Page 48 of Accidental Doctor Daddy

And I wasn’t ready for that.

My stomach twisted, the guilt gnawing like glass under my ribs. Leo. His son. The secret I’d buried so deep it felt like poison now.

I pressed my lips together, swallowing down the sob that clawed at my throat. He had no idea what he was really asking. No idea about the fracture already running through the ground beneath us. How could we be anything—anything real—if I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the whole truth?

I wanted to scream,You don’t know the half of it.

But fear slammed down like a lid, trapping the confession behind it. Fear of breaking him. Of breaking us before we even began. Of setting fire to every fragile thing holding this moment together.

Yet standing here, with Dom watching me like I was something precious he wasn’t ready to lose, I felt my resolve splintering. My daughters deserved better. They deserved their father.

I had never known mine, and I wouldn’t be the reason they went without.

I forced a breath past the knot in my chest and whispered, “Okay.”

One word. One promise. And it shook the ground beneath me.

He nodded. Relief, or maybe shock, rippled across his features. Then he exhaled hard, raking a hand through his hair. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because—” My voice caught. “I was scared. I didn’t think you’d want to know.”

He stared at me, brows knitting together. “Why would you think that?”

Bitterness spiked in my chest. I remembered all the trash my ex—his son—had spewed, claiming Dom was a cold, distant father who’d always chosen work over family. But I couldn’t tell Dom that. Not without dropping the bigger bombshell that his son was my ex-boyfriend.

“I had…reasons,” I said finally, voice wavering.

Dom nodded slowly, like that was all he needed. “Can I see them?”

My heart stumbled. But I found myself nodding. “This way.”

The apartment shrank around us as I led him down the narrow hallway. Dom’s presence changed the air itself—made it denser, more charged. The faint scent of baby powder clung to everything, layered over warm laundry and the untouched biscuits cooling on the counter.

He didn’t comment on the clutter or chaos. He just observed, silent and steady, as if absorbing the life I’d built here.

When we reached the nursery, Dom hesitated on the threshold. His breath caught, audible even in the quiet.

The room was small but soft—muted pastels on the walls, two cribs side by side beneath the warm halo of the overhead light. The rocking chair in the corner, toys strewn like breadcrumbs on the floor, and the faint smell of lavender and newness made it feel like a safe harbor.

Dom stepped in, and the space felt even smaller. His height dwarfed the nursery, but the look in his eyes wasn’t domineering—it was awe.

“They’re…” His voice faltered. “They’re so small.”

I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. “They’ve grown a lot since the hospital.”

He exhaled, shaky, like he’d been punched in the gut. Then he reached out, fingers grazing the crib rail with a care that didn’t match his rough edges. “Which one is which?”

I shifted closer, almost brushing his arm. “That’s Marissa.” I pointed to the left crib where a tiny tuft of dark hair poked out from the blanket. “And Summer’s the one who’s probably about to wake up and demand attention.”

He repeated their names quietly, like a prayer. Like he was committing them to memory and wouldn’t dare forget.

My heart clenched at the tenderness in his voice.Leo said he was cold, but look at him now.Guilt stabbed me again.Leo.Dom’s own son, my ex-boyfriend, the reason I’d almost convinced myself not to let Dom in.

The secret pressed like a heavy weight on my chest, but I couldn’t tell him now. Not when he looked at our daughters with such wonder.

“Marissa…Summer,” he murmured again, voice thick. He leaned closer to Marissa’s crib, eyes shining with unshed tears. My throat tightened at the sight.

Summer’s tiny fists flailed. Marissa stirred but stayed drowsy, eyelids fluttering. Dom’s jaw tension eased a fraction at the sight of them, as if just breathing the same air as his daughters grounded him.

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