The receptionist had the air of a woman who had seen it all and cared about none of it.
"I need to see Dr. Sanders," I said.
She didn’t even blink before picking up the phone.
A pause.
Then she calmly looked at and said, "Dr. Sanders is in surgery now. Kindly take a seat."
Take. A. Seat?! That wasn’t going to happen.
"Oh, no, no, no, no." I forced my breathing to slow. "You don’t understand. Get her out of surgery."
"I’m sorry, sir, that’s not possible."
I leaned forward. "Do you know who I am?" I rarely played that card but if there was ever a ti to use or abuse my power in the society, now was it.
She tilted her head. "A man who needs to sit down."
I closed my eyes and took a slow breath.
"I am Richard. Fucking. Nuro," I said. "If you don’t get Dr. Sanders right this minute, I will buy this hospital, demolish it, and build a hideous statue of you where it used to be."
She raised a brow. "I will make another call." I tapped my foot impatiently.
"Oh screw it!"
I didn’t wait for her. I knew this hospital inside out.
I ran toward the surgery wards, searching for Dr. Sanders’ na on the theater doors.
First door—Not her.
Second door—Not her.
Third door—Still not her.
Fourth door—Still. Not. Her.
Panic clawed at my chest.
She was done.
My stomach plumted.
I had failed.
I gripped the nearest wall, trying to steady myself. I was too late.
Then.
A voice.
"Mr Nuro."
I turned so fast I almost dislocated sothing.
Dr. Sanders stood there.
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
"What have you done?" I whispered.
Her brows furrowed. "What?"
I took a step forward. "The procedure. Did you do it?"
She hesitated. Then shook her head.
"She... she changed her mind."
"Where is she?"
"In my office."
One mont, I was talking to Dr. Sanders, and the next, I was in her office.
Nita turned when she saw .
I wanted to say sothing dramatic. Sothing powerful.
But no words ca out.
She frowned. "That idiot told you didn’t he?"
"I’m gonna buy that idiot an island." I muttered.
I crossed the room in three strides and pulled her into my arms.
*****
The mont I wrapped my arms around Nita, she broke down. Hot, heavy tears soaked through my shirt as she clung to . Her whole body trembled with the force of her sobs, and every breath hitched as she tried to speak.
"I can’t believe I even considered this, Richard," she choked out. "How could I have thought about doing that to my child?"
"Our child, love," I whispered, pressing my lips against the top of her head. "It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry."
She cried harder, gripping my shirt like she was afraid I would disappear if she let go.
We stayed like that for what felt like forever, the only sounds in the room being her muffled sobs and the frantic pounding of my own heart.
A polite cough broke the mont, and we both turned to see Dr. Sanders standing in the doorway with an amused smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Well," she said, "I guess now I can finally say congratulations."
Nita turned to her, wiping her tear-streaked face with the back of her hand. "I am so sorry for wasting your ti, Doctor Sanders."
"Never mind." The doctor waved her off with a smile. "I couldn’t have perford the procedure anyway."
"What do you an?"
She arched a brow at . "Turns out your husband here had soone cut our power and threatened to level the hospital."
Nita gasped and spun back to , eyes wide. "Richard, what did you do?"
I scratched the back of my head. "We committed a thousand and one felonies trying to get to you."
"We?" she repeated, her voice dangerously calm.
I cleared my throat. "Victor and Martin are currently being held by the police. It’s my turn now."
Nita paled. "Richard..."
I kissed her forehead softly, breathing her in. Then I pulled away and smiled. "Call my dad. Tell him to get all of our lawyers. We’ll need a miracle to avoid life without parole." I joked but who knows.
"Richard!"
As soon as I stepped into the hospital lobby, three uniford officers sward like sharks scenting blood. One of them read my rights in that monotonous, been-doing-this-for-years voice while the others roughly shoved into the back of the police car.
Victor and Martin were already inside, both of them staring at expectantly.
I sighed dramatically. "I was too late."
"FUCK!" they both groaned in unison, heads dropping back against the seat.
Then I grinned. "She changed her mind."
Victor’s head snapped toward so fast I was surprised he didn’t get whiplash. "You son of a bitch!" he growled, using his shoulder to nudge angrily. "I swear to God, if I didn’t have these stupid bracelets on, I would punch you in the mouth."
I laughed harder, "Seriously, guys. Thank you."
"Seeing as we are about to sacrifice our freedom for you to get Mrs. Nuro, you better put a ring on it," Martin grumbled.
"I an... that’ll be a little difficult if we’re in jail."
Martin shrugged. "Not impossible."
Victor smirked. "You could always pull a prison wedding. I hear those are romantic."
"Yeah, you would think that. Your romance radar has always been very low." I shot back dryly.
"Oh, and speaking of prison," Martin added. "one piece of advice: don’t pick up the soap."
Victor and I exchanged glances.
"What happens if we do?" we asked at the sa ti.
Martin smiled mysteriously but didn’t answer.
*****
Spending the night in a holding cell wasn’t as bad as you’d think. The officers on duty actually thought what we did was kind of heroic but illegal.
One of them even gave us snacks.
"So," Officer Johnson said. "Let get this straight. You cut the power to an entire hospital to stop your girl from getting rid of your baby?"
"Correct."
"And you threatened to demolish the building?"
"In my defense," I said, "it was more of a strong suggestion than an actual threat."
Johnson smirked. "Damn sha you guys broke the law. You would’ve made great action movie stars."
"Trust ," Victor muttered, "this dude thinks he is an action star."
Morning rolled around and my dad showed up to bail us out.
The mont I stepped out of the holding area, he smacked on the back of the head.
"Do you ever use protection, you knucklehead?"
Victor burst into laughter. I rubbed the spot, "Glad my pain makes you happy."
Dad crossed his arms. "At this rate, you two will make babies every year."
"I think I can afford it." I turned to Victor and hugged him. "Thanks, man."
"Go," he said.
I got in my car and drove straight to Nita’s place.
*****
When I got to her house, I knocked but got no response. Panic flared in my chest.
I let myself in and searched the house until I found her in the nursery, curled up in a fetal position on the floor.
Queen was in her crib, shaking one of her toys. But Nita... she looked wrecked.
"Hey, babe." I rushed over. "You okay?"
She didn’t respond. Just kept staring at nothing, her face streaked with dried tears.
"I’m sorry," she finally whispered. "I’m so sorry."
"What’s going on?"
"I tried to kill our baby, Richard," she choked out. "I thought about it for days, and that was the best option I ca up with. How could I even think like that?"
My heart shattered. "Babe, I should have been here. I should have never left you. You wouldn’t have had to make that decision at all."
She smacked my chest. Once. Twice. Then kept going.
"You keep hurting again and again and again," she sobbed. "I didn’t know what else to do!"
I caught her hands before she bruised permanently. "I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I swear, I’m never going to leave you again." I kissed her knuckles. "Let’s begin all over again. Let’s be a family."
Her whole body stiffened.
Shit.
"So you suddenly think we should be a family again?" she snapped. "You left , Richard. You told the whole world we have no future. Is sothing wrong with you, or do you change your mind so often that the whiplash has caused brain damage?"
"I deserve that." I took a deep breath. "But if you’d just let explain—"
"Oh, let guess!" she interrupted, waving her hands. "You left to protect , right? Because clearly, I can’t make my own decisions?"
I groaned internally. Every word I said was digging into a deeper hole.
"Sweetie, how about we just enjoy the fact that we’re having a baby and not let history repeat itself?" I suggested. "I an, can we at least have one pregnancy reveal that doesn’t turn into a fight?"
Her eyes flashed. "Oh, so it’s my fault we fight after a pregnancy reveal?"
Oh my God. I needed a reset button.
I scrambled to switch tactics. "Okay, how about this? Let’s go for ice cream. Queen needs a stroll, and I haven’t even said hi to her."
She crossed her arms. "You know what? Go. Take your daughter and go. Apparently, babies are more important to you than I am."
I sighed in defeat. "Babe—"
"Go, Richard."
"I’m done. I am done leaving." I squared my shoulders. "Babe, I’m going to stick so close to you, you’ll think I’m your second skin. The only way I’m leaving is if you shove out the door."
Five minutes later, I was out the door.
With Queen in my arms.
And a pram hitting in the back.
Sobody send help.
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