Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 355

Chapter 355

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Pat’s jaw tightened. “What about my family, Celeste? My parents, my sister, my relatives. They will have a field day. If I keep this child and things do not work out with Kingsley, I will be a single mother, and they will mock me for the rest of my life. Vivian will bring it up every time she needs to feel better about herself.”

“Then I will be your family,” I said it flat, the way I would say a fact. “You do not call people who put you down family, Pat. Family are the ones who love you, who care for you, who root for you and cry with you and show up when you need them. I can be all of that for you. I can be more than your friend. I can be your sister. And if you choose to keep this child, I will be its godmother. That child will have me, and it will have Dominic, and it will have the kind of family that actually deserves the name.”

Pat’s face crumpled, and she broke down sobbing, the ugly kind of crying that comes up from the bottom of a woman, and I held her, my hand stroking her hair until the sobs turned to hiccups and the hiccups turned to silence.

When she finally pulled back, wiping her face with the back of her hand, I kept my voice low. “I have said a lot, Pat, but in the end, this is your decision to make. I do not want you to feel pressured by anything I have said. Do whatever your heart tells you to do. And no matter what you decide, I will support you to the very end.”

She nodded, sniffing. “I need time to think.”

“Take all the time you need.” I squeezed her hand, stood, and left her alone.

In the corridor I pulled out my phone and made the calls I had been putting off. I needed to be at Helix, even if briefly, to monitor the final readings of the last samples I had worked on.

But Pat came first, so I arranged for a cleaning crew to go to her apartment, to scrub every surface, strip the sheets, restock the fridge, erase every trace of what had happened on that living room floor. I wished I could keep her away from that house for a while, give her time to forget. But I could not keep her at Helix either, not with the gossip mill that ran through that building like tap water.

By the time I walked back into the ward, Pat was sitting straighter, her eyes dry, her chin up. “I have made my decision,” she said.

I crossed to the door and called the doctor in. He came with his clipboard, and Pat looked him dead in the eye. ” Doctor, I have decided to keep the baby. I will do whatever it takes to make sure this child is healthy.”

I pulled her into a hug so fierce the IV line pulled taut. “I am so proud of you, Pat.”

The doctor set his clipboard down and folded his hands. “I am glad to hear that, Miss Spears. But I have to tell you something. Because of the misoprostol exposure, there is a chance that your baby could be born with congenital abnormalities. Most babies exposed to misoprostol during an unsuccessful abortion are born without birth defects, but that does not change the fact that the possibility exists. If you are going to continue this pregnancy, I will need to discuss the risks involved with you and how to provide appropriate follow-up.”

Pat’s chin came up another inch. “I have chosen to give birth to this child, Doctor, and I will see it through. I am convinced that my baby will be born healthy, and I will do everything humanly possible to make that happen.”

The doctor nodded, made a note on his clipboard, and promised to run the necessary tests. The door had barely closed behind him when it swung open again, and Dominic walked in carrying enough food to feed a small army.

He had gone home, showered, and changed into a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, dark trousers, and shoes that gleamed. He set the bags on the table and began unpacking trays of fruit, golden pastries, a thermos of coffee, juice, more food than two women could finish in a week.

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