Page 48 of The Hotel Room

"Hey, it's okay. I've got you," he murmured softly, voice calmer than she expected.

She wanted to tell him to leave. To give her space.

But when the nausea hit again, stronger this time, all she could do was collapse over the bowl.

James stayed right there, rubbing slow, soothing circles along her back. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t recoil.

When it finally passed, Kate sagged against the cool porcelain, exhausted and shaky.

James rose without a word, and she heard the quiet sound of water running before he returned with a damp washcloth, kneeling again and pressing it gently against her forehead.

"Better?" he asked quietly.

She nodded weakly, avoiding his eyes. Her throat ached. She felt exposed.Fragile.

This was the last thing she wanted—being vulnerable in front of him. Especially after everything.

But James was still there. His voice softer now.

"Kate, I think I should take you to the doctor. You’ve been sick for days.”

The tenderness in his voice chipped at her carefully constructed walls, but she fought it. She swallowed hard, her fingers tightening against the toilet seat.

She hadn’t planned to tell him like this.

But the truth was outpacing her denial.

"I..." Her voice broke. She closed her eyes, clutching the edge of the sink for support. "I'm pregnant."

Silence.

For one endless heartbeat, nothing but the faint hum of the bathroom fan filled the space.

When she finally looked up, James was staring at her. His face pale. Stunned. Like she’d just knocked the breath out of him.

"You—what?" His voice was hoarse, as though he couldn’t quite process the words.

Kate forced herself to meet his eyes, wrapping her arms protectively around her middle as if shielding herself from his reaction.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated, more steadily this time, though her voice still trembled.

James’s gaze dropped instinctively to her stomach. The shock was plain—raw and unfiltered. But it wasn’t anger. It wasn’t the defensiveness she had braced herself for.

It was something...softer.

He swallowed hard, as if trying to find words that wouldn’t come. "Kate, I—"

She shook her head sharply, cutting him off before he could try to offer comfort she wasn’t ready for.

"I wasn’t going to tell you. Not yet. I—I didn’t know how.”

He blinked, brow furrowing. “Why? Why wouldn’t you—”

"Because I don’ttrustyou, James.” The words spilled out before she could stop them, her voice trembling with more emotion than she’d wanted to show.

His face crumpled, like the truth had struck deeper than her words alone.

“Kate…”

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