Chapter Seven
Amber
Alaska proved even colder than I could’ve expected. I had enough saved to get a two bedroom apartment, and having gotten rid of my phone, I got a new one. After leaving everything behind, I changed luggage and checked everything to ensure I brought nothing which my father could use to track me. With any luck, I was out of reach. If Kian ever decided to get rid of me, I could only hope that he and his resources would be unable to find me or find me an unreasonable target.
Four months had me settled, but after I started showing, things just rapidly got out of control. Twins ran in the family. My mother had my sister and I, and she herself was a twin, though her own sister had died of the same cancer that took her years before. I expected twins when my belly ballooned so quickly, but at my first ultrasound, the truth had three hearts inside me.
“Triplets?” I gasped, repeating what the tech had said.
She nodded. “Seems so. These two share an amniotic sac, and this one doesn’t, so I’d say a set of identical twins and a fraternal triplet.”
Kian had to have used some sort of fertility treatment. There was no way this could be natural. Three babies. I had a two-bedroom apartment, and soon, I’d have three children. How was I supposed to raise three children? Alone!?
“Normally, you wouldn’t be very high risk with your health and background, but three for a first pregnancy isn’t that common,” they told me, warning me that triplets often came early, and I would most likely end up on bed rest.
Nearing six months pregnant, I already looked well beyond full term, waddling around as I worked. My coworkers were sweet, trying to help, but I had heard upper management grumbling about their desperation for nurses, causing them to hire someone who’d be on maternity leave so quickly. No matter how much I reassured them I would be back as I was a single mother, they clearly didn’t believe it.
I had no intention of quitting. The lack of nurses allowed me to land a job with good benefits, but with three children, I would need so much money. Everything ached. I missed sex, and more than that, I missed Kian, which made it all the harder to get off, especially once my belly became too round for me to comfortably reach. When I found out that I’d be having three boys, I cried outright. I hadn’t cared if I was having a boy or a girl or any mix once I found out about the three, but it added insult to injury knowing that the room prepared was for a little girl. Not only did that room not belong to me, that room didn’t belong to my sons.
The last thing I expected as I made my way into my apartment was the same scene that had led to my gravid state — my father waiting for me. His eyes narrowed upon seeing me, but this time, mine did the same.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growled, pulling out my phone. “Get out, or I’ll call the police!”
Scoffing, he rolled his eyes. “No wonder Kian figured things out.”
My heart dropped, but I wasn’t just defending myself. This was for my sons, so I did my best to lie. “What? You think this is his? I’m nearly ready to pop! I was already pregnant when you made me pretend to be Angela!”
“Hm.” Anthony Kane eyed me. “You do look big.”
“Exactly.”
Sighing, he stood, and I quickly stepped out of the way, letting him out of the apartment. My father clucked his tongue, sucking his teeth. “Well then, Angela has denied everything from what I can get, not that that bastard has let me see her. Seems he’s getting pretty desperate to find you.”
“So you came here?”
He shrugged. “Now that I know, I can state that I confirmed your sister didn’t have you two switch places as you’re knocked up by some nobody.”
“Exactly,” I agreed, fighting the way my hands trembled. “Now, leave me and my baby alone.”
Before I could shut the door, his hand shot out, holding it open. “When Kian comes, because he’s going to come, you better tell him that too.”
“I will.”
He nodded, and I shut the door behind him, terrified even as I clicked the locks in place. If he had searched the apartment, he would’ve found the ultrasound showing triplets, so I could only hope he hadn’t been around long, but if he could get into my place, I needed to find a way to make my apartment more secure.
Waddling, I checked the cameras, and sure enough, my father picked the lock, entering without issue. He always took pride in his ability to get into wherever he wanted, but he hadn’t been inside long and hadn’t looked around as I arrived home shortly after.
I couldn’t install a more secure system in this apartment, and there wasn’t a more secure apartment complex, which meant I had to figure out a way to keep safe the most precious people in my life while clearly knowing — thanks to my father’s apathy — that nowhere was safe.