Page 49 of Oops, My Professor Got Me Pregnant!

Nico’s heart sank. It was very clear that Lauren hadn’t known that. Nico just had to hope that he wasn’t too late to fix things. As Céline navigated the car towards the highway, Nico pulled out his phone and sent a text to Lauren. The message showed that it was sent, but Lauren’s phone didn’t receive it. Conscientious Lauren, who was still a new traveler, had probably put on airplane mode the moment she’d entered the airport.

Nico switched tabs to a budget-airline website and bought the cheapest ticket he could find that was leaving in the next few hours. It was on a flight to Lyon and was still eye-wateringly expensive, but it would be worth it if he could find Lauren.

He had to talk to her. He had to explain.

Yet the closer they drew to the airport, the more Nico worried he wouldn’t catch Lauren in time. There was just over an hour until her flight left, and Nico still needed to get through security on the ticket he’d just bought and find her gate before she boarded.

If Lauren got on that plane and left France, she’d leave feeling that Nico had given up on her and that they had no future together. Nico just couldn’t let that happen. He loved Lauren — that much was clear. And despite all the upheaval and the continued uncertainty, he loved their baby, too.

He had to tell her that.

CHAPTER 20

LAUREN

Lauren sat in the waiting area in front of her gate, her hands wrapped around an overpriced chai latte she’d bought at an airport coffee shop, fighting back tears. Céline had dropped her off and they’d exchanged a tearful goodbye. Then Céline had asked one more time if Lauren would consider staying, but Lauren had shaken her head.

“It would be too painful to stay in a city where the father of my baby lives when he wants nothing to do with me,” she’d said. “I’m not going to wait around for him. I can’t do that to myself or to my baby. I have to go home.”

Céline had hugged her tightly and said that she understood. Then Lauren had entered the airport, alone.

And now here she was, still alone, still fighting tears. As much as Lauren knew it was the right decision to leave, she also knew that she would always feel heartbroken about the way she’d left Paris. Lauren had truly believed in a future with Nico, one in which they might get married someday and raise children together, beginning with Louis, whom Lauren already adored. She’d believed that Nico loved her. She loved him. Watching that all crumble as Nico had refused to acknowledge her for the last week had been horrible. And Lauren could admit that her pregnancy hormones probably hadn’t helped.

Still, if Nico had so much as sent her a message or waved to her on the quad, she wouldn’t have been at the airport now. If he’d given any indication that he wanted to work things out, everything would have been different. But he hadn’t. It was clear that he didn’t want to work things out.

Lauren took a deep, steadying breath. This was all for the best. Yes, she was leaving behind a country, a man, a child, a best friend, and a job she loved, but she was returning to a community that felt like home where she was loved and supported. Even though her grandfather wasn’t there anymore.

Tears pricked at Lauren’s eyes. She’d never felt so alone. Yet there was nothing to be done about it. She couldn’t force Nico to want to be a father a second time over. Nor did she want to. And without Nico in the picture, the best option was to return home.

The speaker at the check-in desk crackled to life.

“Welcome to flight eight-seven-three to New York JFK. We’re about to start the boarding process, so please have your passport and boarding pass ready.”

It was really happening. Lauren said her silent goodbyes to the city she’d come to love. She sent a little extra love to Louis, the little boy she loved and hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to. And she sent a silent goodbye to Nico — she did still love him, even if he didn’t want anything to do with her. Even if it hurt.

“I’d now like to invite families with small children and those with disabilities to begin boarding.”

Lauren took another deep breath. She finished the last of her chai latte, which was now cold, and threw the empty cup into a trash can near her chair. As a small parade of babies and toddlers passed with their families, Lauren’s heart warmed at the thought of that part of her future. She was excited to be a mother, despite the circumstances. She just wished she wouldn’t be doing it alone.

“Priority and first class are now welcome to board.”

Lauren made a quick run to the bathroom, where she filled her water bottle and splashed a little water on her face. Then she returned to the waiting area.

“All other passengers can now begin boarding.”

Lauren joined the line that had started to form. She held her passport, with the boarding pass tucked inside, tightly in one hand. Slowly, the line shuffled forward and Lauren shuffled along with it. This was it.

A few minutes later, Lauren was at the front of the line. She showed her passport and boarding pass, which were quickly accepted. As she made her way through the gate, she felt a strong sense of finality. This was it. Her time in Paris, and with Nico, had come to an end. There was no turning back now.

But as she stepped into the tunnel, the flight attendant called out.

“Sorry, ma’am. We’re going to need to check the size of that bag.”

Of course. After the week Lauren had been having, it only made sense that her backpack would be declared too large. She exited the tunnel and emerged back into the airport, where the attendant pointed her to the side. They measured the backpack in a special bin.

“It is a little too large,” one of the attendants said, rather apologetically. To her annoyance, Lauren felt tears prick at her eyes again.

“But,” the attendant hurried to add, “if there’s extra space in the overhead compartments, we can perhaps let you on anyway. You just need to wait for boarding to finish.”

---