Page 80 of Sapphire Tears

“Is it that obvious?”

Sara smiles apologetically. “We’re all living in close confines now. Noise filters through the walls somewhat.”

I sigh. “Joy.”

Milana had arrived at the suite last evening. She’d gone into Kolya’s room and stayed there for a few hours. When she reemerged, it was only to say a quick goodbye before she left.

I spent the whole night fuming internally, but still hoping that Kolya would come out of his room. I had things I wanted to say to him.

“How was he this morning?” I ask reluctantly, hating myself for how miserable I sound.

Sara wags her finger in my face, laughing. “Nuh-uh, missy. You’re not gonna drag me in the middle of this. You wanna find out how he’s doing, you go in there and see for yourself.” She gestures toward the door that’s remained steadfastly shut since Milana left.

“No. He doesn’t want to see me.”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Because he blames me for what happened.”

Sara gives me a skeptical frown. “I doubt that very much. Why would he think that?”

“Because he found out that Adrian was texting me. It didn’t seem to matter to him that I never replied. He just decided that I was guilty. Judge, jury, executioner: Mr. Kolya Uvarov.”

Sara doesn’t say anything for so long that I turn to her with a questioning glare. “What?” I demand.

She squirms in place. “Well…”

“Well, what?”

She looses a long exhale. “Maybe you should cut him some slack, June,” she says in a fast torrent, no doubt trying to get it all out before I cut her off. “I mean, it can’t exactly be easy for him. He’s in love with a woman who’s carrying another man’s baby. And not just any man’s baby, either. You have a history with Adrian. You loved him at one point. I’ve called Kolya Superman more than once, but even Superman has kryptonite. Maybe this is Kolya’s version.”

One part of that sticks out more than the rest. “He doesn’t love me.”

She chuckles. “He asked you to marry him, June. C’mon.”

That’s not good enough for me, though. “If he really loved me the way you claim he does, wouldn’t admitting it be easy?”

“For someone like Kolya?” Sara asks. “I don’t think so. Look at what a man does, not what he says. Adrian fed you beautiful lies, but look what he did? Kolya is harsh to your face, but look what he’s done? What he’s doing? What he’s promised he’ll do? That’s love. That’s love if I’ve ever seen it, honey.”

I fall silent and chew on her words. I’m still chewing when the doorbell to the suite rings and Knox sticks his head in. “Yo, Doc, your supplies just got here.”

“Sonogram machine, too?”

“Uh, yeah, sure—not sure which one that is.”

Sara rolls her eyes and gets to her feet. “Come on, June. Time to check on that baby.”

We walk into the connecting suite. Her equipment has been set up right in the living room, converting it into a mini-clinic.

“Just lie back on the sofa,” she tells me. “I’ll get us all up and running.”

She taps away on the machine until it hums to life. Then, brandishing the wand in one hand and the gel in the other, she leans forward to get to work. “Gonna be a tad cold,” she warns.

I nod. “I remember.”

I’m brought back to the first time I did this. The doctor in those days hadn’t warned me that it would be cold, so when it hit my bare skin, I’d gasped and grabbed Adrian’s hand. There’s no one but Sara and me in the room now. But I can’t help wishing that Kolya were here for this.

“Okay,” Sara murmurs, pulling her monitor a little closer so we can both peer at the fuzzy ocean of black and white pixels. “There’s the amniotic sac.” She traces a finger over the outline. “And… there’s your baby.”

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