Page 23 of Lust and Honor

I pour two cups and sit down on the armchair beside her. “How’s Aurora?” I ask eagerly.

“Totally fine and full of energy. She’s become a semi-active member of the chaos club, my boys being the core founding members.”

I can’t help but laugh.

She takes a sip of her tea. “I spoke to your doctor. They got the results from your cyst biopsy. He said everything looks good, no malignancy at all.”

I wrap my hands around the warm mug. “Yes. He said he wasn’t too worried.”

I chuckle softly as I recall my conversation with the doctor. “He said I’ve probably had this cyst for years. He also said most women with a cyst that size struggle to get pregnant at all.”

Emily grins, her tone playful. “Damn, girl. If he knew you got pregnant not just naturally, but from a one-night stand with a guy wearing a condom, he’d probably call you a miracle from God.”

I’d already told Emily before about how I got pregnant with Aurora. My mind drifts back to that wild night years ago.

“Guess Aurora really did come from Heaven after all,” I murmur.

“What do you mean?” she asks with a laugh.

“Heaven was the name of the club I went to that night. Though it turned out it wasn’t heaven at all, more like hell. I found out later it was actually a brothel.”

The smile freezes on her lips, and her hand, holding the teacup, stalls in front of her mouth. She stares at me for a few seconds before bringing the cup to her lips. She must think I was an idiot for walking into a brothel alone.

“So, you ended up with one of the clients?” she asks without looking at me.

A pair of black eyes flashes in my mind, and I take a deep breath. “No. I ended up with the owner.”

She sets her cup down on the table and stays silent for a moment. She looks distracted, as if there’s a lot on her mind.

“Oh. So you crossed paths with the Big Bad Wolf himself,” she finally manages to say.

“Right, but here’s the crazy part: I had a cyst the size of an apple, he used a condom, and I still got pregnant.”

Emily raises a brow. “Sounds like either you’ve got a supernatural uterus or that guy had Olympic-level sperm.”

I shrug with a smile. “Whatever it was, I thank God every day for Aurora.”

She blinks in agreement, her expression softening. “That girl is an angel. You should also be thankful she got all her genes from you. From what I’ve heard, brothel owners aren’t exactly known for being attractive men.”

“Oh, completely the opposite. Maxim looked like he belonged on the cover of a dirty magazine.”

The name makes her go still for a split second, and I curse myself for letting it slip. It’s hard to imagine Emily having any connection to a brothel owner, or her husband casually mentioning one in conversation. Still… rich people always seem to know each other.

The surprised look on her face fades back to normal, her voice thoughtful and hesitant. “Have you ever thought about telling him he has a daughter?”

The thought alone sends a shiver through me, and I jump to defend myself. “He’s a vile, dangerous man. Someone who exploits women and makes money off their bodies. I don’t want my daughter tied to a father like that.”

She looks at me for a moment and just nods. Standing up from the chair, she changes the subject. “They’ll take out your stitches the day after tomorrow, and you can come back to us, darling.”

I stand too. “Could Aurora stay with me tonight? She won’t cause any trouble.”

She takes my hand gently. “I think Carlo’s influence can make that happen.”

***

The nurse pulls the last stitch and leaves the room. I adjust my blouse and walk over to Aurora, who’s been trying to put her teddy bear to sleep in her arms for the past few minutes. I sit beside her, stroking her arm.

The cute bear-shaped necklace Emily gave her dangles over her dress. When she flashes me a smile, I lean down and kiss the adorable freckles under her eyes.