My stomach churned. “Nikolai could really be part of the mafia as he said.” No. He was, he had no reason to lie over something so trivial.

“What are you going to do now?”

I took another sip from my coffee, inhaling its rich aroma and savoring the flavors as they hit my pallet. Even the sourness on my tastebuds couldn’t make my coffee taste bland.

Making good coffee was the second-best thing I’d learned from my mother. Not trusting men was the first. “I don’t know, Emma. I know I need his money to give my child a good life, but I’m also certain I don’t want to raise a baby in a world like his.”

“You need to give it more thought and let me know what you decide. I’ll be by your side no matter what you choose to do.”

Emma’s reassurance made my lips part into a soft smile. Emma had been my best friend since college, and she was the best thing that had ever happened to me before my pregnancy. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I’ll be a good aunt to your baby, you’ll see.”

My smile widened. “I know you will.”

“Got to go now, babe. See you at the office tomorrow.” She blew kisses to the phone. “I love you and our little niece.”

I chuckled. “Niece? What if it’s a boy?”

“No. No boys allowed. I want a niece I can wear matching hairstyles with.”

I rubbed my stomach. “Did you hear that, baby? Aunt Emma wants a niece, so you better be a girl.”

We both shared another laugh. “Love you too, girl. Goodnight.” I kept smiling at my phone seconds after I hung up. When my smile faded music later, my heart began to pound with worry.

Now that Nikolai knew I was pregnant, he was probably going to expect me to come back and give him an answer. That wasn’t the problem though. The problem was that somewhere at the back of my mind, I was foolishly considering raising my child with him.

Maybe I didn’t need to love. I could just pretend to be married to him… I stopped the thoughts from bubbling any further. I wasn’t going to marry him, and that was final.

I carried my empty cup to the kitchen and washed it, then I went to take a quick shower. By the time I finished and dried my hair, my stomach was growling with hunger. I’d been eating a little too much since I found out I was pregnant.

I wore my nightie and padded down to the kitchen. I warmed up the leftover pizza and ate it before going to the sitting room.

Just as I was about to pick up my TV remote, the doorbell rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.Holy fuck.I clutched my chest, taking deep breaths.Who the hell is that?

It was almost ten p.m., and I wasn’t expecting anyone. I hadn’t ordered anything either. I headed over to the door and squinted my eyes through the peephole. I scrunched my brows when I saw Aaron standing on my porch.

Why was he here, and what did he want? I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit, but I opened the door anyway. “Why are you here, Aaron?”

He smiled at me. “It’s good to see you again, baby.”

“Baby?” I nearly retched in disgust hearing him call me that. “I’m not your baby. You better leave if you don’t want your fiancée to know you’re at my door.”

He flashed his hand at me, showing off the golden band around his ring finger. “Wife, actually. We got married two weeks ago.”

A lump formed in my throat, making it hard for me to breathe or swallow. It’d been a month since our three-year-old relationship ended, yet it seemed like he’d forgotten me in only a second.

Pain slithered through my chest, thinking of how little I meant to him. “I won’t congratulate you on your wedding, Aaron. Please go if you only came here to boast of your newfound love.”

What was I expecting? Closure? An apology? Or for him to tell me it was all a big prank, and he never stopped loving me? If he did, would I take him back?

I swung the door to shut it in his face, but he stopped it, putting his feet between the door and door frame, and pushing it back open. “I’m here for something else.”

I folded my arms across my chest to show him I wasn’t pleased having him over. “What is it?”

“Won’t you at least let me in?”

I scoffed. Why did I only just find out how annoyingly gusty he was? “No. You can speak from where you are or leave?”