TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 97

Ninety-Seven

Lisa

“Honey, you have a visitor,” my mom called from downstairs, and I jumped off the bed, expecting Cameron.

A nurse walked in instead, smiling.

My heart sank.

So stupid.

I fixed my face before heading downstairs. The nurse set her bag on the chair.

“Agatha.”

Gray curls framed her face, deeper lines around her mouth than my mom had. She unzipped the bag and pulled out vitamins and a thermometer.

“How are you feeling today?”

Her hands moved with practice as she lined things up on the table, and I eased back into the pillow.

“Tired and irritated, I guess.” I rubbed my eyes.

She nodded like this was routine. “That’s normal. Your body is adjusting. Hormones can make emotions stronger. You’re not losing your mind.”

I already knew the mood swings and the random crying weren’t just about missing Cameron.

I was pregnant.

She pressed her fingers to my wrist, then slid the thermometer under my tongue. “Any nausea this morning?”

“A little. It comes and goes.” I pushed the blanket off my legs.

“Eat small meals even if you’re not hungry.”

“I’ve been trying. Mom keeps bringing crackers and cutting fruit every few hours.”

She handed me the vitamins. “Everything looks fine. We’ll schedule the first ultrasound when it’s time. I wish you all the best and I hope you connect with your baby.”

My grip tightened around the vitamin bottle.

How was I supposed to connect to a baby I wasn’t keeping?

I wondered if she said that on purpose. A nurse working here had to know the arrangement.

She scribbled on a small pad, then stood. “That’s my number. Call if you need anything. I’ll check on you tomorrow.”

I watched her leave while my mom stayed in the chair across from me.

“I can’t wait for this to be over.” I pushed off the couch and headed upstairs.

I needed something to distract myself. I opened my banking app without thinking much about it. I hadn’t checked the balance in weeks. Everything had been chaotic.

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The number on the screen made me sit up.

I scrolled through the transactions, staring at the screen. The latest deposit had cleared. That was supposed to be the third payment after confirmation, but the amount looked wrong, too big, almost close to the final total.

I frowned at the screen.

I opened the contracts folder on my laptop and found the payment breakdown. The agreed amount was listed clearly, and what I received was more.

I read it again.

The extra money sat there, and I didn’t know what to make of it. Was it an error, or was it intentional?

Had Cameron increased it?

I shut the laptop, then opened it again and stared at the screen. I dragged my attention back to the numbers.

Whatever reason he was being generous didn’t matter, and I refused to spiral into why. I didn’t come here for emotion. I came for financial stability. I came for a future that wasn’t a constant struggle.

And now I had it, so why did I feel empty looking at it?

I grabbed my notebook from the bedside table and opened a blank page.

Wishlist.

I huffed under my breath at how childish it looked, remembering Christmas lists from years ago. My dad used to fill most of them.

Travel. Apartment. Business.

I stared at the words. It looked like something a teenager would write, not someone planning her life. I tapped the pen against the paper, crossed out the apartment, and wrote home instead.

I created a spreadsheet, dividing expenses, investments, and savings. Numbers filled the screen while I mapped everything out in my head. This part for Mom. This part for James’s college. This part for starting something on

my own.

The problem was, I didn’t know what that something was.

My skill set was clear. Personal shopping. Styling. Retail knowledge. Things I could expand. Maybe online consulting. Maybe a small boutique. Maybe a service brand.

Ideas started appearing faster than I expected, and for a stretch, the heaviness in my chest lifted.

Then another thought pushed in.

Would I even be sane enough to do this after handing the baby over?

I reached for my calendar and counted months forward. Six weeks pregnant. Months until delivery. Months until everything ended.

The motivation drained out of me.

I dropped back onto the bed and picked up my phone. No messages from Cameron. Empty notification bar.

Annoyance flared at him, then at myself.

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designed to be temporary. After that, nothing.

No idea who I would be after that.

My palm moved to my stomach without thinking.

What if I didn’t even survive bringing this baby? I would just die, and nobody would blink.

What if Cameron never contacted me again until I gave birth? What if Franklin remained the only link between us? What if this contract ended and I walked away, and I had never existed in his life at all?

So many what-ifs.

I locked the phone and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. My phone buzzed beside me. I grabbed it, and the relief faded when I saw Sasha’s name.

“Hey.”

“Hey? That’s it? I expected more excitement. And what’s with you being confined to some prison? I come here and suddenly I don’t have access to you anymore? That’s rude.”

“I didn’t make the rules. Things are tense here.”

We drifted into small talk after that.

“What have you been doing?”

Sasha was the type who could land anywhere and enjoy herself, so boredom wasn’t a concern.

“I’ve been spending time with Cora.”

1 let out a snort.

“Come on, spill.”

She let out a long exhale into the phone.

“Ithinkilikeher.”

“Sasha, you have to slow down.”

“I didn’t hear that.”

I grinned into the phone. “You did. I like her. And I don’t know what to do about it.”

Her voice bounced between excitement and nerves, and it pulled a smile out of me.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“Maybe ask her out?”

“Oh, that’s intense.”

“I know. What am I going to say? I mean, I don’t even know if she likes me that way. She might not even be into me. Besides, I think she has something with that Franklin dude. That’s why I’ve never liked him.”

I laughed, loud enough to surprise myself, and walked to the glass door, pulling it open to the balcony. Evening air hit my face. The smell of cut grass drifted up from the yard.

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“Franklin and Cora are fake dating to make Nadia jealous.”

“Whatever.”

“Sasha, you’ve never been shy, and overthinking won’t help. I have a feeling Cora might like you back. Be honest. Keep it simple. You don’t need a speech. Do it tonight.”

“What?”

“And if she says yes, I’m going to be jealous because you’re stealing my friend.”

“Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll call you after.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

I smiled, realizing I actually had something to look forward to. Then I saw Franklin stepping out the front door, talking to the guards as he headed toward his car.

“Can I at least have a visitor or two?” I called from upstairs.

He looked up.

“If my mom eventually goes back, you know I can’t spend seven months locked up here, right?”

“I’ll have to talk to Cameron about it. I’ll get back to you.” He stayed there with his hands on his hips.

“How are things over there?” I asked, then caught myself. “You know what? Never mind.”

Franklin let out a short laugh. “Well, Cameron’s buried in work, trying to fix things with Evangeline, but I doubt that things will ever be the same.”

My fingers tightened on the balcony railing.

I had a dozen questions, but I kept them to myself.

“Maybe staying here is for the best,” he added. “Society wouldn’t find it funny if word got out that an Alpha with

a sick mate had his eyes on another woman. It won’t be good, especially for you.”

“He doesn’t have feelings for me.”

Franklin huffed. “And pigs can fly.”

His car unlocked with a beep, and he got in and drove off.

I stayed on the balcony, gripping the railing, until the yard went quiet again.

Hours passed, and the call came later than I expected. I was already in bed, half asleep, when my phone vibrated against the nightstand.

Sasha was calling.

I answered immediately.

She didn’t respond right away.

That silence told me everything.

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“What happened, Sasha?”

“She said no.”

I sat up

and pulled the blanket around myself. “Did she explain why?”

“She said she wasn’t ready. She said she liked me, but she wasn’t ready for anything serious.” Her voice wavered.. “I don’t understand. Did I do something wrong? Was I too much?”

“No. You didn’t.”

“Then why? I mean, we’ve had a good time. I really started to like her. I knew she liked me too, but she looked sad. Guilty.”

That made sense to me in a way Sasha couldn’t see. I knew Cora more than Sasha did. She was carrying things she didn’t talk about. The trauma of serving people who used her stayed under the surface. She had a six-year-old daughter to think about. Sasha might not understand. Sasha came from a more sheltered world than Cora.

“Maybe give her time. She probably has reasons that have nothing to do with you.”

Sasha let out a long breath. “I really like her.”

Her vulnerability hit too close to things I was avoiding in myself.

“I hate this feeling.”

I knew that feeling too well. Wanting someone who wasn’t choosing you.

“It will pass. Give her time, and give yourself time too.”

“Please talk to her for me, will you?”

“Of course.”

After we hung up, I set my phone down beside me a nd stared into the darkness.

Sasha was hurting because someone wasn’t ready for her. 1

And I was lying in bed, afraid of a future where someone might not need me anymore.

The situations were different, but the ache was the same.

I turned onto my side and pulled the blanket over my head.

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