LOGINDiane Pain wakes me up first, it's not sharp unbearable pain, it's just uncomfortable. A dull, steady throb that settles behind my eyes and stretches down the side of my face like a reminder that something happened.I inhale slowly, taking in the fresh clean air. My eyes flutter open, the light above me too bright at first, forcing me to squint. The ceiling is unfamiliar, white and endless, and for a moment I just lie there, trying to piece together how I got here.My head feels heavy and my body too slow.I lift a hand instinctively, wincing slightly as my fingers brush against something rough.“What? Where am I?” My voice comes out dry and weaker than I expect. “What’s going on?”A figure moves into my line of sight that's when I see clearly, she is wearing the nurse uniform which means she must be one, she looks young but very professional.“Good, you are awake,” she says gently, offering a small reassuring smile. “That’s good, you gave us quite a scare there miss Diane.”I blin
Moraa. There is a possibility that another woman is out there carrying his child and the thought alone makes something twist painfully inside me because that was supposed to be me, I was the one supposed to carry his child. I swallow slowly, trying to keep my expression steady, but I can feel it, the shift in me, the way everything suddenly feels more urgent.Kumba has always been many things distant, calculating, frustrating but this?This version of him, this is the one that wins, the one that gets what he wants always.I sit across from him, my fingers lightly resting against my lap, but inside me, my thoughts are moving fast, too fast. Because this changes everything, I hadn’t planned on telling him anything or anyone really. I was going to figure it out myself, piece it together slowly and carefully and find out exactly what happened that day, who messed with the procedure, why it didn’t work, Why I didn’t get pregnant.Because that was the plan, it was simple and I knew who
Gesare.I didn't sleep at all, I mean how could I even get any sleep with a billionaire passed out on my cheap hotel bed. Maybe for a few minutes here and there I did close my eyes, but nothing that counts.The entire night sits heavy in my chest, replaying over and over again like something my mind refuses to let go of. Every word he said. Every accusation he made before when he came here. But the question that echoed in my mind was him questioning everything I told him about myself, how could he think someone can lie about stuff like that. I close my eyes briefly, pressing my lips together as I sit on the edge of the chair across from the bed, it was the only other furniture in the hotel room.Kumba is still lying on the bed, in the same exact spot where he passed out last night. Half on his side, one arm thrown across the mattress, breathing slow and deep like none of it ever happened.My gaze lingers on him longer than I want it to, taking in the view of his perfect manly body
Gesare.His lips are still on mine when the world tilts and that’s the only way I can explain it.One moment we are lying side by side under the open sky, the faint flicker of candlelight dancing around us, and the next, everything narrows down to him, to the way his mouth moves against mine, to the way my body reacts without asking permission.The kiss deepens again, more urgent this time, like something unspoken has finally been let loose. My fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer, needing him closer, and he doesn’t resist, not even a little, If anything, he meets me there and matches me.His hand slides from my waist, up along my side, slow but deliberate, like he is learning me through touch. The warmth of his palm against my skin sends a shiver straight through me, my breath catching against his lips.“Kumba” I barely get his name out before he kisses me again, softer this time, but somehow more intense like he is trying to slow this down, like he is figh
Kumba.I push through the glass doors, stepping into the parking lot, the late afternoon sun hitting harder than it should. For a second, I just stand there, my hand tightening around my car keys as everything Dr Valentina just said replays in sharp fragments in my head.Moraa was asking questions about the insemination because what started as a mistake something clean, unfortunate, explainable is turning into something else entirely.I unlock my car and get in, the door shutting with a dull thud that feels louder than it should. The engine starts, smooth, familiar, grounding.I pull out of the parking lot, merging into traffic, my mind already working ahead, connecting pieces that refuse to settle into anything solid.Valentina is scared and that much is clear, I could see it her face, hear it in her voice. I have known her for a while now, and not many things scare dr Valentina which is why this was unsettling for me, she looked terrified. My phone rings and I glance at the scree
Kumba.I notice the night is too quiet, or maybe it’s just me, I sit by the pool, a glass in my hand, the ice long melted, the whiskey warm now but I drink it anyway as it burns my throat going down. I need that because my head won’t shut up.The file Ray left earlier is still open on the table beside me, pages slightly bent from how many times I have gone through them.It has names, dates, connections to each other everything I needed which is why I always went to Ray for stuff like this, he was very thorough at his job. I take another sip, leaning back in the chair, my eyes drifting to the water which was still and calm, with a reflection of the sky with the stars and moon. Just like everything else in my life right now.I reach for my laptop again, opening it even though I already know what I’m going to find, or rather what I’m not going to find.Gesare, I type her name again and search, there is barely anything online about her. A few scattered mentions that don’t lead anywhere
She had been my doctor through every brutal stage of my cancer treatment. If she was asking me to come to the hospital in person, it wasn't for small talk."What is this about?" I asked as I drove."I can't discuss it over the phone, Kumba. Please just come in." she said before she hung up.The ent
Then I feel Kumba's arm around my shoulders.The hospital bed beneath me.The ache in my body.The baby.Moraa.My eyes open slowly.The room is brighter now.Morning sunlight spills through the windows.And Kumba is still beside me.I must have fallen asleep against him sometime during the night b
GesareI don't realize I have fallen asleep until a sharp knock at the hospital door jolts me awake.For one blissful second, I forget everything.Then I feel Kumba's arm around my shoulders.The hospital bed beneath me.The ache in my body.The baby.Moraa.My eyes open slowly.The room is brighte
I don't realize I've fallen asleep until a sharp knock at the hospital door jolts me awake.For one blissful second, I forget everything.Then I feel Kumba's arm around my shoulders.The hospital bed beneath me.The ache in my body.The baby.Moraa.My eyes open slowly.The room is brighter now.Mo







