His Donated Sperm Made Another Woman a Mother

Chapter 2

My thoughts were a tangled mess, so I seized a research opportunity the moment it landed in my lap. I was desperate for the distraction and craving time away.

By the time I returned, the baby had already arrived. He was a tiny boy.

I hovered outside the hospital room while laughter bubbled through the door. Ethan had once whispered to me that I was the one who owned his heart in this world.

Yet here he was now, gingerly lifting that swaddled bundle with a voice laced with tenderness. "Shh, I've got you, little one. You are my whole world now."

Iris thumbed through a parenting guide nearby. "He's got your nose," she cooed, "but these eyes are all mine."

Ethan grinned. "Then Ian it is. A real chip off the old block."

I stood there in the doorway, utterly invisible to them.

A quiet cough betrayed me.

Ethan's head jerked up. When his eyes met mine, the warmth drained from his face. "Aria," he breathed.

I stepped inside, and silence swallowed the room.

"Aria," Iris simpered, "if you hate me so much, I will raise him alone. He will never be a Brooks."

Aria? Weeks ago, I had been Ms. Reed. And that promise to give me the child had vanished. Now it was her son to keep.

A bitter laugh escaped me. "Iris, since when did you become so thoughtful?"

Her eyes glistened. "Mr. Brooks always wanted a child. I just wanted to make that dream come true for you."

I locked eyes with her. Then I slammed the documents onto her bedsheets. "Legal consequences for unauthorized access to genetic materials." My voice turned glacial. "You are a scientist. Do not pretend you did not know this was a crime."

Her face went ashen, and her mouth quivered.

Then the baby's scream shattered the silence as if on cue.

Ethan immediately pulled the baby closer and whispered soothing words to calm him.

At that moment, the truth crashed over me with devastating clarity. It did not matter who was right or wrong, because this child would forever be an insurmountable barrier between us.

I turned to leave, but his fingers caught the hem of my coat.

"Aria!" His voice was careful and deliberate. "Thank you for not pursuing this, but there is something else we need to discuss."

He continued before I could respond. "Iris's recovery has been slow after the birth. The doctors recommend extended bed rest. The Eastside apartment gets plenty of sunlight and has everything she would need." He paused. "Could she stay there temporarily after being discharged? It would make it easier for me to care for her."

My throat constricted. "Our home?" I choked out, the words raw and jagged.

"She has no one else." His gaze was steady and maddeningly calm, like this was just another fact to him. "Aria, she just needs some help."

I stared at him, my throat tightening with unshed tears.

"And what about me?" I barely managed a whisper. "You are bringing her into our home. So where does that leave me? Am I supposed to share a roof with her?"

His next words were slow, deliberate, and practiced. "If it is too difficult for you, you could move to Eastmere Manor first. It is quieter there, and it is farther from the research center."

So this is how it ended. A bitter laugh burst out before I could swallow it. I turned on my heel and left.