Chapter 4

Marcelina's POV 

Inside my head, I was doing something very close to a victory dance.

No, scratch that, it was a full celebration. Confetti, music, fireworks. The kind of ridiculous happiness I had not let myself feel in years.

I was finally getting my child.

A baby. Mine.

I did not care if it was a boy or a girl. I did not care if they had his dark gray eyes or my stubborn mouth. I would love them anyway. I would love them completely. 

I was already thinking of names, too many names. Lily, Adrian, Bloom, Tristan. I filed them away carefully, like precious little things I needed to take very good care of later.

I was so lost in it that I did not notice the tears. Not until his voice cut through my thoughts.

"If you're planning on crushing my waist, you might want to be ready for another round of evaluation."

Reality snapped back into place.

Oh.

My legs.

They were still locked tight around him.

Heat rushed to my face as I quickly unwrapped myself, nearly tripping in the process. 

"Oh God. I'm sorry." I gave a small, nervous laugh. "You wouldn't need a neurologist for that anyway. More like an orthopedic doctor. Or maybe... a very patient physical therapist."

I waited for him to laugh.

But he didn't.

And just like that, my lame attempt at a joke fell flat, hitting the floor between us and dying there. My smile faded. So I did the only thing I knew how to do.

I put myself back together.

I smoothed my skirt, fixed my blouse, and tried to tame my hair with my fingers, though it was useless. By the time I looked up again, he was already seated behind his desk.

Perfect, calm, and composed.

Like nothing had ever happened.

Meanwhile, here I was, looking like a storm had passed through me. My hair was a mess, my makeup was smudged, and I had cûm I was struggling to keep in my pûssy, slowly dripping down my thighs.

I needed to go to the nearest restroom before everyone realized I had just screwed the owner of this building.

"Thank you," I blurted out. 

The words came out before I could stop them. To anyone who had just witnessed what happened between us, it must've sounded completely, utterly insane. But I meant them deeply. 

"What did you just say?" Mr. Vitali asked, brows pulling together.

Of course, he had to make it worse.

I straightened automatically, slipping back into my professional mask. "I said—" 

As if he could bear hearing the words again, he cut in. "Is this your first quickie with a random stranger?"

Quickie.

So that's what that was called.

I wanted to correct that he wasn't a random stranger. Well, except for the fact that I knew nothing about his family history or anything else I wasn't allowed to know, but I decided against it.

"No. I mean, yes," I said quickly, then frowned. "But also no."

He looked at me with clear boredom, like I wasn't worth any more of his precious time. That was my cue, run. 

I bent down, grabbed my shredded underwear from the floor, shoved it into my bag without thinking, and headed for the door. 

I should have left immediately, I should have disappeared. Just as my hand touched the handle, his voice stopped me and I turned around without thinking.

"For the record, Doc, thanking a man after sex is unusual."

Heat crept up my neck. 

Of course it was. Of course, I had made it even more strange and awkward. Before I could say anything, his eyes dropped to my bag. Then back to my face. 

"Leave it." 

I frowned. "Leave what?" 

His jaw tightened. "The panties,"

My stomach dropped.

For a second, shame washed over me so fast it almost made me dizzy. Why would he want that? The thought alone made my face burn as my fingers tightened around my bag strap.

But then something else followed.

It was nothing, just fabric. 

And compared to what I had just taken from him, compared to what I was walking away with inside my body, it was almost laughable.

This was not the greater theft.

So without another word, I opened my bag. My hand shook as I reached in and pulled the shredded white fabric free. I held it for one humiliating second, then let it fall to the floor.

That was it, I did not wait for more.

I simply turned and fled his office, heels clicking too fast, heart pounding too hard, my chest tight with fear, relief, and something dangerously close to triumph.

I did not look back.

Because if I did, I might feel guilty.

And guilt was a luxury I could not afford. 

Not when I was already carrying everything I came for.

****

ONE MONTH LATER •••

By the time I finally drove into the clubhouse, my cheeks already hurt from smiling so hard. I could already picture the look on Corey's face when I told her. The shock first, then the screaming. And finally, the threats to strangle me for keeping something this big a secret.

She would forgive me later.

Probably.

We hadn't seen each other in months, and this was not the kind of news you shared over the phone or through text messages. This needed to be face-to-face. And I couldn't wait to tell her.

Pulling up front, I cut the engine and handed my keys to the valet, who smiled politely. I smiled back and grabbed my purse, still riding that quiet, buzzing happiness that refused to leave me these days.

It followed me everywhere now. In the mornings when I woke up, in the small breaks between work, and in the way my hand kept drifting to my stomach without me even realizing it.

My life suddenly felt unreal in the best possible way, and that was all thanks to Dom Vitali.

"You're alive," Corey shouted the moment she saw me. "I was starting to think you'd ghosted me."

"I told you I was busy," I said, sliding onto a stool across from her.

She now worked as a bartender at the newest club in the city, and she loved it. She said it kept her entertained and paid her bills without draining the life out of her. Corey had never liked the idea of sitting in an air-conditioned office for hours, staring at screens, filling files, or living by schedules and rules. 

That was my world, not hers.

"Busy saving lives or busy living a boring life?" she asked, grinning wide and unapologetic. "Because the day I do any of that is the day hell freezes over."

I laughed. God, I had missed her.

"First drink's on me." She said, setting a menu in front of me. "You're overdue." 

Here we go.

"I can't,"

As expected, she rolled her eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you those coffees or whatever it is you science geniuses take won't do you any good?"

"About a million times," I said lightly and smiled at her. "I missed you."

"And you expect me to believe that?" She asked, sliding a drink to a customer before turning back to me. "You've been dodging me for months."

"I know, and I'm sorry. Yes, it's been work all through, but it's different this time. Life changing in fact."

Her eyebrow shot up. "Okay, now you have my attention. Spit it out,"

This was it.

My heart started beating faster from excitement. But just as I was about to speak, a male coworker who had been glaring at Corey since I walked in leaned closer.

"Corey, less talking, more pouring,"

"Less breathing, more minding your goddamn business, Jake," She fired back without even looking at him.

As the coworker shook his head and walked away, I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Thankfully, it was a bit early, which meant fewer customers.

"I had a new patient from Las Vegas who needed special evaluation. He flew me out for it,"

Corey hummed. "Already sounds filthy rich,"

"Yeah, but that's not the point," I continued. "That patient turned out to be perfect. He ticked all the boxes,"

I told her all about Dom Vitali's condition and how I had left Vegas the morning after the final evaluation. New York was my home and flying back had been part relief, part survival.

Although my work was demanding, it kept my mind busy. And busy was good. Distance was even better because it meant secrets stayed buried.

I would go back to my life and he would go back to his. And if everything worked the way I planned, I would already have my child and be far into motherhood before our paths ever crossed again.

Still, doubt came to me.

What if it didn't work?

What if I had risked everything for nothing?

I remembered those first weeks clearly. Sitting alone in my apartment, counting days, and pretending I wasn't scared. I would lie awake at night, resting my hand on my stomach while whispering promises to something that might not even exist yet.

Then the test turned positive.

I cried right there on my bathroom floor. 

The tears were the ugly kind, the kind that came with shaking hands and laughter that scared even me. I was pregnant. And nothing in my life had ever felt so right.

"You're... You're pregnant?" Corey asked after processing all I had said. 

I nodded in response and placed a protective hand on my stomach, even though there was barely anything to protect yet. 

Her eyes widened, then she gasped loudly. "No way, Marcelina Owens, you did not..."

"Yes way, Corey,"

The scream she let out made heads turn across the club. A fellow coworker groaned, "Corey, what the hell?"

"Shut up," She snapped without looking and rushed around the bar. 

When she got to where I sat, she grabbed me and hugged me tight. "Oh my God. Oh my God, Marcel! You did it. You actually did it."

I laughed into her shoulder, "I did," 

Corey knew everything. 

About my condition, my fears, and how badly I wanted a child. She had tried to set me up with men before, but it never worked. I always wanted medical records and she could never get those.

Pulling back, she smiled so hard her cheeks must have hurt. "Drinks on me." 

"You know I can't," I said gently.

She followed my hand to my stomach again and smiled even wider. "Right. I'll drink for both of us." 

With that, she returned behind the bar, poured herself two shots, and downed them one at a time. "Okay. Tell me everything. Who's this man with the perfect genes?"

I paused for a bit, thinking of dark gray eyes, of a man who had no idea what he had given me. Then finally, I replied. "Someone I won't be needing ever again,"