Chapter 41

Olivia

“Okay,” I said quietly, feeling the weight of Nathan’s fervent gaze hanging heavily in the air between us. “I promise I won’t say a word about it.”

Nathan's sigh filled the space between us, and the tension in the room hung so thickly that I felt as though I could cut it with a knife. He looked at me awkwardly before finally making his confession.

“Layla and I have never been pregnant.”

I cocked my head to the side, confusion evident on my face.

“And?” I asked, completely baffled by this sudden revelation. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Nathan shifted uncomfortably where he stood. There was a bit of a silence before he finally spoke.

When he did finally speak, his voice was tinged with a mix of resignation and frustration.

“The thing is, we did try to a certain extent,” he said, sounding a little embarrassed. “It’s helpful for Alphas to have partners and children, so we felt a bit pressured to do it.”

“So you tried, but you didn’t want to?” I asked, still confused as to what this had to do with his mother calling me a ‘surrogate’.

Nathan shook his head. “I think we both did want kids. I know that I did. Maybe not before marriage, necessarily, but I did want kids. Even though I would have rather waited, we figured that it wouldn’t be the worst idea to have them sooner. But Layla could never get pregnant, no matter how hard we tried.”

“How do you know it was Layla?” I asked.

“Because,” Nathan replied, “we went to all kinds of doctors. We spent months trying to figure it out. There’s nothing wrong with my sperm count or anything like that, but Layla…” His voice faltered.

It was clear that it was a sensitive subject. I instantly felt bad for pressing him so hard for details, and I stood, grabbing my friend’s hand and squeezing it briefly before I let go. When I let go of his hand, it almost felt as though he was reluctant to drop his grip. I told myself that it was just in my head.

“I’m sorry,” I interjected, shooting him a sympathetic look. “You don’t have to tell me anything else. It’s personal.”

“Thanks.”

There was another silence. I pictured Layla in my mind for a few moments, remembering how thin and frail she looked. She was very pretty, but she didn’t look particularly healthy for an Alpha.

However, another thought crossed my mind. "But you weren't married," I pointed out. "Why should your mother care so much about Layla's ability to bear children?"

Nathan sighed, his frustration palpable. "It's just how my mother is," he explained. "She only sees young girls as reproductive tools, and to her, love doesn't matter as much as having grandchildren."

I frowned, unable to comprehend such a perspective. Was that how Maria felt about Colin, too? I never got the idea that they had very strong feelings for each other, but it was still sad to think about.

"That's not fair," I said firmly. "Pregnancy and having children should be a choice based on love and readiness, not just fulfilling someone else's expectations."

Nathan nodded in agreement. "I couldn't agree more. I always felt that pregnancy should happen after marriage, but my mother has always been fixated on having grandkids. She doesn't understand that love and a strong foundation matter more than just having children."

The weight of his words settled upon me, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. I understood Nathan's perspective, that pregnancy was often considered something that happened after marriage.

But his mother's relentless focus on procreation, without regard for love and happiness, felt disheartening.

Besides, it still didn’t explain why she saw me as a surrogate.

Nathan, as though he read my mind, suddenly turned toward me and gave me a serious look. “You don’t need to worry about your baby,” he said. “I’ll make sure to set my mother straight. Clearly she has a misunderstanding of what’s going on here.”

At Nathan’s words, I felt my cheeks flush a little red. The way that he was looking at me was stern and powerful, a far cry from the way that he looked when he was speaking about his past with trying to have a baby.

But then, curiosity compelled me to ask something personal again, and I couldn’t contain it.

"Did you love Layla enough to want children with her?"

Nathan looked surprised. I watched as he hesitated for a moment, his gaze dropping to the floor.

"I thought I did," he finally admitted. "But as time went on, I realized I wouldn't want to bring a child into this world with someone who doesn't love me back. My parents never showed much love for each other, and I want to create a household where two happy parents love each other."

His words resonated with me, painting a picture of his desire for a nurturing and loving environment for his future child.

It was a sentiment that I found genuinely sweet and admirable. It also made me reflect on my own situation, wondering how my own baby would be raised.

Would my baby ever get the chance to experience the happiness and love that Nathan sought, or would we have to make do in a single-parent household.

I wasn’t sure exactly how long I was lost in my thoughts, but eventually I looked up to find Nathan gazing at me intently.

His eyes were filled with a mix of emotions. There was something soft in his gaze, and he parted his lips slightly as he looked at me. Once again, it felt as though there was something that he wanted to say, but he couldn’t find the strength to say it.

But before the moment could fully unfold, he quickly averted his gaze. It was as if he couldn't bear to let the intensity of the moment linger.

“Anyway, I’m sorry about my mom,” he said quietly. “I’ll talk to her. I promise she won’t get the chance to treat you like that again.”

"It's not your fault," I reassured him softly, my voice filled with understanding. "You can't control how your mother thinks or acts."

Nathan's eyes met mine once again, a combination of both gratitude and regret etched on his face.

"Thank you, Olivia," he said sincerely. "I appreciate your understanding. I'm sorry you had to experience this."

With that, he took a step back, his feet carrying him away from the room.

I watched him go, my mind whirling with all sorts of emotions that I couldn’t fully comprehend just yet.

In an odd way, I thought about his difficulty with having children with Layla, and suddenly I realized partially why he was so upset about being excluded from my baby’s life.

If he wanted children, then it was no wonder that he would at least want the opportunity to be involved with his best friend’s child.

However, the fact of the matter was that Nathan was not my baby’s biological father, and there was no changing that. As things stood right now, I still wasn’t certain how that aspect of our lives would unfold.

And oddly enough, I couldn’t help but wonder to myself if he would make a damn good father if I only gave him the chance, regardless of who the baby’s biological father was.