Aurora stepped out of the clinic room with a straight face, as if nothing unusual had been said. But inside? Her entire body was buzzing with embarrassment.
"Sex? Really? Of all things…" she muttered under her breath as she walked toward the private lounge where her father waited. The hallway lights reflected off the shiny marble floors of the Riverson hospital a facility so state-of-the-art it felt more like a five-star hotel than a medical center.
Gianna was waiting in the corridor with a smoothie in hand, along with a bodyguard two paces behind her. She gave Aurora a once-over. "You're blushing. "I'm not," Aurora said too quickly.
"You are. Did the doctor say something scandalous? Or wait—" Gianna's eyes lit up. "Did she say you're having twins?" Aurora just rolled her eyes and kept walking. She met her father in the private family lounge. William Riverson stood by the window, on a call, his usual towering presence commanding attention. He ended the call once he saw her and turned with a look of concern masked beneath pride.
"You good?" he asked.
Aurora nodded. "All good. Baby's fine. I'm fine. Everything's… fine." He squinted at her face. "You sure?"
"Mhm."You're hiding something." "I'm not," she said again way too fast.
William narrowed his eyes. "Aurora…"
"Okay!" she sighed. "The doctor just said I should stay active. That's all." William raised a brow. "Active how?" Aurora looked anywhere but at her father. "Walking. Exercise. Yoga. I guess."
William didn't press further thankfully though the slight furrow in his brow suggested he wasn't fully convinced. He held her hand gently as they walked toward the car. What she didn't say, of course, was that "stay active" was a very modest code for: "You need to have sex, ma'am."
Once she got home and went upstairs to change, Kim burst into the room holding a tray of fruit. "So," Kim began, setting it down. "What did Dr. Bennett say?"
"Everything's normal," Aurora replied, brushing her hair. Kim tilted her head. "That's it?" Gianna flopped onto the bed dramatically. "Come on, we know you're hiding something. Did she say you're having an alien baby or—"
"She told me to have sex," Aurora blurted, throwing her brush down. Gianna howled with laughter. Kim's jaw dropped. "Wait… what?"
"She said having sex at this stage could help with labor. Apparently it softens the cervix and blah blah…..why am I even explaining this to you two?!" Gianna wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh God. Your dad would faint if he heard this."
"He almost did, and he doesn't even know the full story!" Aurora wailed, flopping face-down into her pillows. Kim was still stunned. "I mean, I knew Dr. Bennett was honest, but wow…"
Meanwhile… Across the Atlantic
Mark was pacing the suite of his penthouse in Milan. The city buzzed below him, but his mind was back in New York with her.
He opened the file his assistant had emailed.
Patient: Aurora Hazel Riverson-Wilson
Appointment Summary: 38 Weeks + 4 Days
Vitals: Stable.
Fetal Movement: Normal.
Doctor's Note: Advised increased physical intimacy to aid in smooth delivery.
Mark stopped reading. He reread the line.
Advised… what?" His fist clenched around the edge of the glass table. Someone knocked. "Sir, your meeting—"
"Cancel it," he growled. But sir—"
I said cancel it!" The door clicked shut.
Mark ran a hand over his face. His mind was spiraling. Did Aurora have someone else now? Was that why she didn't tell him? Did she plan to follow the doctor's advice with another man?
"No," he said aloud. "Over my dead body."
He picked up his phone, dialed a number, and then paused. He couldn't call her. She wouldn't answer.
He'd called three times in the past week all from hidden numbers. She picked once. He said nothing. Just to hear her voice. But now?
She was so close to giving birth. His child. His legacy. And she was being told to sleep with someone and he wasn't even beside her?
Mark slammed the phone down. He'd already told Paul to get his Jet ready.He was returning to New York.And this time, no one was going to stop him.