Chapter 385 A Little Heartbeat of My Own

Emilia’s POV

“Congratulations, Miss Taylor. You’re pregnant. The embryo transfer was successful.”

I stared at the doctor, my hand settling over my stomach. After all the appointments and all the waiting, I’d prepared myself for another disappointment. I hadn’t prepared for this.

“I’m pregnant?” My voice shook. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “Your results confirm it.”

I laughed, then started crying before I could say anything else. For once, I wasn’t crying over something I’d lost. There was a baby growing inside me. Sebastian’s baby.

The doctor pushed a box of tissues across her desk and gave me a moment. I took one, though it did little good. Every time I tried to speak, I cried again.

“There are some things we need to discuss,” she said once I’d calmed down. “Your earlier records describe an underdeveloped uterus, but our examinations show normal development. I can’t explain the difference, so we’ll monitor you closely.”

I could explain it. Unfortunately, telling a doctor that my witch grandmother had helped heal me probably wouldn’t improve the appointment.

“It’s still early,” she continued. “We can’t guarantee how any pregnancy will progress. Keep taking your prescribed medication, attend your follow-up appointments, and avoid heavy lifting or exhausting yourself. Call us if you have bleeding or significant pain.”

I nodded and asked her to write everything down. I’d waited too long for this child to trust my memory while I was busy crying over a box of tissues.

Outside the clinic, I stopped beside the glass doors and rested my hand on my belly. People walked past, unaware that my entire life had changed in a consultation room.

“Eve. We did it.”

“We did,” she said. “Our pup. Yours and Sebastian’s.”

Hearing her say it brought fresh tears. I hurried to my car before someone decided I needed medical attention and sent me back inside.

Once behind the wheel, I sat without starting the engine. There was so much I wanted to say, but no one beside me to hear it. For a moment, Sebastian’s absence hurt almost as much as the news delighted me.

After sealing away my witch bloodline, I’d taken the medicine Grandmother Margaretta gave me every morning and evening. Slowly, my body had recovered. Eventually, she’d examined me and said I could try to carry a child.

The fertility center had confirmed I was ready. Then came the injections, the egg retrieval, and the transfer. I’d endured bruises, nausea, and nights when I lay awake wondering whether I was asking my body for something it could never give.

Now I had an answer. I looked down at my stomach and smiled.

“You’ve already caused quite a fuss,” I whispered. “Just so you know.”

“Wait until the pup arrives,” Eve said.

My phone lay on the passenger seat. I wanted to call Sebastian more than anything. I wanted to hear him fall silent, ask whether I was sure, then ask again because he couldn’t quite believe it.

My fingers reached for the phone before I stopped them. The pregnancy was still new, and there were no promises yet. I couldn’t bear to give him this hope and then have to take it away.

And there was Abigail. If she learned I was pregnant, she would see my child as a threat to everything she’d gained. After what she’d done to Sebastian, I wasn’t willing to guess how far she might go.

I put the phone in my bag. I would tell him after those uncertain early weeks, when I’d had more follow-up appointments. Until then, the fewer people who knew, the better.

He already had enough trouble at home. For once, I would let him deal with Abigail while I concentrated on something good.

I drove out of Haven’s Reach, leaving the city behind for the wooded road to Hollowthorn. These days, home meant Grandmother’s house, with Uncle Chuck complaining in the kitchen and Aunt Mindy trying to feed everyone.

It still surprised me how much I looked forward to returning there. I’d grown up without this kind of family noise. Now I could hear it before I opened the door.

“Mother, you ought to curse her,” Chuck was saying. “Nothing serious. A rash. Something itchy.”

Grandmother slapped the back of his head.

“I am a good witch, you fool. Not some back-alley hag peddling black magic.”

“I said a rash, not a funeral.”

“Suggest another curse in my kitchen, and I’ll put one on your tongue.”

Mindy looked up from the counter. “You’ve been talking about how to curse the woman who hurt you for twenty minutes. You should give them your opinions.”

I laughed from the doorway. Chuck rubbed his head and muttered something that definitely wasn’t an apology.

“How was your appointment?” Grandmother asked.

I’d planned to sit them down first. Perhaps make some tea and explain why they needed to keep the news private.

Instead, I stood there grinning until Mindy put down her spoon.

“Emilia? What is it?”

“I’m pregnant.”

No one moved. Then Grandmother glanced at the open window facing the neighboring houses.

“Chuck,” she said. “Close that.”

My smile faltered. “Grandmother?”

She rose and came toward me. “First, we celebrate. Then we discuss who must not hear about this child.”