on my own terms. I spoke with the chief doctor, passed my medical checkups, and scheduled the artificial insemination for the very next day.

When I unlocked the front door and walked into my house that evening, Ivy stood in the living room. Her large suitcases were packed neatly by the front door.

"I cannot believe I am finally better than you, sissy," Ivy said, her eyes glittering with pure malice instead of sadness. "I have always been better. You were just more successful at hiding your failures. Even our mother looked at your face before mine when we were born."

I said nothing. I just stared at her.

"Everyone thought I was a total failure," Ivy continued, her voice rising. "Including you. And you secretly enjoyed watching me struggle. I hope you liked my wedding gift last night."

Her smile turned sharp when I still did not answer her taunts.

"Why are you not angry?" she demanded, stepping closer. "Do you not want to slap me across the face? Do you not want your man back?"

"A wise man once told me," I said quietly, looking her straight in the eye, "that any man who does not see my beauty is not worth my time. I believe him."

Ivy's face twisted instantly, caught somewhere between blind fury and utter confusion.

"I am moving into the royal house with Ezra," she tried one last time to hurt me.

"I wish you both all the luck," I said calmly, and walked straight into my bedroom, closing the door firmly on her angry mutters.

I went through with the artificial insemination procedure the next morning.

Three weeks later~

I sat on the cold edge of my bathroom tub. My best friend, Betty, held my hand tightly as we stared down at the small plastic stick.

Two pink lines appeared clearly on the test.

I was pregnant.

Betty jumped up screaming happily, “I'm gonna be an aunty!”

“And I'm gonna be a mom! Finally!”

Before I could even process the heavy tears pooling in my eyes, my phone started ringing loudly on the sink counter.

I picked it up and answered. "Hello?"

"Hurry and get to the hospital right now," my supervisor shouted through the speaker. She sounded completely breathless and panicked.

"But it is my day off today, ma'am," I said, frowning.

What a way to ruin my morning.

"This is not about your schedule, Ondina."

"Then what is wrong?" I asked, my stomach dropping.

"You were injected with the wrong sperm sample," her voice came across the line, shaking violently. "And the real owner of the sample is standing right here in my office as we speak.”