Page 90 of 5000 Nights of Obsession

Jayleaned over, leveling me with his eyes meaningfully.

“Andit’d be great if she was already pregnant with a man who doesn’t know about it.Sowhere does that leave us?”

“Withme,”Iblurted.Holyshit, we just picked apart math, and he was right.

IwasJay’sonly solution as much as he was mine.

“Arewe really considering this?”Iasked, feeling lightheaded.Wewere proposing to dupe our families, friends, and the entire world.Thissordid secret that we couldn’t ever mention, nor could we risk people finding out.

“Doyou see another solution where you can have everything you want for your baby and get to keep your family?”

“ButI’malready a couple of weeks along.Didyou know that your phones come with a calendar app?Allpeople have to do is count the months we have been married and the monthsIwas pregnant before childbirth.”

Hiseyes moved over my face. “So, we’ll get married right away.Somethingintimate; let’s say five hundred guests.”

Ichoked on the waterIwas drinking, letting the straw dangle near my lips.Fivehundred guests?

“We’llmove toChicagobefore you start to show,” he continued. “Noone here will look into it if we aren’t around, and we’ll later announce that we had a preemie baby.”

OhGod, why wasIentertaining this? “Everyonewill figure it out.We’llnever pull this off.”

“Wewill,” he replied without a morsel of doubt. “Peopleare surprisingly susceptible to subconscious messages.They’llbelieve it to be true if we keep repeating certain information.Suchas the baby being a preemie and confusing them about the possible date of conception.”

Iheld my fingers to my temple.Ihad gone from a surprise pregnancy to fake cravings to a marriage proposal.Alot had happened in the last twenty-four hours. “I-Ineed to think.”

“So, think about it.Thinkabout it all night and give me an answer tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Ifwe do this, we have to move fast.”

Neitherof us spoke after his proclamation, eventually parting on a friendly hug andJaypromising to come by the following day for my answer.

Atthe end of the month,IbecameMrs.PiyaAmbani.

ChapterNineteen

Present

* * *

Piya

“Didyou know all along?”IaskedAxelthrough the glass pane.Isat on the floor with my back leaning against the door and sucked in a ragged lungful of air to get myself together.Myeyes drooped, and my arms were heavy at my side.

“Notat first.Ambanihid his tracks well;I’llgive him that.”

Axelsat on the other side of the glass with his back to me, leaning against the same cascade door.Theglass pane in between divided us where our backs should be touching.Thethought of leaning againstAxelwas comforting though it was oneIcould no longer indulge.

“Thetrack records for the weeks after conception were miraculously well kept.Fromevery angle,Poppyappeared as a preemie baby.Butafter meeting her… anti-social personalities are often genetic.Myfather was like that, too.”

“Howdid you confirm it?”Iasked curiously.

“Afterthe first time we had lunch,Iwent toPoppy’sschool nurse.Iswiped her blood sample that was on file and gave it toLevito run aDNAtest.”

Laughterbubbled in my chest.Ofcourse, he did.Inow realized why it took my stalker more than five minutes to chase me down afterIleft the lunch.

“Youshould have told me,” he spoke from the other side.

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