Page 9 of Doctor Billionaire's Surprise Baby

What if I fell even more in love with him and he didn’t love me back? What if I would be trapped in a loveless marriage?

And Iknewhe would never love me back. He would never see me as more than a friend, worse yet, a little sister, and colleague.

I wasn’t sure I could survive that.

I got up from my bed and paced around my room, trying to work through my concerns. The light of the moon filtered in through the curtains, casting shadows on the floor as I walked back and forth.

"Think, Simone," I whispered to myself. "What would Nonna want you to do?"

Images of our time in Italy flashed through my mind: Nonna teaching us how to make pasta from scratch, telling us stories of her youth, and laughing with us until we cried. She had always encouraged us to follow our hearts and be true to ourselves. It would kill her to know that I was doing something so fraudulent.

My phone buzzed with a notification and, like he was conjured from my brain, I saw Hugo’s name light up on the screen.

[10:13 PM]

Hi Simone. Apologies for texting you so late. I wanted to invite you to dinner tomorrow night. I have some things I’d love to talk to you about.

Even though I had been expecting this, a whole herd of butterflies still burst alive in my stomach as it felt like my soul was free-falling. I stared at my phone for two impossibly long minutes, unable to even form a sentence in response.

Finally, with shaky hands, I typed out a response.

[10:16 PM]

Sure, dinner sounds great. Where did you have in mind?

I took a deep breath, sweaty palms threatening to let my phone slip from my hand. A jolt ran through my entire body as my phone buzzed to life. Immediately, without thinking, I turned it over to look at the words.

[10:17 PM]

Carmelita’s? 7 p.m.?

[10:17 PM]

I’ll see you there.

I flopped back down on my bed, phone falling to my side, as the panic started to grow in my chest. This was getting real now. I was going to have a real decision to make. And I was going to have to make it soon.

Chapter 4

Hugo

The group chat (Docs + Seth) started lighting up.

Austin:

Hey. Who's up for a workout tonight? I just finished in the OR and I need to work some frustration out. 6:30? Supper at gym lounge afterwards.

Dom:

See you there.

Seth:

Sorry. Working late.

Logan:

Got a squash game. See you in the gym lounge later.

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