Page 129 of A King’s Obsession

My doctor smiled as she checked my chart. “Congratulations. You're having a little girl.”

For a moment, the room went completely quiet. I looked down at my stomach, my hand moving instinctively over the curve of my belly. A daughter. I was having a daughter.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, feeling my eyes fill.

Beside me, Ezra sat completely still. When I turned toward him, he was staring at the doctor like he needed her to repeat herself.

“A girl?” he asked quietly.

She nodded, smiling. “A little girl.”

He lowered his head, dragging a hand over his face before letting out a disbelieving laugh. “Damn. I'm having a daughter.”

When he looked up, his eyes were wet. He reached for my hand, and I let him take it, swallowing around the lump in my throat as he brushed his thumb across my knuckles.

“Thank you, baby,” he whispered.

I looked at our joined hands, then back at him. For the first time in months, we were sharing something beautiful without an argument hanging over our heads.

And I hadn't realized how much I'd missed that.

Outside, I stopped beside my car, still thinking about the look on Ezra's face when he'd found out we were having a daughter. He'd barely stopped smiling since we left the examination room.

“Well, thank you for coming,” I told him, reaching for my keys.

He stopped walking, staring at me like I'd lost my mind. “Thank you for coming? Jru, what the fuck am I, a guest speaker?”

I burst out laughing before I could stop myself. “Ezra, please.”

“Nah, don't 'Ezra, please' me.” He stepped closer, shaking his head. “We just found out we're having a daughter, and you trying to dismiss me like I came to fix your damn cable.”

I pressed my lips together, trying to regain control of my face. “What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to talk to me.” His expression grew serious as he glanced toward my stomach. “I wanna be there for the rest of this pregnancy, Jru. I want my wife and my daughter home. I know I can't make you come back, but damn, baby, give me something.”

The humor slowly faded as I looked at him. I knew how much he wanted us back in Westhaven, but wanting something didn't mean he could skip over everything that had happened.

“You hurt me, Ezra,” I reminded him quietly. “And finding out we're having a daughter doesn't erase that.”

“I know.” He nodded, his eyes holding mine. “I'm not asking you to forget. I'm asking you to let me try to make it right.”

I glanced toward my car, thinking about the six months I'd spent learning how to live without him. Then I looked back at the man standing in front of me, waiting for an answer.

“You can follow me home,” I finally said. “We can talk there. But that's all I'm promising.”

He exhaled, nodding slowly. “Aight, baby. I'll take it.”

Ashlynn called before I'd made it halfway home. I answered through my car speakers, already knowing she was probably checking on my appointment.

“Hey, bitch! How was everything?” she asked cheerfully.

I glanced into my rearview mirror at Ezra's truck following behind me. “Did you tell Ezra I had a doctor's appointment today?”

There was a brief silence before she cleared her throat. “Now, why would you ask me something like that?”

“Ashlynn, don't play with me.”

She sighed dramatically. “Bitch, this been going on long enough. Y'all got a baby coming, and whether you stay with that man or not, he's still that baby's father. Put your big-girl draws on and figure this shit out.”