Chapter 20 Nate
NATE
When Ember dropped that bombshell on my lap, I thought I might pass out from shock.
I hid it from her, of course, because I didn’t want her to feel bad.
Both of us had a part in getting her pregnant, and even though it was a very horrible time to have something like this spring up, I genuinely felt thrilled.
But life circumstances made the announcement, which should be a blessing, feel like a weight to carry, and I needed advice.
So I turned to the only place I knew to go where I'd get the wisdom I needed, even if it was wrapped up in lectures or nasty comments—my parents' house.
I climbed out of the car and walked to the front door, letting myself in with the key I'd had since childhood, and just like the last time I visited, nothing had changed.
"Nathan?" My mother appeared at the top of the staircase, dressed in her house coat and slippers.
Her hair was tied up in a scarf for bed already, and I realized I never checked the time before showing up. "I didn't know you were coming by."
"I need to speak with Dad. Is he home?"
"In his study. He's been in there all evening working on something for the hospital foundation." She came down the stairs and touched my arm. "Is everything alright? You look upset."
"I'm fine, Mom. Just need some advice." I kissed her cheek. "Don't let me interrupt your evening."
She studied my face for a moment, clearly unconvinced, but nodded and stepped aside.
I walked down the hallway to my father's study and knocked on the door.
When he didn't answer, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
He sat behind his massive desk, reading glasses perched on his nose and papers spread across the surface.
When he saw me, his expression shifted from concentration to assessment with one eyebrow raised.
"Nathan. This is unexpected." He removed his glasses and set them down on his papers. "What brings you here at this hour?"
Glancing at his watch, he lifted his eyes back to meet mine, and I'd have sworn I saw concern on his face.
"I need your advice." I closed the door behind me but remained standing by it. "About a personal matter."
"Personal matters are rarely urgent enough to warrant showing up unannounced." He leaned back in his chair. "But go ahead. What's troubling you?"
Somehow, in the middle of that response, I felt the cold chill of his judgment even though I hadn’t even told him yet.
It was like he was waiting for the trap to spring and I was his victim.
For a split second I considered leaving, but where else would I go?
I took a breath and just blurted it out. What else could I do? "Ember's pregnant."
The silence that followed was damning.
His expression soured, and I saw his rapid assessment of my situation complete with the consequences that would roll out and cloak my life in shame, and maybe his too.
"I see," he said finally. "How convenient for her."
"Convenient?" Shame rose in my chest.
I didn't know why I even came.
I knew this would be his response—totally unhelpful. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Come now, Nathan. You're an intelligent man.
Surely, you can see what's happened here.
" He stood and walked to the window overlooking the garden.
"A young woman takes a position with a wealthy, prominent physician.
Maneuvers herself into a highly visible community role.
Initiates a relationship with her employer. And now, conveniently, she's pregnant."
"You're suggesting she planned this?" The thought had never—would never have—occurred to me.
Ember and I cared about each other.
She wasn't just some gold digger.
"I'm stating the obvious." He turned to face me. "She's trapped you. A pregnancy guarantees financial support at minimum, and potentially marriage if she plays her cards correctly. It's textbook money grubbing behavior."
"That's not what happened," I snapped. "Ember didn't trap me. We're both responsible for this situation." My hand reached for the doorknob behind me and rested there, my escape hatch in case he got too cruel.
"Are you positive about that? Have you seen proof of the pregnancy, or are you taking her word for it?"
His question shocked me almost as much as Ember's announcement. "I haven't seen medical documentation, but I have no reason to doubt her."
"Then you're more naive than I thought." He crossed his arms. "Women have been using pregnancy to manipulate men for centuries. It's one of the oldest tricks in existence."
"Ember isn't manipulating me," I spat. "She kept the pregnancy secret for a month because she was terrified of exactly this reaction."
"And yet here we are, discussing a scandal in the making.
" He moved back to his desk and braced his hands against it.
"Let me be clear about what will happen if you continue down this path.
The committee will use this pregnancy as grounds to strip you of the Lightkeeper role.
They'll claim you've violated the moral standards the position represents. And they'll be right."
"The bylaws don't support that," I told him, remembering what Ember had looked up.
"The bylaws can be interpreted however the committee chooses to interpret them. And I have considerable influence with several committee members who owe me favors." His tone was matter-of-fact, devoid of emotion.
When he lifted his eyebrows, I wanted to smack him. "And the hospital board? Nathan, she's your secretary… You know this could get you fired."
His words weren't just knowledge.
I knew the tone of voice he was using. This was a threat.
"You'd do that to your own son?" I stared at him, searching for some hint of paternal concern beneath the cold calculation. "You'd sabotage my reputation to prove a point?"
"I'd do that to preserve the family's standing. Your relationship with this girl has already damaged our name. A scandal over this fling with a woman young enough to be your daughter will destroy it unless we take action."
"What kind of action?"
"End the relationship. Publicly distance yourself from her.
Provide financial support for the child without acknowledging paternity until after a discreet DNA test confirms it's yours.
Let her fade back into obscurity where she belongs.
" He sank into his desk coolly, and I pounded my fist onto the door behind me.
"You're talking about abandoning her." Rage burned through my veins. "Abandoning my child."
"I'm talking about protecting your career and your family's reputation. The hospital board won't look kindly on a dean of medicine who got his assistant pregnant."
I opened the door and backed out, realizing I wasn't going to get what I needed here.
"I came here hoping for advice, not a lesson in cruelty."
"Nathan, wait." He held up a hand. "I understand you have feelings for this girl. But feelings are temporary. Your career is permanent. Don't throw away everything we've built for an infatuation that will burn itself out within a year."
"This isn't an infatuation." I turned back to face him. "I love her. I want to build a life with her and our child. And if you force me to choose between family approval and Ember, I choose Ember."
His expression hardened. "Then you're a fool."
I walked out and closed the door behind me, my hands shaking with suppressed rage.
My mother stood in the hallway, clearly having heard everything. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she clutched a handkerchief in one hand.
"Nathan, I'm so sorry." She pulled me into a hug. "Your father doesn't mean half of what he says when he's angry. You know that."
"He meant all of it." I returned the embrace, drawing comfort from her, though it meant so little since I was so angry. "He always does."
She pulled back and cupped my face in her hands.
"Let me tell you what your father won't. Love worth keeping is never easy.
Your father and I have had our struggles over the years, moments where it would've been simpler to walk away.
But we stayed, we fought for each other, and we we're still here because we made that choice. "
"He thinks Ember trapped me."
"He thinks every woman is out to trap his son because he's terrified of losing control." She smiled sadly. "But I've watched you these past months, and I've seen the way you look at her, the way she smiles at you. I see how you care for each other even if it is a bit… unconventional."
"You think I'm doing the right thing?"
"I think you're doing the brave thing. And I think you're going to give me a grandchild, which brings me more joy than I can express."
Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I don't care what your father says or what the committee thinks. I'll support you and Ember and this baby in whatever way I can."
The tightness in my chest eased slightly. "Thank you."
"Now go home and rest. Tomorrow will bring its own challenges." She kissed my forehead the way she had when I was a child. "And tell Ember she's welcome here anytime. She's family now, whether your father accepts it or not."
I left with those parting words, but I'd never convince Ember they were true.
My father had treated her more poorly than he ever did me, and with this log on the fire, the flames would only intensify.
We were on our own—us against the world—but I was determined not to let it bother me.
And if my mother and father could make it through anything, then I was determined to do that with Ember.
Because I did love her.
And nothing would stop me from caring for her the way she deserved.