Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina) novel Chapter 169

Two

Nikki sighs, and it’s the only sound in the quiet bathroom. It echoes off the walls.

She’s lying down in the tub, her arms folded beneath her head. She looks incredibly uncomfortable, but she doesn’t complain.

I’m standing, frozen, staring at the door because I’m too much of a wuss to turn around and look at the test on the counter. I memorize the grain and the grooves etched into the wood. I’m imagining someone bursting in and telling me this has all been a dream.

That I don’t have to turn around and see what’s sitting on the counter behind me.

“I can look at it if you want me to,” Nikki murmurs.

I shake my head as I turn to face her. “No, it’s okay. I’ll do it.”

But I don’t move. I can’t. My brain can’t communicate with my body. My feet feel bolted

to the tile.

“Have you thought about who the father is?” she asks quietly.

The air punches out of my lungs. I close my eyes, pressing my palm against the wall to stay upright. “Oh, no. That’s a whole other thing.”

Nikki shifts in the tub, sitting up now. I can feel her gaze heavy on me even though I

refuse to look at her.

“You’re gonna need DNA tests. For the three of them,” she says, sounding thoughtful, like

she’ll be right there with me for every step.

It’s nice to know that I’m not alone. I swallow hard, staring at my clammy hands.

“Two,” I correct her.

There’s a pause. When I glance at her, Nikki’s frowning, her eyebrows pulled tight. “Two?”

I let my back slide down the wall until I’m sitting on the cold floor, knees bent, fingers twisting together in my lap. I exhale slow. “Zaid and I, we haven’t exactly had sex, at least not the kind that can get me pregnant.”

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4:25 pm F

Two

The words taste strange coming out of my mouth. Like they shouldn’t be true, but they are. Nikki blinks at me, her mouth parting in shock. “What? I wouldn’t assume that. I mean, he seems super into you. Intense.”

Heat crawls up my chest, not liking that I have to explain this.

“We’ve done other things, but not that.”

She frowns. “You don’t want to? With him?”

My skin breaks out in prickles. “I do.”

Her eyes widen and her jaw drops. “He doesn’t want to?”

I shake my head slowly, a bitter laugh scraping out of me. “It’s weird because I think he

“What?” I ask, heart climbing into my throat.

“There were rumors about Zaid and-”

She stops, closing her eyes and shaking her head again like she’s trying to dislodge the thought.

“What, Nikki?”

“No. You need to talk to him about it. I can’t even say it.”

“What do you mean?”

4:25 pm

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