Page 80 of The Pakhan's Sold Bride

“Thank you, yes, I’d like to do the test now if you don’t mind.”

She shows me where to go and hands me a key from under the counter. I push the swinging door open and walk down a narrow passage to a locked door. My heart is racing with anxiety. My stomach is churning like a washing machine.

Inside is a clean, white-tiled, simple bathroom.

My hands are shaking as I open the packaging and read the instructions.Pee on the stick. Wait three minutes.

I sit on the toilet and hold the end of the little test wand in the stream, then snap the lid on and set it on top of the sink.

Now I wait.

It’s the longest three minutes of my life.

The double lines appear quickly, after only one minute. But my mind still insists on waiting the full three minutes, just in case they are going to disappear. Of course, they don’t. They only become more solid. More glaringly obvious. A definite, unquestionable confirmation.

I am pregnant with Nestor’s child.

Tears spike at the back of my eyes, and I squeeze them closed.

I clean up in the bathroom, throwing everything in the little bin beneath the sink. Okay. Well, at least now I know.

And now I have to decide what to do about what I know.

The pharmacist is very sweet to me and already has a few items prepared for when I come out. “Yes?” she asks, sounding happy for me.

I nod. “Yes.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful news,” she says, making me smile. I want it to be wonderful news, but I’m nervous.

“Just in case it was a yes, I got this ready for you. This will help with the dizziness. It’s extra minerals that your body needs right now. And this will help with the nausea. Unfortunately, it’s a natural part of everything to have some sickness, and some women get it worse than others. Don’t stop eating. Just havesmall amounts throughout the day. And definitely get to a doctor as soon as you can, to make sure everything is good.”

I listen, and I thank her, then I carry my purchases out in a small brown paper packet clutched in my hand.

My mind is oddly blank, and I realize I’m in shock as I climb back into the car.

I have a million questions racing through my mind.

Nestor will be happy, but not in the way I want him to be happy.

I would love for him to be excited to have a baby with me, but I think for him, it’s more about creating an heir, all because of Miron. I don’t want Miron to be the reason I have a child.

Nestor is so hell-bent on fighting him, on getting revenge against him. It’s like his entire world revolves around his stepbrother at the moment. He doesn’t even have space for me.

After he told me that our relationship should be strictly professional, working on the project together, it broke me.

Especially seeing as I am falling for him. And falling hard.

I tried to tell him I don’tjustwant sex. I want the sex to mean something. And his solution for that was to say we shouldn’t have sex, then.

I wish I could be happy about carrying his baby, but how can I be?

I want things that don’t seem possible.

For a while, I sit in the parked car, not ready to go home, not knowing where to go.

Until, eventually, I realize I want to speak to my mom. Even when she was sick, she had the best advice. She wasa strong woman, even in her pain, and she was gentle and beautiful.

So, I drive to her grave.

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