My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 326

“Can we.can we take some time? To think? Maybe then we can figure out what we really want,” I whispered.

Enzo nodded, his chin brushing against the top of my head. * Yeah, we can do that, Nina. We’ll take the time we need to decide what’s right for us. And whatever that decision is, we’ll make it together.”

I woke up nestled in Enzo’s arms, my head resting comfortably on his chest. For a brief, blissful moment, the world outside didn’t matter. Some paragraphs are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com. Visit Jobnib.com to read the complete chapters for free.It was just the two of us, wrapped in the warmth of our shared bed and the soft morning light filtering through the windows.

But that illusion shattered as a wave of nausea washed over me. I hastily disentangled myself from Enzo and rushed to the bathroom.

The cold tiles felt almost comforting against my palms as I hunched over the toilet bowl, emptying the contents of my stomach. When it was over, I rinsed my mouth and splashed water on my face, trying to wash away the last remnants of sickness.

I looked at my reflection – the same but also irrevocably changed. The weight of yesterday’s conversation settled back in, looming large in the spacious bathroom.

When I finally ventured downstairs, I the comforting scent of the kitchen, arranging toast and hot water into a cup. My eyes used, I found the home that had momentarily so distant

“I made you some tea and toast,” he said, looking up and smiling that half-smile that never failed to disarm me. “Some light breakfast to help settle your stomach.”

1 nodded, taking a seat on our plush couch. Enzo brought over a blanket and the tray, placing them on the coffee table in front of me. He wrapped the blanket around my shoulders before sitting next to me, his presence both familiar and reassuring.

The tea was soothing, the toast perfectly buttered. But as I sipped and nibbled, I found myself contemplating the complexities of the life we were suddenly immersed in.

“I can’t believe you’re doing all this for me,” I said, my fingers absently tracing the patterns on the blanket. “Imagine nine months of this. You running around, worrying about me, while you’re supposed to be working your dream job.”

He looked at me, and his eyes were as clear as the day we met. ” What about your dreams, Nina?”

That question struck me harder than I wanted to admit. I was suddenly transported back to the night before, when I blurted out: “What about my decision, Enzo?”

It was a question that I should have asked myself more. For a long time, maybe I had been too focused on what other people wanted-or what I needed to do—to think about what I wanted.

“Look, you don’t have to decide on anything right now,” Enzo said softly, pulling me from my thoughts. “We can wait, think things through, and figure it out together.”

1 looked at him, my heart swelling with a love that was complicated by the choices we were facing. But underlying that love was a tiny shred of doubt, a shadow that loomed over every warm moment we shared.

Could we really manage this pregnancy? Could I continue with medical school and be a mother? Could Enzo really chase his dreams if he was constant y worrying about me?

I didn’t have the answers, and neither did be. But I realized, with a kind of quiet clarity, that maybe it was okay to be unsure for now.

For what felt like forever, I had built my life around certainties – exam grades, scholarships, and career paths.

Maybe it was time to navigate the unpredictable, to let myself be uncertain while holding tightly to the one certainty I had: Enze and I, trying to figure it out, whatever ‘It’ turned out to be.

Nina

The chilly morning wound up turning into a warm and sunny afternoon, and Enzo and I were tired of being all alone in our big house on the cliff.

In a last ditch effort to inject some normalcy in our lives, Enzo and I had decided to drive into town to check out the shops, get some fresh air, and have some coffee.

The drive was almost therapeutic — the sound of the tires on the road, the hum of the truck’s engine, and Enzo’s casual drumming of his fingers on the steering wheel all seemed to ground me in an odd way, reminding me that the world still existed outside my little bubble of melancholy.

We parked along the side of the road on the main street, where all of the shops lay. The atmosphere was filled with the sweet notes of an early summer afternoon: children laughing, dogs barking, and the distant melody of a street musician strumming his guitar.

As we strolled hand in hand, I looked at the small businesses lining the square. There was Mrs. Thompson’s flower shop, bursting with bouquets of every conceivable color; the bakery with its freshly baked bread aroma wafting through the air; and the charming little bookstore that always promised a good find.

But most of all, my eyes were drawn to a young mother seated at the edge of a stone fountain in the center of the park. She wasplaying peek-a-boo with her toddler, who giggled with uninhibited jov. A bubble of warnth expanded in my chest at the sight, and before 1 knew it, I was moving toward them.

“Hi,” I greeted the mother with a smile as I approached. “Your little one is adorable.”

“Thank you,” she replied, her eyes lighting up. “Say hello,

Max.”

The toddler looked at me with a curious grin and waved a tiny hand. My heart melted. I couldn’t resist; I waved back exaggeratedly, playing into his little world of innocence and wonder.

As I recounted my fears about medical school and how a baby could derail everything for both Enzo and me, there was a pause on the other end of the line.

“Nina, life is never going to be perfect,” she finally said. ” There’s always going to be something — some reason to be hesitant, to be scared. But what’s important is that you don’t let fear dictate your choices.”

“But mom,” I interjected, “medical school is going to be demanding. Enzo’s job is going to be demanding. How can we possibly think about bringing a child into the mix?”

There was another pause. I could practically see my mom on the other end, sitting in her favorite armchair by the fireplace, her eyes filled with that combination of concern and love that had become a sort of sanctuary for me over the past year, especially after decades of strife between us.

“You know,” she began, “when I had your brother, I was still in the early years of my career. It was a challenge balancing it all, but I made it work. And you can, too.”

“But you were always so much more mature than me,” Isaid.”

What if I can’t handle it?”

“Nina,” my mom said gently, “you’ve been through so much. If you really think you can’t handle it, then don’t do it. It is your decision at the end of the day. But if you want this, even if just a little part of you wants it, then don’t make any rash decisions that will take it from you.”

As my mom spoke, realization came over me. Maybe there was a part of me —one bigger than I previously thought —that did want this. The toddler that I saw in the park earlier was a perfect testament to that. The fact that I was so disappointed when I thought that I wasn’t pregnant was a testament to it, too.

Did I really want to terminate this pregnancy for the sake of our careers? Or was it possible that maybe, just maybe, some part of me was… excited? Excited for this new step in our lives, for the chaos of it all.

And maybe another part of me was excited to bring a new life into the world, as if that would somehow reconcile my own trauma. To get the chance to raise a little one in a home filled with love, no pain, no fear. To give them something that I didn’t get to have for a very, very long time.

“Thank you, Mom. Your words mean the world to me,” I said, finally breaking the contemplative silence.

“You don’t have to make this decision tonight, Nina. Take your time, talk it over with Enzo. And remember, you’re never alone in this.”

“I love you, Mom,” I said, tears forming at the corners of my eyes.

I love you too, honey. Always