Page 250 of Triplet Babies for my Ex's Best Friend

Ethan’s face softens. “I know.”

“But I’m not his mother, and I’m not your wife.”

“Addy—”

“I’m not even really your girlfriend.”

His jaw tightens. “We haven’t defined it.”

“No,” I say. “We haven’t. Because everything keeps exploding before we can have a normal conversation like normal people who don’t conceive triplets between corporate sabotage attempts.”

“That's… accurate.”

“Don’t be dry right now. I’ll cry.”

His expression softens further. “I’m listening.”

I inhale shakily. “I think I should go back with Luci for a while.”

Ethan becomes very still. “For a while?”

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know.”

His hands rest lightly on the edge of the desk. Controlled. Always controlled. “Why?”

“I… need to be near my family.”

His eyes stay on mine. “And?”

“I need space.”

Ethan’s expression doesn’t change immediately, but something guarded settles deeper behind his eyes. “And?”

“I need to figure out doctors and money and?—”

“Money isn't an issue.”

“It is for me.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

I look away. “That’s easy for you to say.”

“Yes,” he says quietly. “It is.”

That disarms me for half a second. “I don’t want to be dependent on you.”

“I’m not asking you to be.”

“You kind of are by existing as the only person in this situation who can afford triplet specialists without having a nervous breakdown.”

“I can provide care without owning your choices.”

“I don’t want to be a burden,” I say.