No Second Chances Ex-husband (Lauren and Ethan) novel Chapter 82

LAUREN’S POV

“And how was school today?” I asked, as I scooped her up from the ground. She let out a squeal of laughter, her small arms wrapping tightly around my neck as I lifted her and settled her onto my lap.

“We didn’t really do much in school today,” she answered matter–of–factly, her tiny legs swinging back and forth as she leaned against me. “We just did some drawings and that was all.”

Her voice–high–pitched, innocent, yet so full of life brought an automatic smile to my lips. Every time she spoke, it was like the sound wrapped itself around my chest and squeezed gently, reminding me of what truly mattered. When she grinned up at me, I caught sight of the gap where two of her front teeth used to be, the little broken spaces that had come from her obsession with sweets. I had warned her a hundred times, but of course, she hadn’t listened. Children rarely do.

Still, even those missing teeth only made her cuter. Staring down at her perched on my lap, I realized again that this, this moment, this child, this love was everything I had ever wanted. Everything a woman could ever ask for.

What still amazed me, even now, was how much she looked like me. Her dark, curious eyes mirrored mine, her smile crooked in exactly the same way mine did when I was her age. Sometimes when I brushed her hair in the morning, I’d catch my own reflection in her face, as though I was looking at a smaller, brighter version of myself. More than Elena ever did.

And yet… she wasn’t Elena.

Even now, years later, I still miss Elena with an ache that sometimes feels unbearable. Losing her had left a black, gaping hole inside of me, one I had been certain would never heal. It wasn’t just grief, it was emptiness, a hollow space that echoed through every breath I took, every step I made. For a long time, I lived with that emptiness as though it were part of me, certain it would swallow me whole.

But when my little girl came into my life, everything changed. She filled the very part of me that had been shattered. She stepped into that darkness, uninvited, unexpected, and slowly, without even knowing it, she lit it up. She gave me a reason to smile again, a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to fight through the loneliness.

She gave me purpose again.

Five years ago, when I found out I was pregnant, I couldn’t believe it. I honestly didn’t even think it was possible – not then, not after everything I’d been through. But life has a strange way of surprising us.

I remember it vividly. It had been three months after I started working here in Italy. Just an average morning, or so I thought. I was getting ready for work, moving through my routine, when suddenly a wave of nausea hit me so hard it doubled me over. I barely made it to the bathroom in time before I was hunched over the sink, vomiting until my body trembled.

At first, I told myself it was nothing. Maybe I’d eaten something bad the night before, maybe I’d caught a stomach bug. I rinsed my mouth, splashed water on my face, and decided it would pass. But the truth was, I felt drained. I wasn’t sick–sick, but I didn’t feel right either. Just to be safe, I called in sick from work, something I rarely allowed myself to do. The thought of walking into the office only to run back out to vomit in front of everyone was too humiliating to risk.

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CHAPTER 082

+25 BONUS

By the next morning, I felt better. A little shaky, but nowhere near as bad as the day before. So I told myself it was over. I dressed for work, put on my usual professional mask, and went about my day.

I was in the middle of a conversation with the manager when it happened again. One second, I was nodding along to something he was saying about projections, and the next, I felt that awful tightening in my throat, that uncontrollable rush of nausea. Without a word, I bolted, barely making it to the bathroom before I threw up again.

I was stunned. I had felt fine just moments earlier, even healthier than yesterday. What on earth was happening to me?

When I returned, pale and embarrassed, I tried to brush it off, insisting it was nothing. But the manager wasn’t having it. He narrowed his eyes at me in that sharp, no–nonsense way of his and practically ordered me to go see a doctor. I tried to protest – it felt unnecessary, overdramatic even.

I still went to the hospital – honestly, I had no choice. The manager’s look on his face left no room for argument. So there I was, sitting on the stiff, uncomfortable chair in the doctor’s office, pretending to be calm while my stomach was in knots.

The doctor ran some tests, his expression careful and professional, but I could tell he already suspected what was going on. I tried not to think too much while waiting for the results. I stared at the posters on the wall, the bland cream paint, the faint ticking of the clock. I told myself it was probably just stress, maybe a dietary issue, maybe something simple. I wasn’t prepared for what he eventually said.

And damn, each time I remember how I reacted that day, I still laugh.

The doctor looked up from his file, glasses slipping slightly down his nose. “Congratulations, Miss Darrow,” he said evenly, “you’re pregnant.”

My eyes went so wide out of shock, I genuinely thought they were going to fall out of my head. “Pregnant?” I repeated, my voice half a whisper, half a squeak. I didn’t believe him. Couldn’t. So I did the only thing I could think of – I leaned forward, snatched the paper from his hand, and scanned it myself.

And there it was, plain as day. Positive.

My legs felt shaky as I stood from the chair, clutching the paper as though it would change if I read it enough times. “This can’t… I mean…” I stammered, my mind racing in a hundred directions at once.

Part of me didn’t know whether I should laugh or cry. Should I be happy? Because after Elena, I hadn’t been pregnant for years, and somewhere deep inside, I thought I never would be again. Or should I be angry at myself for being so careless at such a time, when everything in my life was already fragile and uncertain?

Why was I careless? Why hadn’t I listened? Ethan hadn’t touched me in over a year. We had been finished long before the papers made it official, and I had shut that door completely. Which left only one possibility.

Only one man.

Roman Hale.

That one night. That single, reckless night when I let my guard down. Where grief and exhaustion had cracked me open, and I’d let him in.

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CHAPTER 082

+25 BONUS

Tessa had warned me. She had told me, gently but firmly to take birth control, just in case. But I hadn’t listened. I thought it unnecessary. I thought nothing could happen from just one mistake.

And now… here I was.

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