Chapter 46 We’ll Figure It Out
We’ll Figure It Out
Kai to Tess: Please don’t leave me. [delivered]
Kai
I knock on Nate’s door, taking no chances after this morning’s trauma.
“Come in,” he calls.
This time, thankfully, I find him and Carina fully clothed.
“Have you seen Tess?” I ask, my stomach twisting.
Carina frowns. “Not since lunch. Did she not come back?”
My pulse picks up. I shake my head slowly. “No… I assumed she was still with you.”
“She said she needed some air. That she’d be right behind me.”
The room tilts. My mind whirls.
Where could she be?
Why would she leave?
My heart stutters.
She’s leaving me.
That’s it.
Of course she is.
Why wouldn’t she?
I’m not enough.
“Kai?” Carina’s voice sounds distant as I take a step back.
She can’t leave me.
Not now.
Not after everything.
I don’t wait for another word. I turn and bolt out of the office.
My dumb not-fully-mended-leg means we took the tube in since I can’t drive yet, but I’m not waiting for that. Within minutes, an Uber pulls up, and I jump in, barely registering the driver’s attempt at small talk.
As soon as the car pulls up to my house, I’m out, sprinting (I may be exaggerating my speed) to the front door. It slams against the wall as I burst inside.
“Tess!” I call, desperation clawing at my throat.
No answer.
I search the bedroom first.
Her things are still here. A small mercy.
I exhale sharply, forcing down the worst of my panic as I hurry back downstairs—only to freeze in the doorway of the living room.
Tess is sitting on the couch.
“Hey… did you not hear me calling for you?”
Her head snaps up like she’s only just realising I’m here.
She’s pale, bloodless.
She looks at me, then back at the coffee table, her wide, unblinking eyes fixed on something in front of her.
A cold prickle runs down my spine.
I take a step closer. Then I see it.
My breath catches.
“Is that—” I clear my throat, my voice hoarse. “Tess… are you—”
Her voice is barely a whisper. “Pregnant? Yeah.”
Her face crumples. A sob wrenches from her throat, and she buries her face in her hands, shoulders trembling.
I’m at her side in seconds, pulling her off the couch and into my arms. “It’s okay,” I murmur, stroking her hair.
“No, it’s not.” Her voice is muffled against my shirt.
I hold her tighter. “We’ll figure it out.”
A sharp, broken breath shudders through her. “You don’t understand.”
She’s crying harder now, her whole body shaking.
I gently tilt her chin up, making her look at me. “What don’t I understand?”
Her lips tremble. “It could be his.”
The words land like a sledgehammer to my chest.
Everything inside me goes still.
Tess
Kai’s body goes rigid against me.
After bolting home in a fit of panic, the first thing I did was take the test.
Then another.
Then four more.
All positive.
I don’t know how much time has passed between then and now. It’s like my mind shut down—just empty space—until I heard Kai’s voice.
“What am I going to do?” I whisper, sniffling, my breath hitching as I fight to keep it together.
Kai doesn’t answer right away. The silence between us is thick, suffocating.
“What do you want to do?” he finally asks, his voice strained.
I cling to him, my arms tightening around his waist. “I don’t know.”
His chest rises and falls with a slow breath. “We never really had the ‘do you want kids’ conversation.”
Despite the ache in my chest, a laugh escapes me. “No, I guess between all the murder and kidnapping, we forgot that one.”
I pull back just enough to look up at him, my vision blurry with tears. “Do you want kids?”
He exhales, running a hand through his hair. “Honestly? I never thought about it. I always assumed I’d end up alone.”
My heart clenches.
Before I can say anything, he asks, “Did you ever picture yourself having kids?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about it either.”
His lips quirk, but there’s no humour in his voice. “Don’t most women think about that all the time?”
I snort, despite my fears. “When have I ever been normal?”
That earns a real laugh. “True.”
Then the moment shifts, the weight of reality pressing back in.
I swallow hard. “What does this mean for us?” The question scrapes against my throat. “We’ve only known each other for a couple of months.”
Kai closes his eyes for a second, as if steadying himself, then looks at me. “I’m in this, Hurricane. No matter what you decide. I don’t know what the future holds, but this?” He gestures between us. “This doesn’t change my feelings for you.”
My chest tightens, the fear I’ve been holding back pushing to the surface. “And if it’s not yours?”
Kai doesn’t hesitate. He just pulls me into his chest; arms wrapped around me like a shield against the storm inside my head.
He doesn’t say anything.
He doesn’t have to.