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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Penulis: Mairee
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-07-26 00:01:56

#Paulina’s POV#

He really thinks he can ignore me.

After everything.

After all the times I defended him, paid his damn rent, posted him like he was a walking trophy and not a man who barely picked up after himself. After I stood in front of my parents and lied—bold-faced lied—about his background. About how he wasn’t some washed-up mechanic from a bad zip code with a God complex.

He thinks he can ghost me?

He thinks because he moved to Jersey and started playing nurse to some random sick bitch, I’d just… forget?

Nah.

He must’ve forgotten who my family is.

#•#

I look good. Even for a red-eye flight.

Black cropped jacket, sharp jeans that hug my hips right, and a pair of brown boots that stomp when I walk. Not squeak. Stomp. Like power.

My hair’s in its signature blowout—jet black, layered, and cut to slice—and my makeup is minimal, except the lashes. I don’t do Jersey dust-face. I do Paulina.

When I walk through arrivals, I know people are watching me. I smell expensive and I walk like
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  • The Fathers of My Child?   CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

    #Joel’s POV#It’s quiet down here. Cold, too.The kind of cold that starts in your chest and just doesn’t go away no matter how many times you pace or how much wine you pour. I’ve lost count of the number of steps I’ve taken. Or the number of times I’ve stared at this stupid paper like it’s going to rewrite itself and suddenly make sense.I hate this letter.It’s in my hand, a single page that feels like a loaded gun pointed straight at my face.“Patient: Dorothy A. Hernandez. Result: Significant drop in LH and FSH levels post first round of chemo. Cortisol markers indicate chronic distress. Recommendation: Urgent reevaluation. Discussion of risk mitigation for further fertility compromise. Addressed to: Mr. Joel Hernandez, spouse and emergency contact.”I almost laugh. Emergency contact, my ass. As if anyone even contacts me anymore. She doesn’t. Rico sure as hell doesn’t. Not unless he wants to lecture me about how to be a better man.The wine bottle’s open. Half empty. I don’t

  • The Fathers of My Child?   CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

    #Dorothy’s POV#It’s colder today.Not in the air exactly, but somewhere beneath my skin. Somewhere in that part of me I’ve stopped paying attention to because if I do, it’ll become real again. The pain. The grief. The failure.I sit up straighter on the clinic recliner even though my head is already spinning a little. My hoodie feels heavy over my body. My scarf is tight. My fingers keep picking at a loose thread on my sleeve, but I don’t stop.Because if I stop, I’ll look around and remember where I am.And I hate where I am.Chemo day. Second round.There’s this annoying IV beep that keeps reminding me I’m not done yet. That this body I’ve dragged here is still failing. Still bleeding, still rejecting me. I haven’t told Rico yet but I had another faint nosebleed this morning after brushing my teeth. Just a short one. I wiped it off with a towel, rinsed it away, and acted like it didn’t happen. Because if I said it out loud, I would break again.Dr Malik said this was expected. That

  • The Fathers of My Child?   CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

    #Rico’s POV#She was just sitting there.On the cold tile floor, her knees tucked up to her chest and her back slumped against the tub. Her eyes were open but dead. Staring at something on the ground I couldn’t even see. I had pushed her door gently at first, just enough to peek, but when I didn’t see her in bed, panic had cracked through my ribs like glass. That was what led me to the bathroom, that gut feeling, that instinct that something wasn’t right.And God, it wasn’t.There was no blood this time, thank God. At least not like last night. Was I scared when I walked into that bathroom last night? Hell yeah. She was bleeding. Shaking. There was hair on the floor. Mirror smashed. But I didn’t see her as broken. I saw her as someone trying to survive the intensity of something no one prepares for. Cancer isn’t soft. It chews you. And she’s still standing. Still breathing. I just wish she could see what I see. Give herself a little grace. But something was bleeding. Inside her. I s

  • The Fathers of My Child?   CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

    #Dorothy’s POV#It’s quiet now. Too quiet. I remember hearing something earlier; muffled voices from the floor above. Something that sounded like a crash, or a door slamming. But I didn’t check. I didn’t want to check. My body’s too tired, my chest's too tight, and my head is way too sore from everything that happened today.Instead, I did what Rico told me. I drank water. I took a warm shower. I let myself rest. Because for once, I didn’t want to think. Not about Joel. Not about Rico. Not about anything. I pulled the covers up to my chin, exhaled slowly, and tried to forget that I exist.The last thing I remember before falling asleep was the sound of the AC vent and the taste of metal at the back of my throat.#•#Something’s wet on my face.And not from tears this time.I blink slowly, eyes struggling to focus. My head’s pounding, my stomach's queasy, and my body aches in places I didn’t even know could ache. It takes a second to realize my pillow feels oddly damp, warm even, and t

  • The Fathers of My Child?   CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

    #Rico’s POV#Sometimes Rico feels like his life isn’t his anymore.Not his body. Not his hours. Not his thoughts. Not even his heartbeat.It’s all tied to someone who doesn’t belong to him.He’s sitting in the car with Dorothy still in his arms, and he doesn’t even realize they’ve been parked in front of the villa for almost three minutes now. He’s just… holding her. Because she passed out in the elevator, and he carried her down without a second thought, and somewhere along the way, he forgot that he wasn’t supposed to care this much.He forgot that this isn’t Paulina.He forgot that he’s not her husband.He forgot that he’s not supposed to feel so damn responsible.“Rico,” she murmurs, stirring against him. “You can put me down now. I can walk. I’m not dizzy anymore.”He blinks, startled. Then glances down. He hadn’t even noticed she was awake. “Shit, sorry,” he says.He gently shifts her off his lap and helps her sit upright. Her skin is still pale but her eyes are clearer.He open

  • The Fathers of My Child?   CHAPTER THIRTY–ONE

    #Dorothy’s POV#I don't want to think about last night.Or the kiss.Or Joel’s stare.Or the blankness in his eyes when he walked away without a word like my body wasn’t a crime scene and Rico wasn’t the evidence that could make it all make sense again.I don’t want to think.I just want to function.I slowly stir my tea in the villa kitchen, the spoon clinking against the ceramic mug. My fingers are numb. My lips feel dry. I haven’t been able to stomach anything since dinner two nights ago, and even now, my stomach curls at the idea of food.Today is the day.Chemo.The beginning of whatever this godawful journey is going to be.I don’t even know if I should be scared. Am I scared? Maybe. I think I am. But I’m also tired. Tired of wondering if I’ll live or die. Tired of thinking about what this is going to do to my body, my bones, my brain, my breath. Tired of guessing if my hair will fall out on the third round or the fifth. Tired of thinking of babies and how this poison in my vein

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