“You and I talked about that. You said?—”
“I know what I said.” Her voice cracked a little. “I’ve never asked for attention. Or for your name to elevate mine. But now there’s a new baby coming, and your mother is being told that I’m trying to use child support to manipulate you. That I’m a threat who might takeKian away. That I’m…basically looking for an opportunity.”
Victims of lies didn’t sound calm. They sounded hurt—like her right now.
He exhaled and combed his fingers through his hair as realization dawned on him.
“You saw my mother yesterday.”
“I overheard a conversation at lunch.” Her expression flickered to something he couldn’t read.
“She was with Sydney?” His pulse spiked.
She nodded once.
Anger and rage flooded him. He clenched his jaw. “What did she say?”
“Enough.” Tachina’s eyes filled with unshed tears.
That just made him even angrier. He stood and took a step toward her, but the door opened. He sat back down and tried to get his emotions in order.
“Hello! I’m Dr. Hanover.” The woman was dressed in a blouse and slacks with a white lab coat. She went over to Tachina and shook her hand. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you.”
“Dr. Hanover, it’s been about a year,” Tachina said.
“I hear congratulations are in order. The urine sample you gave confirmed pregnancy,” Dr. Hanover said.
Tachina murmured her thanks.
Dr. Hanover turned and smiled at Vic. “And who do we have here?”
“This is Victor. He’s the father,” Tachina replied evenly.
Not her partner. Not her boyfriend. Just…the father.
It sliced into him like dull blade.
“Victor Maxwell.” Vic stood and took the doctor’s hand in a firm shake.
“Well, congratulations to the two of you.” She made her way back over to Tachina. “You look a little down. Feeling all right? Any pain?”
“Just tired,” Tachina said with a soft exhale. “And some nausea.”
Nausea? His heart thudded. Why hadn’t she shared that with him?
“You’ve vomited?” Guilt filled him to think that this pregnancy was already causing her discomfort.
“Oh, yeah,” she muttered.
Dr. Hanover continued on, asking Tachina some questions while performing a thorough exam of her. Vic sat back and watched—and listened. This was the first time he’d ever been at a prenatal appointment. He swallowed hard, thinking how she had done most of this by herself last time.
A tech came into the room and fiddled with the machine.
“Well, let’s see if we can see the baby and determine how far along you are,” Dr. Hanover said.
“Today? We should be able to see the baby already?” Vic blinked. It wasn’t too early?
“It may not be much, but this will allow us to do somemeasurements. I will tell you now, this baby at this stage won’t look like a fully developed fetus quiet yet.” The doctor smiled. She motioned for Vic to come close to Tachina.