Lahat ng Kabanata ng Reject Me, Alpha Tate: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

Nicole pov He holds my gaze. "When I visited at five, she called the attendant competent," he says. "From my mother, that’s the highest possible praise."I look at the wall, staying silent."She’s not an easy person," he adds. "I know exactly what she was like, before all this."There is a weight to his words that I don’t push. "She’s improving," I say. "That’s what matters.""Nicole," he says."I’m off shift," I tell him."I know, I just wanted to say—I see what you do there, how you handle her, what it costs you." He looks at me directly. "I see it."The hallway falls silent."Thank you," I responded. It is the only safe, honest answer I have.He nods, letting me pass. I am almost away when he speaks again."The pregnancy test."I stop."You told me it belonged to one of the maids," he says. "That she was scared and asked you to hide it."I turn around slowly. "Yes.""Which maid?" he says."I don't remember her name," I say. "It was years ago.""You don't remember her name," he rep

Nicole's POVThe rooftop garden is mine between twelve-thirty and one.Not officially. It is shared space, but I claimed it four years ago when I needed to escape the institutional smell of the lab and apartment. I sat on the bench near the east wall, looked at the trees, and felt, briefly, like a person rather than a project.I have been coming back ever since.I step through the door and find Tate already there, sitting on my bench. He has a coffee he isn't drinking and the stillness of a man who came here on purpose.He looks up. He isn't surprised, which means he knew I came here. He has been paying more attention than I realized—and I already credited him with plenty.I could leave. Instead, I walk to the bench and sit at the far end, maintaining a deliberate distance. I open the lunch Amber packed because she has decided I am not eating enough.He says nothing for a moment."I was going to find you today," he says finally."You found me," I say."I was going to do it properly," h

Tate's POVI go to Tracy's room on Saturday morning because I have been putting it off for a while and I am done putting it off.Sophia is already there, which I didn't plan for but cannot avoid. Lily is at the table with a coffee. Tracy is in the chair by the window, which is where she is when she has slept reasonably well.I close the door. "I need to speak to you about the attendant," I say.Tracy looks up. "Good morning to you too, Tate.""Dr. Carter filed a formal complaint recently," I say. "She had documentation. Specific incidents, specific language which she presented to me in detail and I am here because she was right to file it."Sophia's expression stays carefully neutral. "I'm not sure what we're supposed to have done.""I know exactly what was done," I say. "I know what was said to Lea in this room and I am telling you now that it stops.""She's an attendant," Sophia says."She is a person," I say, and my voice comes out quiet enough that Sophia pauses. "She is a person

I close my mouth.The heat moves through me again, deeper this time. I press my free hand flat against my thigh where she cannot see it, breathing through my nose slowly, evenly counting. My voice stays completely steady. To anyone looking at me, nothing has changed."Tell your Dr Carter," Tracy says, settling back, "that I am not impressed. Tell her that if she has charges to make, she should make them. I will be right here waiting." She gestures at the room around her. "And tell her to come out from behind her glass and her machine and say things to my face, like a person with a spine, if she believes she has something to say." A pause. "I gave that woman the benefit of the doubt. Whatever my son said about her work, I thought — fine, perhaps she is doing something useful. And then I find out she is sitting in a back room collecting words like evidence and sending them upstairs." She shakes her head slowly. "A coward dressed up as a professional.""Your results this week are positiv

Nicole pov The twins, I think the nursery should be closed by now. The apartment is quiet." His eyes move briefly around the room. "Where are they?" I met his gaze. "With their father," I say. "Marlon has them for a few days. They're spending time with him." Something moves through his expression. It's controlled and quick, then gone. He nods once, slowly—the way you nod when you're accepting information you don't actually believe "Right," he says. "You can check if you'd like," I say, and I hear the edge in my own voice and I don't pull it back. "You can call Marlon and confirm. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you." "I'm not going to call Marlon," he says. "Then stop looking at me like that." "Like what." "Like I'm lying to you." He is quiet for a moment. "I wasn't looking at you like anything." "You were," I say. "You do it and you think I don't notice but I notice everything, I have been noticing everything for weeks." I take a breath. "The children are with Marlon, they