Page 84 of Mob Boss's Second Chance

How did she know?

I sink onto the bed, my body trembling as tears spill freely down my cheeks. One hand grips the phone while the other wraps protectively around my stomach.

Through the haze of hormones, cravings, and relentless morning sickness, doubts have crept in.

Fears.

What if I’m not meant to be a mother? It was never part of the plan—never something I saw in my immediate future. Parenthood was a distant possibility, something to think about in fleeting moments, but never now. Never like this.

Ethan and I didn’t plan for this. We were two people caught in something that, at least on my end, I mistook for something deeper. I thought it was more than just lust. And him…

I don’t know.

There was a time when I thought we shared something more. I thought I saw him in a different light—a man prone to hardness but also filled with enough tenderness to light up my heart. There was a time when I felt the impossible was within my reach.

Foolish thinking, that’s what it was.

“Natalie?”

I wipe the tears from my face, sniffling deeply. “I’m here.”

“Are you good? Do you want me to swing by? I know the trip isn’t until tomorrow, but we could make a head start.”

“It’s okay,” I smile, pushing to my feet. “I just—I love you. That’s all.”

“Aww,” she coos. “I love you too. And I think we’re both going to love the ocean and the warm sand. Don’t forget the bikinis! It’s going to be a hot-girl summer for just the two of us.”

My smile brightens, and for the first time in weeks, I find myself actually looking forward to doing something other than sitting in my apartment and moping like a languid fish.

“I’ll talk to you later, okay?” I tell Danielle.

“Okay. If you need me, just call. I’ll be there before you know it.”

The call ends, and I drop my phone on the bed for a quick run to the kitchen to find my stash of gummies. Turns out that gummies have a way of sticking to the palate when nothing else works. With my special treat and my mood in sync, I resume shoving more clothes and shoes into my bag.

“There you go.” I pull the zipper to the teeth and stand back, hands on my hips as I admire my creation.

Two bags. A trip to forget my worries. The ocean current swirling around my body and the sand underneath my feet.

“I can’t wait.”

I just need to pee first.

The knock on the door knocksthe thought from my head, and my brows pinch together in a frown.

Danielle? She’s perfected the habit of coming over unannounced, but there’s no reason why she should be here when we spoke not too long ago.

“She might as well move in at this point,” I grumble, although a part of me is happy I don’t have to spend the night alone.”

As I make my way to the door, my socked feet are muffled on the floor, and my shirt is gaping at the neckline—the result of too many wears and so many years.

“One moment!” I call out when I hear the knock again, reaching into the pocket of my sweats for a handful of gummies. Tossing them into my mouth and chewing slowly to savor them, I yank the door open.

My teeth halt their chomping. My eyes go wide. My breathing slows down, even as the space around me condenses into one tiny, crushing box.

“Natalie.”

It’s the way he calls my name. Like he’s unsure whether it’s a sigh on the tip of his tongue or an oath he dares not let slip.

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