Page 163

“I’m not using it as leverage,” I bite out, dragging a hand over my jaw. “You wanted me to be more invested in being this baby's father, well this is me being invested. I don’t want to wait.”

Rebecca politely speaks up, “I can write it down and tell Dad privately?” She offers. “That way Mom still gets her reveal, and Dad can know just in case?”

Veronica looks like she wants to argue but can’t find a polite way to do it with the case I’ve made. “Fine.”

I nod once. “That works for me. Thank you.”

“Great,” Rebecca says with a calm, professional smile. “Well, I’m all done here, so Veronica you can head into exam room four for the doctor to see you, and I can talk to Dad in the hall while you clean up in here.”

Veronica nods, already sitting up. Her glare at me could cut steel, but I ignore her and follow Rebecca into the hallway.

The door clicks shut behind us. My heart is hammering so hard I can hear it in my ears, a heavy, uneven rhythm that makes the fluorescent lights feel too bright. Rebecca leads me a few steps down the corridor to a small workstation so we have privacy.

I swallow, my throat suddenly dry. “So…?”

“It’s a boy. Congratulations.”

The air leaves my lungs in a rush I can’t control—so intense my knees nearly buckle.

A boy.

Not the one thing Blaire has feared since the moment she found out about this pregnancy.

I haven’t stolen that from her. I haven’t taken her dream of being the first woman to give me a daughter and handed it to someone else. I haven’t screwed up the one thing she’s barely even said out loud but that I know sits heavy in her chest.

My legs go weak. I lean forward, resting my hands on my knees as I try to pull in a steady breath.

“Are you alright?” She asks.

I let out a shaky exhale that feels like it’s been trapped in my chest for months. “Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.”

She gives me a supportive nod. “Take your time, finding out the gender can be a shock to people sometimes, we’ll meet you in the exam room.”

She steps away, leaving me alone in the quiet hallway with the weight of what I’ve just learned. The fear that’s been gnawing at me since Veronica announced her pregnancy finally loosens its grip, and for the first time in weeks I feel like I can breathe again.

I let out a shaky laugh under my breath, the sound rough and unsteady in the quiet hallway. My hand goes to my pocket on instinct, fingers brushing my phone. For a second I want to text Blaire right now—It’s a boy. We’re safe.—but I stop myself. She deserves to hear it in person, not through a rushed message while I’m still standing outside an exam room with Veronica on the other side of the door. I slide the phone back into my pocket and take a breath before heading back in.

When I step inside, Veronica is still on the table, shirt pulled down, looking pleased with herself. The doctor is reviewing the measurements on the screen.

“Everything looks great,” she says, nodding at the images. “Baby is measuring a little ahead—right on the bigger side, but healthy. Heartbeat is strong, all the anatomy checks out well.”

Veronica beams, resting a hand on her bump. “Must be because the father is a giant,” she jokes, giving me a smile like she’s complimenting me. “You’re what, six-four? Makes sense the kid’s already oversized.”

I don’t smile. Instead I stay standing near the door, arms crossed, and cut straight to the point.

“Speaking of the baby’s father,” I say evenly, “when can we schedule a paternity test?”

Veronica’s smile drops instantly.

The doctor clears her throat, professional as ever. “We can do a non-invasive prenatal paternity test with a simple blood draw from Mom and a cheek swab from the potential father. We could schedule the blood work as early as next week if everyone’s on board.”

“I’m not doing that,” Veronica snaps before the doctor even finishes. She sits up straighter, glaring at me. “The baby is yours. You know I didn’t cheat.”

“I don’t know that for sure.” I reply. “We used a condom every single time. It’s extremely unlikely that this baby is mine.”

She crosses her arms over her bump, defensive. “Condoms don’t always work.”

“I’ve said from the beginning that I want a DNA test. If it’s mine then I’ll be involved emotionally and financially.”