Page 95 of Accidental Doctor Daddy

My heart twisted. Gina reaching out was a small silver lining, but I’d take it. I’d text her back soon, maybe tell her how a breakroom party blindsided her dear father.

At least I’d held my composure. Even if Seth had dealt me a blow, I’d parried. Forcedsmiles, polite claps, subtle barbs—that was how we survived in this environment. But as I ducked into the next exam room, I couldn’t shake the pang of worry that the damage to my admin bid might be deeper than Roxanne let on.

Seth’s sly. He didn’t go to all this trouble if he didn’t expect results.

Frustration flared, but I let it go. I couldn’t fix the optics right now. My mind drifted to Ella, longing to hold her again—this time not in a haze of desperation, but with real conversation about everything. We’d left so much unspoken.

She’s part of me now, along with the twins. I won’t let Seth or anyone twist that into a weakness.

Swallowing my anger, I forced myself to focus on the patient chart in my hand. Saving lives always came first, then I’d worry about saving my promotion. That was the plan, and if Seth wanted to push, I’d push back. Because no fake baby shower or sly insinuations would keep me from climbing to the top. Not when Ella and our daughters were counting on me.

At the end of the day, fatherhood truly wasn’t a liability—it was my driving force. And no matter how many balloons and confetti Seth threw at me, I wasn’t fucking backing down.

Chapter 37

Ella

It started with a text that made my stomach churn.

Dom:Hey, I have to tell you about something Seth just pulled. Surprise baby shower at work—basically tried to humiliate me in front of the hospital board. I’m fine, but it was a fiasco.

Reading those words, a bitter taste filled my mouth. Even without the details, I got the gist. Seth had gone out of his way to sabotage Dom’s reputation under the guise of “celebrating” the twins. That absolute asshole.

So, this was to be the new normal. Dom part of hospital politics, Leo despising him, everything falling on him all at once…because of me.

Tension spiked as I typed my reply.

Me:Are you okay? That’s insane.

Dom:I’m fine. Just pissed off. We’ll talk soon.

We’ll talk soon. The same line I’d heard for weeks. The phone trembled in my hand, my heartbeat pounding a frantic rhythm. I glanced at the twins, both fast asleep in their bassinets.

They’re so innocent. They don’t know their father’s fighting a war at work because of me.

I rose from my couch, setting my phone aside, mind whirling. He wanted that admin position so badly. He wanted it to be able to do more good in the world. And now Seth was using fatherhood to drag him down. Guilt gnawed at my chest.

Is it worth it for him to have me in his life if he’s going to lose everything that he cares about?

A cold pit formed in my stomach. By Dom’s own admission, his son was shutting him out entirely, furious at the entire situation, me included. The last thing Dom needed was to lose the only sliver of hope he had left with his kids. If I stayed, that’s exactly what would happen.

My eyes drifted to the twins again, heartbreak blooming in my chest. I loved them, and I loved Dom. I had to fight for us, didn’t I? But I remembered the meltdown Dom described, the pain in his voice when he first mentioned the fallout with Leo. If I truly loved him, wouldn’t I free him from the load? Fear wrapped around me like a cold chain, dragging me down beneath the waves of my self-loathing.

If we keep going, and in a year or two when he realizes it’s too much, he’ll bail.

Then, the twins and I would be devastated, left on our own again. The heartbreak would eat us alive.

Better a clean break now, before we all get further entangled.

Tears pricked at my eyes, but I pushed them back, refusing to drown in self-pity.I’m a chef, I’m a mother, I can handle this on my own.My girls won’t remember him. They’re too young for that. We’d managed before he came along, albeit barely. But I had a better handle on things now. I took a breath, steeling myself, and grabbed my laptop off the side table.

Time to do something irreversible.

I opened my email, checking on my contacts in Chicago. Dom had mentioned his company’s headquarters were there, butironically, he was never around, which meant he’d never find us there, hiding in plain sight. Plus, I had a sister in the suburbs I hadn’t spoken to in years, but maybe we could mend things.

I’d already looked for apartments before and saved all the ones I liked. It was a big city but cheaper than Manhattan if you knew where to look.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard, my heart pounding.Am I really doing this?

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