He would remite with his family and they would live happily ever after.

The

end.

Kira's eyes were unfocused.

Her mind had slut down completely.

Was she the bad guy here?

Should she bow out?

She looked at Aiden again.

She was the reason the boy was in tears.

Kira Ded.

She ran out of the cafe without a word.

She jumped into an idling tad and stuttered out the address of Stamford General

She had no idea how much she paid the tax driver, or if she paid at all.

She took the lift, got into her father's ward and sank into a chair next to the bed.

Kira buried her head in Leland's cold bands and cried.

Doctor Morrison came in but left without disturbing her.

Kira went into the bathroom to wash up after she ran out of tears.

The gynaecologist had said something about the change in her hormone levels during the first trimester.

Kira was starting to see what the doctor meant.

She thought she was all cried out, but tears welled up the moment she sat down and took Leland's hand.

'Dad,' she sobbed, 'I'm pregnant."

Leland didn't answer.

She took his right hand and placed it on her stomach. 'I just found out today."

She felt no movement in her belly

Of course, it was too early for the baby to kick

He or she was probably not fully formed yet.

Just a tiny embryo, maybe the size of a grain of rice.

i was so shocked, I thought I was dreaming

But the sheet of paper clutched in her hand proved she wasn't.Exclusive content from .

*I was going to tell Austyn, but then I ran into Deborals. You probably don't know her. She's...

Kira choked back more tears. 'Austyn already has a son. His name is Aiden. He's six years

Aiden had those big, round, puppy-like eyes that would make anyone's heart melt

old. And he's very cute."

If she ran into him on the street, she would have loved to give him a hug, maybe pat him on the head and pinch his chubby, rosy cheeks. But he wasn't a random boy she met on the street.

He was Austen's boy.

"I wanted to hate him. I really did. I tried. He's..."

Kira couldn't bring herself to use the word "bastard child.

"He's such a little angel. He even tried to defend his mother. You should've seen the way he growled at me...

Kira rambled on.

When she was a kid and encountered a problem she couldn't solve, she ran to L

Leland

Dad might not always have a solution, but he never failed to offer her a comforting bug and a shoulder to cry on.

He gave her the strength to face whatever challenges came her way.

When Gideon came to stay with them, Kira had a new confidant

Gideon was more of a doer than a talker.

What seemed like insurmountable obstacles to Kira were a piece of cake to him.

"Maybe you and Gideon coddled me too much,' she said to Leland.

The monitor attached to Leland's heart made a patient beep in reply.

Leland and Gideon had let her grow up in an ivory tower.

They solved all her problems for her.

Other than the lack of a motherly figure, Kira had a perfect childhood.

"Maybe I'm one of those strawberry generation kids people often talk about,' she mumbled,

Pretty on the outside, but easily bruised with the slightest application of pressure.

She had run away from the confrontation with Deborah like a coward.

She was completely helpless.

"What am I supposed to do, Dad?'

Kira laid her head down on the bed and closed her eyes.

She didn't know when she'd fallen asleep

She woke up in a moving car,

Kira's body tensed.

Her hand reached for the door handle when she glimpsed the man seated in the backseat next to her.

She had been resting her head on his shoulder.

Kira relaxed

*Was there a tunnel from Alvernia Park to Stamford General that I didn't know about?! Austyn said in a cold voice dripping with sarcasm. "What?"

"You went to a restroom at Alvernia, and you turned up in a room at Stamford General.'

Kira blinked away the sleep in her eyes.

She sat up straighter and turned her face away, ignoring him.

Kai was behind the wheel and keeping quiet as a church mouse.

'Do you know how long you've been gone? Austyn pointed to the Timex Marlin on his left wrist. 'Six hours and forty-two minutes!" Kira went for the check-up at nine am.

It was now mid-afternoon

"I almost called the cops! Austyn bellowed. 'Kira, look at me!

A Taste Of Your Own Medicine

Klea kept her eyes on the window

Mostyn lugged on her shoulder and forced her to turn back towards him, wincing when a sharp pain hit his chest wound

'If you wanted to visit your lather, you could've texted or called me. Why did you disappear without a word? I turned the hospital upside down looking for

'So now you know how it feels, Kira said coldly.