My “Escort” Boss Chapter 09
Forty–Two ? Days Pregnant? Who Is the Father
The smell of disinfectant in the hospital made my nausea worse.
I sat on a bench in the corridor, clutching the lab report I had just picked up from the nurse’s station. My mind was completely blank, my ears ringing, with only the doctor’s words echoing like thunder.
“Congratulations. You’re forty–two days pregnant.”
Forty–two days.
Counting backward, it landed exactly on the night at the Moonriver Hotel.
I instinctively placed a hand over my flat stomach.
There was… a life growing inside me?
Darren’s child?
Panic, helplessness, and a feeling I couldn’t quite name surged together. When the doctor asked where my partner was, all I could do was answer with a pale face, “I’m single.”
Holding the report, I drifted toward the VIP ward in a daze. I thought that maybe I should tell Darren. No matter what our relationship was, he had the right to know.
But when I reached the door, I heard Mary crying.
Through the half–open door, I saw Mary lying on the hospital bed, her complexion rosy–nothing like someone who had just been assaulted. Her hand was tightly gripping Darren’s wrist.
Darren was called away shortly after. I seized the chance and walked inside.
Yes. Earlier that morning, just to draw Darren’s attention, Mary had pretended she’d been robbed and beaten, had herself admitted to the hospital, and called Darren to come see her. I was furious.
“Mary, stop acting,” I closed the door behind me, my voice trembling. “I know you’re Darren’s girlfriend. You weren’t robbed, and you’re not injured at all.”
Mary’s sobbing stopped instantly. She looked at me, her expression shifting from panic to a ruthless, no- holds–barred hardness.
“That’s right. I’m his girlfriend.” She sat up straight, not a trace of weakness left on her face. “Since you’ve
figured it out, I’ll be honest with you. I’m pregnant.”
It felt like a lightning strike.
“What did you say?”
“It’s Darren’s child.” Mary stroked her stomach, tears coming at will. “I’ve never loved anyone like this before, and I’ve never lived such a good life. Nora, for the sake of my mom saving you back then, please give Darren to me. Do you really want my child to be born without a father?”
At that moment, the lab report in my hand felt like a red–hot iron.
Mary was pregnant with Darren’s child.
And so was I.
But this world didn’t need two illegitimate children.
Mary was my best friend, and Darren’s rightful girlfriend.
And me? I was just a mistake from that night.
I closed my eyes, crumpled the lab report into a tight ball, and hid it in my palm.
“Fine,” I heard my own broken voice say. “I’ll let you have him.”
The next day, in the sheriff’s office.
I placed a printed resignation letter on Darren’s massive mahogany desk.
“I’m resigning.”
Darren had been reviewing documents. He snapped his head up, a storm instantly gathering in his deep eyes.
“What did you say? Officer Nora, your full–A evaluation is right in front of you, and now you want to run away?”
Personal reasons,” I said quietly, not daring to meet his gaze. I was afraid I’d break down if I did. “I hope you’ll approve it.”
Darren rounded the desk, advancing step by step until he backed me against the wall. The familiar
scent of cedar enveloped me, making it hard to breathe.
“What personal reasons?” His eyes dropped to my wrinkled pocket, where the corner of the lab report was sticking out. He moved fast, pulling it free. Unfolding it. Scanning it.
“Early pregnancy confirmed. Forty–two days.”
The air went deathly still.
Darren’s fingers tightened around the paper until they turned white. He looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his voice restrained with barely contained fury.
“Who is the father of the child?”