Chapter 32 Realizations

Chapter 32 Realizations
Linda’s POV

“You are pregnant, Linda.”

Those four words rang in my head like a bell that wouldn’t stop.

I stared at the medical file once again and it was boldly written there, clear and undeniable.

Six weeks pregnant.

My eyes traced Charles’s face. He wore a wide smile, his brows raised, his blue eyes warm and steady. Then slowly, like ice water trickling down my spine, it dawned on me.

I was about to be a mother.

I wasn’t prepared for any of this. It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. Not at all. I had walked into a risk that night at the Empire Hotel, not just for myself and my mother but now for an innocent soul growing quietly inside me without any say in the matter.

With wide eyes I pulled the injection from my hand and stepped out of the bed like a woman possessed. I needed to move. I needed to feel the floor beneath my feet and confirm that all of this was real and not some strange dream I hadn’t woken from yet.

I pressed one hand against my stomach, staring down at it like it would give me answers.

“But how? How did I get pregnant?” I looked up at Charles, genuinely confused.

At this point, some part of my brain had still been operating under the delusion that I was practically still a virgin. That somehow the two nights hadn’t counted the way they should have. That I would be the second Hail Mary.

Then it clicked.

“I had sex only twice and it was with…” my brain spun.

Charles is the father of my child.

“Yes. It was with me,” he said and raised my chin up slightly with two fingers.

I looked into his blue eyes and forgot how to breathe.

“The child is mine,” he said.

“It can’t be,” I said, lowering my brows. “I don’t have any symptoms and I don’t feel pregnant,” I said, blinking.

“You don’t have to feel pregnant to be pregnant,” he said, holding my gaze.

“But it was only twice. We had sex twice,” I muttered.

“Two incredible times, Linda. We didn’t use protection either time,” he whispered, resting his hand gently on the side of my neck.

I looked into his eyes deliberately then, pushing past the warmth he always managed to wrap around me.

“How long have you known it wasn’t Nikki that gave you her virginity?”

“The morning after,” he replied, his voice strong and firm. “I noticed it when all that softness was gone.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, suspicion rising in my voice. I just wanted to understand why he had played along with their games for so long.

“The more time I spent with you and Nikki, the easier it became to tell you two apart. And on my wedding day—”

“You knew it was me at the altar,” I helped him out impatiently.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “And the moment I laid my eyes on you…”

I shrugged his hand off my neck and took a few steps back. “I don’t understand. I want to know why you went along with everything,” I confronted him.

He hesitated. Then he took a deep breath and folded his hands together, his expression tightening.

“At first, it was to see how far you and the Jenkins would take this game,” he said and looked away. “And I really wanted that merger to go through without a hitch but—”

“But what?” I asked impatiently.

He stepped closer and placed his hands on my waist, pulling me slowly until my back was against the wall. His arms wrapped around me and he lowered his head toward my ear.

“But I wanted you. More than the merger. More than any stupid game the Jenkins were playing,” he whispered.

I turned my head slowly away, trying to process everything he had just said.

“I love you, Linda. And I want to make you mine,” he whispered and I lost my tongue completely.

How sure was I that he wasn’t still playing games? I was so tired of being the pawn in everyone else’s story.

“I’m scared, Charles,” I mumbled as tears slipped down my cheeks.

“Why?” He pulled back immediately, his eyes searching my face.

“How do I know that I am not still a pawn in this game? I’m just tired of being everyone’s tool,” I said.

“Does any of this feel real to you, Linda? You are not a tool at my disposal. I love you. You are my life!” he said strongly.

I rested against his chest and punched it softly with both fists. “I am not ready for all of this. It’s just too much for me to handle and…”

“Look at me,” he interrupted and I lifted my eyes to his.

He leaned in and enclosed my lips in a kiss. My body, as always, gave in without consulting me first. I wrapped my hands around his neck and let him explore, tasting and warm and unhurried.

Then the door opened gently and Harvey walked in.

“I’m so sorry,” he said immediately and turned to leave.

I pulled back from Charles at once.

“Why?” Charles looked confused and faintly dissatisfied. “It’s just Harvey.”

“It’s something serious. I saw the missed calls,” I replied and he ran out of words.

He placed his hands on his waist and nodded slowly.

I walked to the door and invited Harvey in.

Charles moved to stand beside the shelf, both hands tucked into his pockets, his expression unreadable and slightly fierce. Harvey walked in already visibly intimidated, trembling just slightly at the edges.

“Feel free, Harvey,” I whispered to him and he smiled at me, visibly grateful.

“Sit down,” I said, pulling out the chair Charles had been sitting in earlier.

“It’s okay, Linda. I prefer standing,” he protested.

I looked at Charles expecting him to say something to ease the tension but he kept his face deliberately blank.

“Boss, I was calling—” Harvey began but Charles cut him short.

“Go straight to the point.” His voice was cold and flat.

Harvey swallowed visibly and I could see the weight of whatever he was carrying sitting heavily on his chest.

“Start from the easier ones,” I muttered quietly.

“I’ll start from the most important one,” he said and looked at me, his expression softening considerably. “I’m so sorry, Linda. I heard you were at the hospital and God…” Harvey began, his eyes filling with genuine concern.

“I’m fine, I’m okay now,” I replied, trying to ease the worry on his face.

“I can see,” a small mischievous smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Your therapy is right here,” he whispered, tilting his head toward Charles.

“You haven’t changed!” I blushed and we both let out a small laugh that broke the tension briefly.

“Who told you?” Charles said suddenly.

“Told me?” Harvey looked confused. “I know it just as I know myself that Charles is the right medicine for Linda.”

My cheeks turned bright red and I buried my face in the hospital blanket.

“Who told you that Linda was at the hospital?” Charles asked and I uncovered my face immediately.

Harvey paused briefly. “John Jenkins.”

My eyes widened. “John knows I fainted?”

Charles’s eyes remained fixed on Harvey, unsatisfied with the answer.

“I had called when I saw that the Jenkins had withdrawn their investments from the company. He mentioned then that Linda had collapsed,” Harvey explained.

“Just like that?” Charles asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t ask further,” he replied.

“The Jenkins withdrew their funds because of me. All of this is happening because of me and I don’t want to be the reason your company is failing,” I said, my voice cracking at the end.

“My company is not failing, Linda,” Charles said firmly.

“I’m sorry, Charles, but I fear it is,” Harvey said quietly, lowering his head, clearly avoiding his boss’s gaze.

A slight frown settled across Charles’s forehead. “Harvey, join me outside,” he said and moved toward the door.

“Can I come?” I asked, my voice already drowning in worry.

“Trust me, you don’t want to hear it,” Harvey whispered as he followed Charles out.

I watched their figures disappear through the door and sweat broke out across my forehead.

I sat back down on the bed slowly and buried my shaking hands between my knees.

Tears flooded my eyes and I fought to keep them back. He might not admit it but I was the reason all of this was happening. His merger. His investors. His company. All of it unraveling because of me.

And now this innocent child growing inside me would come into a world already complicated by my choices.

“God, please let this pass,” I prayed out loud, pressing both palms flat against my stomach.

I was still sitting there rubbing gentle circles against my belly when the door opened again.

Charles walked in wearing a long face.

Something he almost never did.

My jaw dropped.

And the tears I had been fighting so hard to hold back finally broke free and ran silently down my cheeks.