Chapter 15
Dani
Dani should’ve known peace wouldn’t last—not for her.
She knew better than to trust when things finally started feeling too good to be true.
The morning with Jonnas had been dangerously perfect after that.
He had made her pancakes, and she sat on his lap, letting him feed her.
She loved the way that he fussed over her and whether she drank enough water.
It was the kind of domestic intimacy that made her chest ache every time she looked at him, and maybe that was why the universe decided to ruin it, because happiness always came with consequences eventually.
Dani was halfway through her shift two days later when she walked into the break room, and the conversation stopped—completely stopped, and her stomach dropped instantly.
Three nurses stood near the coffee maker whispering together.
One of them looked away too fast when Dani walked in, and another gave her an awkward smile.
Dani’s pulse started pounding in her chest when she realized that they were all probably talking about her—and Jonnas.
“What’s going on?” she asked quietly. Nobody answered, which was answer enough for her.
One of the older nurses, Jan, sighed heavily. “Honey—”
Every survival instinct inside Dani went rigid. “What happened?”
Jan looked deeply uncomfortable. “Someone filed a complaint with HR.”
The floor felt like it had disappeared beneath her feet. “A complaint about what?”
“You and Mr. Black,” Jan dramatically whispered.
It was loud enough for everyone in the lounge to hear her.
Ice flooded Dani’s veins instantly. Someone had complained about her and Jonnas.
Somehow, hearing the news from Jan made this feel colder, because everyone knew that she was a gossip.
Why hadn’t HR come directly to her? If they had, she would have shut down the rumors before they even started.
Dani laughed nervously. “That’s ridiculous. Jonnas and I aren’t together.” Jan winced as though she could tell that Dani was lying.
“Everyone knows, hun,” Jan whispered loudly again.
“What kind of complaint?” Dani asked.
This time, another nurse answered quietly. “They’re saying he abused his position with you.” Dani felt as though she had stopped breathing. The room blurred around the edges, and she felt lightheaded.
“No,” she whispered instantly. “No, that’s not what happened.”
“We know that,” Jan said gently. But her expression said something worse—that not everyone believed that Jonnas hadn’t taken advantage of her.
Humiliation crashed over Dani so hard it physically hurt.
Of course, people would think that after a young nurse got pregnant by an older hospital administrator.
God. She suddenly saw herself through everyone else’s eyes and wanted to crawl out of her own skin.
“Who filed the complaint?” she whispered. Jan hesitated, and that told her everything she needed to know.
“It was Jessica,” Jan said, confirming Dani’s suspicions.
“The COO?” she asked weakly. Jonnas’s boss filed the complaint against them, and that meant that his job was in jeopardy. Shit. This was all going sideways quickly.
Jan nodded slowly. “She apparently reported it to protect the hospital before rumors spiraled.” The room felt as though it had tilted off-axis.
Jessica was the woman who had smiled at her whenever they passed each other in the hallway.
She was Jonnas’s boss, and he considered her to be a friend.
Jessica saw them together in his office, and that made Dani’s stomach roll violently.
Maybe she had done it to protect the hospital, but that meant that lawyers were going to have to get involved.
There would be an investigation into her and Jonnas’s relationship—when it started, and even when she got pregnant.
But worst of all, there would be whispers about the two of them around the hospital.
Dani knew exactly what that could cost Jonnas.
His reputation would be ruined, along with his career.
He’d lose everything because of her, and that made her chest tighten so painfully she could barely breathe around it.
“He’s gonna hate me,” she whispered.
Jan’s face softened immediately. “Honey, no—”
“He should.” Dani stepped backward quickly. “This is my fault.” Because she should’ve known better than to get involved with him. She should’ve kept her distance and remembered that men like Jonnas had more to lose than she did.
Tears burned behind her eyes instantly. God, not here.
She couldn’t start crying in front of everyone.
Dani turned and left the break room before anyone could stop her, and by the time she reached the stairwell, she was shaking.
Humiliation clawed through her chest viciously as every insecurity she’d tried to bury came rushing back all at once.
She was stupid to believe that any of this was going to be all right.
She was young, pregnant, and an idiot. She was a nurse sleeping with a hospital administrator—which was a big red flag around the hospital.
People probably thought she trapped him, or worse—that he preyed on her, and somehow both possibilities made her sick. Dani pressed a trembling hand against her mouth as panic climbed higher and higher. This was why she’d been scared, because nothing this good ever stayed good for long.
Her phone buzzed in her scrub pocket, and she pulled it out to check the screen. It was Jonnas. Just seeing his name nearly broke her completely. She couldn’t talk to him right now. She couldn’t hear that calm, steady voice while her entire world caved in around her.
The phone buzzed again immediately when she didn’t answer.
Jonnas: Baby girl, where are you?
Fresh tears burned her eyes. God, even now, he sounded worried about her first. Dani slid down against the stairwell wall and covered her face with trembling hands.
Maybe she should leave—really leave. She could transfer hospitals and disappear before she destroyed everything he’d worked for, because if the hospital board thought he’d abused his authority—her stomach twisted violently, and she couldn’t even finish that thought. No, she couldn’t do that to him.
Another text came through from Jonnas.
Jonnas: Dani, talk to me.
The concern in those three words shattered her, because Jonnas still didn’t know yet that his whole world was going to be turned upside down.
He didn’t know that the hospital was already turning them into gossip, or that people were questioning his integrity because of her.
Dani suddenly understood something awful—love wasn’t what scared her most anymore.
It was the possibility that loving her might ruin him. Yeah, that terrified.
Dani stayed hidden in the stairwell for almost twenty minutes before the door slammed open hard enough to make her jump.
She didn’t need to look up to know that it was him—Jonnas.
His eyes found her instantly, where she sat curled against the wall, and relief hit his face so fast it hurt to look at him.
“There you are,” he breathed. The roughness in his voice nearly shattered her. He looked furious, but not at her. He was pissed at whoever made her cry, and that somehow made it worse.
Dani wiped quickly at her face and stood too fast. “You shouldn’t be here.”
His entire expression darkened immediately. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,’ she lied.
“Dani.” That firm, steady tone usually grounded her instantly, but right now it just made tears burn harder behind her eyes, because she couldn’t let him fix this. Not when he was the one who might lose everything.
Jonnas crossed the stairwell toward her slowly, eyes scanning her face with growing concern. “Talk to me.”
She shook her head immediately. “You need to go. You can’t fix this, Jonnas.”
“No,” he growled. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“Jonnas—”
“No.” His voice sharpened slightly. “You don’t get to disappear on me every time something goes wrong.” The words hit hard, because God, she wanted to disappear right now. She wanted to run before she ruined him completely.
Dani looked away quickly. “There’s an HR complaint about us.”
“What kind of complaint?” he asked. She couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t stand seeing his face when she said it.
“They think—” Her throat tightened painfully.
“They think you used your position to pressure me into sleeping with you.” The silence afterward felt endless, and Dani finally forced herself to look up.
Jonnas had gone completely still. He didn’t look shocked.
Instead, he looked to be in control. He was too controlled, and that somehow scared her more.
“It was Jessica,” she whispered. “She reported it before rumors got worse, and we somehow hurt the hospital.” Something cold flickered across his face—not at her, never at her, but anger rolled off him in waves now.
Dani’s stomach twisted violently. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes snapped to hers instantly. “Why are you sorry?” he asked.
“This is my fault,” she insisted. The fury on his face disappeared immediately, replaced by disbelief.
“Dani—” She held up her hand, stopping him before he said something sweet and caring to her that she wouldn’t be able to recover from.
“You could lose your job because of me,” she said.
“Stop,” he breathed.
“You worked your entire life for this hospital, and now people probably think you’re some creepy old man sleeping with younger nurses and—”
“Enough,” he growled. The sharp command cracked through the stairwell hard enough to silence her instantly. Jonnas looked furious now.
“Do not,” he said roughly, “stand here and blame yourself because other people decided to twist something good into something ugly.” Fresh tears instantly burned her eyes. God. Why did he still sound worried about her?
“I should’ve stayed away from you,” she whispered. The second the words left her mouth, Jonnas’s expression changed completely, as if she’d physically hit him.
“No,” he shouted.
“I mean it,” she whispered.
“No.” He stepped closer to her, but didn’t touch her yet. “You do not get to decide that for both of us.”
Emotion climbed higher in her chest. “You don’t understand,” she choked.
“Then explain it to me,” he insisted.
Dani laughed shakily. “People are already talking.”
“I don’t care,” he said.
“But I do!” Her voice cracked. “Because they’re saying awful things about you.” Jonnas went quiet—too quiet.
Then he asked softly, “And what are they saying about you?” The question stole the air from her lungs because she hadn’t even let herself think about that part yet.
People were going to talk about the young nurse who slept with the powerful hospital administrator and got herself pregnant after one night.
Humiliation clawed through her chest viciously.
Dani folded her arms tightly around herself. “It doesn’t matter,” she lied.
“It matters to me,” he insisted. The sincerity in his voice nearly undid her. Jonnas reached for her carefully, then stopped halfway. Giving her a choice. He was always giving her choices, and that thought somehow made the tears finally spill over.
“I can’t be the reason your life falls apart,” she whispered.
Something fierce moved across his face instantly. “Baby girl.” His voice softened painfully. “Look at me.” She did automatically, and the second their eyes met, she saw everything. This mattered to him, and she knew that she mattered to him. That part only made this harder.
“You think I care more about my reputation than you?” he asked quietly.
“You should,” she insisted. A harsh laugh escaped him then, and God, he sounded wrecked.
“You really still don’t understand how gone I am for you,” he breathed. Her heart stuttered as Jonnas stepped closer, finally, both hands gently framing her face.
“I would walk away from this hospital tomorrow before I walked away from you,” he whispered.
The words slammed into her chest so hard they hurt. “No,” she whispered instantly. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true,” he said.
“You don’t mean that,” she insisted.
His eyes darkened. “Dani, I need you to listen very carefully to me right now.” His thumbs brushed beneath her tears gently. “You are not a mistake I regret. You are not some scandal I need to clean up.” His voice roughened further. “You are the woman carrying my child, and I am in love with you.”
The entire world felt like it had stopped, and all Dani could do was stand there, staring at him helplessly. She’d suspected that he felt that way about her. God, she’d hoped, but hearing it out loud destroyed every wall she had left.
Tears spilled down her face. “Oh no,” she whispered shakily.
Jonnas actually laughed softly through his own frustration. “That’s your response?”
“You picked literally the worst possible moment to say that,” she whispered.
His forehead dropped lightly against hers. “Probably.”
Emotion swelled so big inside her chest it almost hurt to breathe around it. “I’m scared,” she admitted finally.
“I know,” he whispered.
“No.” Her voice cracked. “I’m scared I’ll ruin your life.”
Jonnas pulled back just enough to look her directly in the eyes.
“Dani.” His voice turned firm again. “You are not going to ruin my life. You and our baby are my whole life now, not this hospital.” The certainty in his tone shattered her completely, because no one had ever said that to her before—not once in her entire life.
Standing there in that stairwell with the hospital threatening to tear them apart, Dani realized the most terrifying thing of all—she loved him too.