Page 38 of Chloe

She stepped out of the shower and dressed quickly, slipping back out into the bedroom.

Jubal was still sleeping, clutching her pillow with the same intensity he had been holding her before.

See? He isn’t in love with you.

She headed back out into the hallway and then down the stairs to the kitchen. A cup of coffee would help her get her head in the right place again.

Though the villa looked like a palace from the outside, from the inside, there didn’t appear to be much more to it than the spaces they were using. Either there were hidden doors leading to the other wings, or this was more of Oberon’s magic.

If Jubal slept past her first cup of coffee, she decided she might just have to explore the house.

But when Chloe reached the kitchen, someone was already there.

“Hello,” said a young Terran woman wearing a lab coat. “I’m Dr. Pan. I hope you don’t mind. I started some coffee when I got here. I wasn’t sure how long you would sleep.”

“Coffee sounds amazing,” Chloe said happily. “Thank you.”

“Great,” Dr. Pan said, swinging her jet-black hair over her shoulder as she grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. “We’ll be meeting every morning while you’re here. It’s my job to do your daily check-up.”

“Will I find out if I’m pregnant?” Chloe asked, forgetting about the coffee and everything else.

“You will,” Dr. Pan said with a smile. “But keep in mind that accomplishing a pregnancy on the very first night is exceedingly rare. Most Maltaffian males require several days of bonding before their seed comes to life enough for that.”

Chloe nodded, but she secretly felt they had bonded plenty last night. And she felt different this morning, as if she were lit up from within.

“Shall we let this cool and check on you now?” Dr. Pan guessed, placing their full coffee mugs on the kitchen island.

“That would be great,” Chloe said.

Dr. Pan walked around the kitchen island and held out her bracelet, tapping it a few times.

“First, I’ll get your vitals,” she said, looking up at Chloe. “How are you feeling today?”

“Great,” Chloe said, as the doctor’s sensor waved in front of her forehead.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Dr. Pan said. “Temperature normal, heart rate normal, blood pressure normal.”

The hologram over her bracelet flashed as she spoke, as if it were taking down her notes.

“Are you in any pain right now?” Dr. Pan asked.

“No,” Chloe said.

She didn’t quite want to share about how a certain area was a little tender. That was probably to be expected.

“Excellent,” Dr. Pan said. “That wraps everything up for today, then.”

“I…am I…?” Chloe asked hopefully.

“Not today,” Dr. Pan said, shaking her head. “But as I said before, that’s normal. If you’re feeling hopeful today, that’s a good sign that we might have good news later in the week.”

“Thank you,” Chloe said, as the hope went out of her.

But her voice broke on the second word.

“Oh, Chloe,” Dr. Pan said. “Whatever brought you here probably made you feel hopeless, didn’t it?”

But Chloe was crying too hard to answer now, the doctor’s kind words had broken the dam.

---