NICK POV
Panic. Pure, unfiltered panic. I fumbled with the phone like a teenager hiding a dirty magazine. “It’s—uh—just work. Numbers. Boring stuff.”
But Nara isn’t stupid. She walked closer, sharp eyes catching everything. Before I could lock the screen, she saw the photo. Her face changed—softness gone, replaced by steel. “An ultrasound?” she said, voice low.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My brain was a blender on high speed—guilt, fear, shame, love, all spinning together. Finally, I croaked, “It’s… my responsibility.”
The look on her face—I swear I’d rather take another stapler to the head. Her lips trembled, her hands balled into fists. “Your responsibility?” she repeated, like the words were poison. “Is that what I am now, Nick? A burden? A distraction from your… respo
