Chapter Thirty–Two
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The doctor’s lips pressed into a thin line. “The baby has been taken to the NICU for observation. Since he was born prematurely, we need to monitor his breathing and overall condition carefully.”
A son.
Ava just gave birth to a son. How miraculous was that?
The revelation hit me harder than I expected, stealing the breath straight from my lungs. My fingers twitched at my sides, a sudden, unfamiliar ache forming in my chest. It was different, stronger than anything I have ever felt.
Phoenix exhaled shakily. “And Ava?”
The doctor hesitated, and my stomach dropped with fear. “She is stable for now.” He finally said. “But she lost a lot of blood, and we won’t know the extent of any complications until she wakes up.
A slow exhale of relief slid past my lips just as Phoenix let out a choked sob, pressing a trembling hand to her mouth. From my peripheral vision, I noticed the Elson guy wrap an arm around her trembling body. With my gaze locked on the doctor, I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Can I see him? The baby?”
The moment the words left my mouth, Phoenix’s sobs ceased, her head snapped up, and her eyes burned with a renewed fury. I didn’t even know I said that.
“You?” she seethed. “You want to see the baby? What makes you think you deserve to see him?”
I shifted, my muscles tightening as anger curled up inside me at her statement. “He’s Ava…” Then changing my mind, I corrected. “…my son.” From my peripheral vision, I noticed the guy take a step forward, but I kept my gaze fixed on Phoenix’s deadly expression.
If this fool was lying just to provoke me, then this was the only way to uncover the truth. I needed to confirm that this child was mine because, deep down, I felt it in every bone of my body, even without having seen him yet. I also believe in Ava.
Phoenix let out a bitter laugh to my surprise. “Your son? The gut!” She said followed with a hollow laugh and my teeth grinded together in anger. “Who told you that?” She finally added. “You think you can waltz in here and claim a child that you never knew his existence? The baby could belong to anyone so what makes you think he is yours.”
My fist clenched tighter at my side, my brows furrowing in anger, and my heart racing, but I wasn’t going to back down. Not now, not until I was certain. “The child is mine, and I have the right to see him,” I declared, ignoring her words and the man beside her, who was clenching and unclenching his fists as if he were about to explode. Whether he and Phoenix were trying to plant seeds of doubt in my mind or whether I simply didn’t know Ava well enough to trust her not to get involved with someone so soon, I was determined to find out the truth either way.
“Says who?” she shot back, her eyes blazing with fury and unshed tears. “Who told you he’s yours
get to pick and choose when to be a father, Kyle! You don’t get to show up when she is lying on an operation table like a lab rat and ask for the baby that you never cared for when all you did was leave both of them to suffer alone.”
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Chapter Thirty–Two
Leave both of them.
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That was it. That was all I needed to know. The child was mine. That was alone to prove the child was mine. Guilt and something akin to a faint triumph tightened around my throat, almost choking me from the inside, but my expression remained blank and cold even when all I wanted to do was smile a big smile.
However, I knew she was right, she was absolutely right. I had no rights, and I had broken Ava in every way possible, but my child (that feels good) was different. We were talking about my son, my blood. I couldn’t possibly leave and forget that I had a child out here while I continued living my life as if nothing mattered. I hadn’t even been aware that she was pregnant; if I had known, I wouldn’t have let her go, no matter what. I would have done something. I would have…
“He is my son,” I said as calmly as I could as if I was trying to reassure myself. “And I’m not leaving without seeing him at least.”
“Well, she almost died carrying that son!” She hissed.
And my inside froze.
“Yes, she almost died with the son you claim is yours! so where were you then, huh?” Her voice cracked at the
end, but she didn’t stop.
“Do you have any idea how many nights she cried herself to sleep? How many times she thought she wouldn’t make it? And now you want to stand here and pretend you have the right to be worried, to claim a child you didn’t care for?”
She took a few steps towards me then said in a much lower voice, her eyes red with fury. “If Ava doesn’t wake up, if she doesn’t survive the pain, I will never forgive you.”
Something inside me stilled, and as if realizing the gravity of the statement, it then trembled so hard that I almost lost my footing.
Elson reached for her, pulling her away from me as guilt and fear bubbled inside me at her words. By then, we had become a complete spectacle; all eyes were on us, but I didn’t care.
“You should leave,” a voice said, and I turned to see Elson, the owner. Instantly, anger bubbled inside me at both his intrusion and his calm expression. “You shouldn’t be here,” he continued, his voice low but firm as he took a slow step forward. “Especially not now, when things are still tense.”
I clenched my fists, hating his intrusion, and especially the seed of doubt he planted in me earlier. I mean who does he think he is? “I’m not leaving and you have no right to ask me to,” I stated.
Elson let out a quiet sigh, shaking his head. Then he stepped even closer, so close that his next words were
only for me.
“Gather whatever dignity you have left,” he murmured, his tone calm but laced with warning and a hint of irritation. “Leave now before you embarrass yourself any further. I’m sure you understand what I mean.” He gestured almost faintly behind me to the people watching.
His words sent something bitter twisting in my gut.
For a long moment, I stood still, my body tense and my chest burning with barely suppressed fury. Then I glanced past him at Phoenix, the doctor, and the rest of the medical team behind him, along with a few hospital staff members who had been observing the entire scene, some of whom had their phones out.
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I knew Elson was right, but that didn’t make it any less embarrassing or upsetting that a nobody and a cun like him could be right. However, I couldn’t continue causing a scene while Ava and my baby were still fighting for their survival.
With one last glance at the operating room doors, and a silent decision to come back, I turned sharply on my heel and walked away, my footsteps echoing down the corridor.
But even as I left, I couldn’t stop thinking.
I had a son.
I had a son with Ava.
The oddluna
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