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"In a good way?" I asked. Alex got to his feet and sank down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder – he moved a little stiffly, still obviously not entirely sure how to go about comforting her, but willing to give it a try.
"In a good way," she promised me. "A really good way. I...I thought you were going to leave..."
"We’re not going anywhere," Alex replied, an edge of apology in his voice like he was letting her know how sorry he was for what had happened before. If he had told her he wanted to keep things professional, I could see why she was so hurt – it was clear, just looking at the two of them together, that it was never going to work for them, not when they wanted each other so badly.
"Thank God," she breathed, resting her head on Alex’s shoulder as I rubbed my thumb across her knee. I needed her to know she was safe here, with the two of us – not just from any outside threat, but from what went on in her own head, too.
A soft, comfortable silence settled over the three of us. We all knew, of course, that there was still so much we were going to need to take care of – so much we needed to think about, when it came to caring for her through this pregnancy, let alone what we were going to do when the child actually came along. But, after a long pause, she lifted her head from Alex’s shoulder, and glanced between us again.
"I guess there’s someone we need to tell about this, then," she added. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself, as though so much as saying his name out loud was going to summon him.
"My father.
Chapter Twenty-One – Olya
I paused outside the door to my father’s office, hovering my hand over the wood. How many times had I stood here over the years? How many times had I hovered out here, wondering just what I was going to say to him, worried about how he was going to take this request or that one? I had no idea. I felt like a teenager again. But what I was coming to him with...it was far from childish.
I forced myself to knock on the door; he didn’t know I was coming. I had figured it would be the only way to get him alone, to have some time to myself with him to clear the air. I could already imagine all the ways he was going to freak out, how he would rage when he discovered what had happened since he had hired the guys, but I couldn’t let that get to me. I wanted to clear the air now before I started to show, and the truth of this pregnancy was written all over my body.
"Come in," he intoned from inside, and I pushed open the door and slipped through. Alex and Solomon had offered to come with me to this meeting, but I knew there was no way in hell I wanted them by my side when my father found out I had been sleeping with them. He would lose his mind – shit, he was protective of me at the best of times, when he found out that I had been involved with two men? He was going to flip his shit, and I didn’t want them to be on the receiving end of it when it happened.
But I appreciated their willingness to be here for me, even when things were hard, even when things felt impossible. I still couldn’t believe they had taken the news of the pregnancy so well. I had fully expected them to turn their backs on me and leave, and I had been prepared for what it might feel like if they did – I had been so used to the thought of being left behind, that I had just assumed they would do it the first chance they got.
But they hadn’t. They were sticking by me. Even Alex. Hell, he had been fussing over me every single minute he was awake since he had found out – making sure I had everything I needed, making sure I wasn’t feeling ill or tired or hungry, practically chasing me around to ensure that each and every one of my needs were taken care of. That distance he’d wanted to put between us, had fallen away the moment he had seen the possibility of this future together, and I couldn’t have been more grateful.
My father stared up at me for a moment as I stood in front of him, his brow furrowed, obviously confused.
"What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.
"We need to talk, Dad," I told him, wrapping my arms around myself protectively. He nodded for me to take the seat opposite him.
"Is it going to be quick?" he asked. "I have a meeting-"
"No, it’s not," I replied, honestly. "But it’s important. And I need you to hear this, Dad, okay?"
He cocked an eyebrow, staring back at me, but then nodded.
"Okay," he muttered, and he glanced behind me. "Where are Alex and Solomon? I told them not to let you go anywhere without them-"
"I wanted to come and speak to you alone," I explained to him, my voice trembling. "Because...because this is just between us, Dad, okay?"
His eyes darkened. He could tell this was something serious. I didn’t know what to say to him right now, what I could tell him that was going to convince him this wasn’t the mess he would likely imagine it to be – I just wanted him to understand that I needed him, no matter how difficult it might have been for him to wrap his head around.
"What’s going on, Olya?" he demanded. "What happened?"
I ran my hands over my stomach, a comforting motion that had become something of a habit in these last few days since I had found out.
"I’m pregnant."
There it was. His eyes widened, his jaw tensing, and he froze in his seat like time had ground to a standstill at the sound of those words coming out of my mouth.
"You’re what?" he muttered.
"I’m pregnant," I continued. I had to use this moment of shock to get as much of this out as I possibly could. "And...and Alex and Solomon are going to be raising the baby with me."
"Them?" he shot back. "What do they have to do with it?"
"They’re...they’re the fathers."
