Page 84 of Ties That Bind Us

My throat got dry, and I let out a sharp cough. “I must have misunderstood you—I thought you said I was pregnant.”

She nodded. “You are. About twelve weeks.”

All the air left my lungs and I started to feel dizzy. That wasn’t possible. I couldn’t be pregnant. I had been on birth control, Nick and I were careful. There was no way. There had to be some mistake. Twelve weeks was a long time, had I really not seen it? “Are you sure you didn’t get my test mixed up with someone else’s?”

She gave me a sympathetic smile. “We are very careful about that sort of thing, Ava. I’m positive.”

“But I was on . . .” I lost my voice in the middle of the sentence.

“Birth control is effective, but it’s not always a hundred percent,” she said.

I knew the statistics, I just never imagined I would be one of them. My mind was swirling, but I couldn’t make sense of anything.

Pregnant.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. How had this happened? I knew literally how it had, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. There was a life growing inside of me. A baby. Nick’s baby. Half of me and half of him wrapped into a tiny little body.

Shouldn’t this be a good thing? Shouldn’t finding out you’re pregnant be one of the greatest days of your life? Why was I absolutely terrified?

Having a family with Nick had been a wonderful thought when it was in the future, but now that it was a reality, right in front of me, literally right inside of me, it was slightly debilitating.

Chapter 34

Ava

Once I finally made it into work, I sat down at my desk and put my head in my hands. Pregnant. How could I be pregnant? My life was spiraling in a direction I had never even imagined, and I was powerless to stop it.

I wasn’t worried about telling Nick—I knew he would be ecstatic. This is what he wanted from the beginning, and I felt a tinge of resentment. He was getting everything he wanted, while I was having to adjust all of my dreams to fit that. I knew that was an incredibly selfish thought. Nick had been nothing but wonderful to me, and had probably saved my life in more ways than one. Whether it was the shock of the news or my hormones, I was already starting to feel emotional.

I hadn’t even put my purse away when I got my second big surprise of the day. I looked up to see my father standing in front of me.

“Dad.” My voice hovered somewhere between a greeting and worry as I stood up. “What are you doing here?”

He smiled widely and set a bag of food on my desk. “I brought you lunch, I wanted to come see your new office. Mom and I are so proud of you.”

“Oh!” I responded, trying to hide my shock and suspicion. My dad rarely did something nice for another person, let alone his own children. And he definitely never took an interest in what I was doing, unless it was somehow beneficial to him. “Well, thank you!” I smiled, doing my best to not appear ungrateful. Nick’s words echoed in my mind, and I felt so uneasy about my dad being here.

This was the first time I had seen him since Nick told me everything in Saint Lucia. Even looking at him now, I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to believe he was being genuine. That he actually was proud of me, and just wanted to say hi. It was never quite that simple with my father, though.

“How was your trip?” he asked, making himself comfortable in the chair on the other side of my desk. “I didn’t realize you guys were going.”

“It was kind of last minute, but we had a good time.” I smiled, sitting down apprehensively across from him. “The weather was beautiful.”

“Good. I’m surprised Nick could sneak away, I’m sure he’s busy prepping to take over for Gio.” He paused and studied my face, looking for some type of reaction. I remembered Nick telling me how my father was using me to get information on them, and chose my words carefully.

I nodded. “He’s been busy, but I don’t know much about it. Just that once we’re married, he’ll take over.”

My dad chewed on his cheek, mulling over my answers. It was like he could tell that I knew more but I just wasn’t telling him. I had always been a bad liar, especially when it came to him, so I just kept my mouth shut.

“Why don’t you come over for dinner this week? Your mom and I would love to see you. It seems like it’s been a while since you’ve come around. With or without Nick, I know he’s busy.” I had certainly been avoiding my parents’ house since Nick’s revelations. I didn’t trust myself not to say too much, mostly because I didn’t know what was okay to share and what wasn’t. It had been easier to stay away and avoid talking altogether, but I missed my mom and sisters.

“That would be nice.” I smiled, placating him. “I’m a little busy this week, though—I’m helping Nick’s mom plan the fundraiser, and we’ve got a few other things we’re committed to. Maybe next week.”

“Don’t forget who your real family is, Ava. You may be his fiancé by name, but you’re still my daughter first and foremost.” His words were venomous.

“I thought this was what you wanted. For Nick and me to fall in love and . . .”

He scoffed, cutting me off abruptly. “This has never been about love, Ava. It’s purely political. If he has you conned into thinking it’s something more than that, you’re sadly mistaken. This is business for him.”

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