Kira relented
The gynaecologist was surprised to see Kira back so soon
Kira gave her an awkward smile.
Austyn was with her during the entire test
The result would normally take a day, but Austyn pulled strings and got it two hours later.
Kira’s HCG level was 1,250 IU/L.
She was five weeks pregnant
Austyn called someone who must have then talked to the head of the Ob–gim department.
The result of the phone call was a battery of tests for Kira.
She was surrounded by a team of four doctors and six nurses who plied her with questions and probed her with all kinds of medical equipment.
Night had fallen when Kira finally came out of the examination DOOM.
She heaved a long sigh of relief
It was a tiring process, but she was glad to know everything was fine with her and the baby
The doctors and nurses were just as glad about the extra month’s bonus from the generous Mr McCarthy.
Austyn held Kira’s hand as he went into the senior gynaecologist’s office.
He refused to let Kira out of his sight while he talked to the doctor.
Five Weeks Along
He looked dead serious as Dr Lynch gave him a list of things to look out for.
Kira caught him putting the doctor’s contact number on speed dial.
She smiled to herself.
It was rare to see him lose his composure.
He was acting more nervous than she was.
1 Only Have One Child And He’s Not Bom Yet
Dr Lynch held back a sigh and answered the expectant father’s sixteenth question, ‘No, baths are fine. Just limit them to ten minutes or less. And use warm water. Anything under thirty–eight degrees Celsius is fine. It’s best to stay away from bath salts that contain too many chemicals. Stick to organic
Kine touched her stomach.
It was almost eight pm.
She was exhausted and wanted to go to bed.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to her the fight earlier.
Before she blurted out the news of her pregnancy, she was arguing with Austyn about the boy, Alden
Kira wondered what he planned to do about Alden
And what about Deborah?
If he brought Aiden to live with them, could he keep Deborah out of their life?
Kira’s pregnancy meant there would soon be another child in the house,
She liked Aiden just fine, but if she was being honest with hersell, she wasn’t sure it she had the bandwidth to take care of two kids.
Naturally, she would spend more time with the newborn baby.
Would Alden feel neglected?
Would he have the same miserable childhood as Lian?
Kira’s thoughts wandered.
Would Aiden call her Mum?
She shuddered at that image.
Was she really going to be a mother?
Could she do a good job?
Helen had not been much of a role model.
Kira was gripped by a sudden bout of anxiety.
What if she didn’t have what it took to be a good mother?
“What are you thinking so hard abour?!!
Austyn’s voice jolted her back to reality.
Kira looked up. “Are you done?”
“Yes,” Dr Lynch Interjected as if afraid Austyn was going to answer otherwise. ‘You can always call me if you have any more questions.‘
He circled the desk and held the door open for the couple, a not–so–subtle gesture.
Austyn nodded at the doctor before leaving
“Thank you, Doctor,” Kira said.
“You haven’t answered my question. Austyn led her down the hallway, holding her hand as if afraid she might slip and fall.
“What question?‘ Kira stifled a yawn.
“What were you thinking about?”
“Nothing”
Austyn frowned. ‘Come on, tell me the truth.”
While he was grilling the doctor about the dos and don’ts during the first trimester, he had not missed the pensive look on Kira’s face.
She was on edge.
Kira had to give in when Austyn refused to drop the subject. ‘I was just thinking about Aiden. What do
“He’s none of your concern,” Austyn Interrupted her.
He pressed the button to call for the lift.
“You should focus on yourself right now. First things first, you’re moving back to Ardmore Park,
He held up a finger, pre–empting her objection.
‘Don’t argue. This is non–negotiable. Your dorm room is too small. And it’s unsale. Do you really think you can climb up and down, that steel ladder each
10 Have One Child And He’s Not burn Tur
day for the next nine months? What if there’s an accident?
Kira thought about it and decided that he was right
She would have held her ground if she wasn’t pregriant.
But now…
Kira pursed her lips.
“Wait! She narrowed her eyes. ‘What did you mean just now?
“What?” Austyn took her elbow and led her into the litt “Come on, Watch the gap
“You said Alden’s none of my concern.!
“Uh–huh.” Austyn pressed the button for the basement carpark
“How can be not be my concem? If he’s going to live with us, don’t you think I should have a say
“He’s not going to live with us.
Kira’s eyes widened “What? But he’s your son.
+
“My son is right here Austyn bent down and touched her belly.
“We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet.’ Kira pushed his hand way. Stop touching my stomach.”
It made her feel ticklish.
“And don’t try to change the subject! We were talking about Alden!!
Austyn straightened up and tossed her a look ‘I only have one child, and he’s not born yet‘
Kira stared at him stupidly. “What?”
Austyn sighed.
He punched Kira’s cheek. ‘I hope our child gets my brains.”
“I thought it’s the mother who’s mostly responsible for the ldd’s IQ” Kira vaguely recalled reading something like that in a magazine article once. Austyn sighed again. “That’s not good news. Luckily, he or she won’t have to worry about making a living”
“What do you mean?” Kira blinked. “Wait, you changed the subject again!‘
“What subject?”
The lift door dinged open.
Austyn hald her hand. “Watch your step.”
‘I can walk by myself. Kira was not used to being treated like a little kid. “You said you only have one child. What do you mean by that?” ‘Literally what it means.
‘Literally?‘ Kira was getting more confused. “Austyn, you’ll have to make it clearer. I don’t understand.”
Austyn sighed for the third time in as many minutes.
He stopped walking and faced her. ‘Silly girl.”
“Hey!” Kira protested. “Stop insulting me and answer the question!”
Austyn removed a folded piece of paper from the inside pocket of his coat. “Read this ”
Kira took the paper.
It was a printout
The heading said DNA Paternity Report.
There was a table of four columns.
The first one showed a list of something called ‘STR Locus.
The next showed “Mother, Not Tested.
The third was ‘Child, els called.”
The last was “Alleged Father, alleles called.”
Then a dozen rows of numbers.
“What’s this?”
It was all Greek to her.
Austyn pointed to the bottom of the page. “Read this, dummy,”
(Have One Child and Hes Not Bom Yel
3/3
Kira read it out loud, “The alleged father is excluded as the biological father of the tested child. This conclusion is based on the non–matching alleles…” Her head snapped up. ‘What?‘
“You missed the most important part. Austyn guided her to look at the blue number in the bottom right corner. ‘Probability of paternity: 0%.”
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Kita blinked. ‘What…what does it mean?”.
Austyn snatched the paper from her hand and tore it to shreds. ‘Dot really need to spell it out for you?
‘Please do
Kira had an inkding of what the report meant, but she needed to hear it from Austyn’s lips.
“It means I’m not Alden’s father.“”
Kira nodded mechanically, still processing the news.
She let Austyn lead her to the hummer, bundle her into the front passenger seat and buckle her up,
She didn’t speak again until the car had left the hospital. ‘So Aiden’s not your son?”
‘You finally get it.” Austyn exhaled
Dat..how can that be?‘ Kira was utterly bewildered. ‘Deborah
Deborah had acted so confidently in the cate
She was so sure that Austyn would take Alden liome
The woman even begged Kira to be a dud stepmother.
Austyn had no answer to that, either.
He had not detected any signs of deception when Deborah told him Alden was his son.
She was convinced of it.
When Austyn mentioned a paternity test, she did not object as if she was certain of the outcome.
Kira scratched her head. ‘She made a whole show of telling me how you were going to be a good dad to Aiden and make up for the lost time. Why would she do that if Aiden’s not your son? What game is she playing?
“Like I told you earlier, this is none of your concern. Get your priorities straight.”
Kira ignored him and continued to dwell on it.
Austyn let her puzzle it out and used the time to make a couple of calls.
He asked Kai to deliver all his work tiles to the villa.
He was going to have to make some serious money now that he had a child to provide for.
Elsie was thrilled to see Kira back at the villa
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