Chapter Thirteen: Ashes & Armor
707 Words
Emery didn’t mean to throw up in the middle of her TA meeting.
But she did.
One second, she was listening to a junior complain about their thesis formatting, and the next, she was sprinting from the room, hand over her mouth, heart pounding.
She barely made it to the bathroom before her stomach turned inside out.
Natalie was waiting outside when she stumbled out of the stall, pale and shaking.
“Okay,” Natalie said, arms crossed. “That’s the third time this week.”
“I think it’s just stress,” Emery said quickly. “Or maybe food poisoning.”
Natalie raised a brow. “Three times. Same time of day. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you gagging at the smell of my hazelnut coffee.”
“I always hate that coffee—”
“No. You tolerate it. Now you look like you want to light it on fire.”
Emery slumped against the wall. “I can’t deal with this right now. There’s too much happening.”
Natalie stepped closer, her voice softening. “Em, have you… are you late?”
Emery blinked. Once. Twice.
The world shifted.
“I… I haven’t even thought about it.”
“Maybe it’s nothing,” Natalie said gently. “But maybe it’s not.”
⸻
Emery bought the test after class.
She hid it under textbooks and scantrons, paid in cash, and practically sprinted back to Luca’s apartment before her next class.
She didn’t even say hi when she walked in. Just locked herself in the bathroom, heart thundering.
Two minutes.
That’s all it took.
Two minutes to flip her entire world upside down.
Two pink lines.
Two very bold, undeniable, pink lines.
⸻
When she walked out of the bathroom, Luca was in the kitchen, barefoot in sweatpants, scrolling through news updates on his phone. He looked up, instantly sensing something was wrong.
“Em?”
She didn’t say anything. Just held up the test.
His eyes dropped to it.
Then back to her.
He crossed the room in two steps.
“Is that…?”
She nodded, her voice barely a whisper. “Yeah.”
He took the test from her slowly, like it might burn him, then looked at it again.
Then at her.
“You’re pregnant?” he asked, voice almost too soft.
She bit her lip, nodding. “I didn’t plan this. I don’t even know how—I mean, I do, obviously, but I didn’t think—”
“Hey,” he said quickly, stepping closer, pulling her into his arms. “Breathe.”
She sank into him, shaking.
“I’m scared,” she whispered.
“I know,” he said. “So am I.”
They stood there in silence, pressed together, both of them holding on like the world had gone off balance. Which, honestly, it had.
But then he pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Luca said, voice steady now. “I meant what I said. I choose you. Always.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
“But what about your career? The league? The press—”
“Screw them,” he said. “Let them talk. Let the scouts walk. Let my family freak out. None of it matters more than you. Than this.”
His hand drifted down, settling gently over her stomach.
“I’m going to love both of you so hard it hurts,” he whispered. “Even if I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Emery let out a broken laugh, tears spilling.
“Same,” she said. “Same.”
⸻
But outside their moment of peace…
Things were already shifting again.
Because across campus, Trey had just been arrested.
Not for hacking.
Not even for the break-in.
But for blackmail.
And worse — someone had posted a new video.
A low-resolution clip, timestamped the night Luca confronted Wyatt.
In it, a shaky, hidden phone camera caught Luca threatening Wyatt.
It wasn’t the full story. It wasn’t even the true story.
But the angle made it look like Luca was the aggressor.
And Halston’s student media had one headline queued and ready:
LUCA CALDWELL: BAD BOY, FATHER-TO-BE… AND VIOLENT?
- Writer
