The CEO's Midnight Remedy novel Chapter 364

Chapter 364

92%

questions asked.

The phone rang three times before someone answered.

“Willowbrook Women’s Center.”

“1

My voice cracked, I cleared my throat, tried again. “I need to schedule an appointment. As soon

as possible.”

“We have an opening tomorrow afternoon at two. Would that work?”

Tomorrow. Less than twenty–four hours to hold myself together. To convince myself this was the

right choice.

“Yes,” I whispered, “Please. I need it as soon as possible.”

That night, I sat on the floor of my Brooklyn apartment, surrounded by photographs of my mother. Her smile looked down at me from a dozen frames–young and radiant at her wedding, laughing at some long–forgotten joke, holding me as an infant with such fierce tenderness it made my chest

ache.

My hand moved in slow circles over my still–flat stomach.

“Mom, I choked out, “I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing… but I can’t do this alone.”

The apartment felt too quiet, too empty. I reached for the diamond necklace Devon had given me weeks ago, before everything became so complicated. The weight of it in my palm brought back memories I couldn’t afford right now–his rare smiles, the way his hand would sometimes linger on my waist with unexpected gentleness, those moments when the cold businessman facade cracked just enough to reveal something human underneath.

My phone lit up. Devon’s name flashed across the screen for the fourth time that hour.

I declined the call. Then the fifth. The sixth.

Finally, I held down the power button until the screen went dark.

In the deepening night, I pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. The words came slowly, each one

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09:11 Thu Jan 15 – 3 T

Chapter 364

feeling like a small betrayal:

9.920

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I’m not ready to give you a complete home. I’m not ready to be what you need.

This isn’t about not wanting you–it’s about not being enough.”

I folded the letter and tucked it into my mother’s jewelry box, next to the ancient key she’d left me. Then I curled up on the floor and let myself cry until there was nothing left.

Morning came too soon. I dressed mechanically in an oversized gray sweatshirt and jeans, avoiding my reflection in the mirror. The face that looked back at me was a stranger’s–hollow–eyed, pale,

determined.

“This is the best choice,” I told that stranger. She didn’t look convinced.

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