Page 36 of Book Bae

“I want. It’s ‘I want,’ Chi.”

“I want grill cheese.”

“Okay, let’s dry your hands and⁠—”

The doorbell rang and pulled my attention away.

“Go ahead and get that. I’ll take care of him,” Mai stated.

I turned my son over to her and headed for the front door.

“Hey.” I greeted Arabella. Seeing her brought back all the stress that I had been going through. That time with Malachi had driven it all out of my mind. There was only one reason that Arabella was here.

“Hey. You’ve got the results?”

I nodded and headed back to my office. “Yeah.”

“You read them yet?”

“Not yet. I was about to when Chi wanted to play.”

“Mm.” I glanced at her as I poured myself a glass of bourbon and her a glass of red wine.

“What’s that mean?” I asked as I passed her the glass of wine.

“Just that I think you’ve been procrastinating.”

I sat down at my desk again and stared at the envelope. I fingered it as I turned the glass up.

“What are you waiting on?” she asked as I scratched my beard.

“It seems wrong opening it with you being here.”

“Excuse me? Why wouldn’t I be?”

Rather than voicing my thoughts, I lifted the envelope and slid the letter opener underneath the seal. When I pulled the paper free, Arabella immediately reached her hand out to grab it, but she stopped the minute that I mugged her.

I inhaled deeply and took my time reading every single word. I knew once I read the results, my life would never be the same again, one way or another. I wanted to preserve what was for a moment longer, but my eyes moved of their own accord and dropped to the bottom of the page. I saw the 9999.99% at the bottom of the page declaring that I was Myraj’s unborn child’s father.

“What does it say? It doesn’t take that long to read anything, Micaiah.”

My gaze shifted to Arabella’s before I replied, “The baby is mine.”

Arabella’s mouth and shoulders dropped, and her hand did as well just before she caught herself. “What are you gonna do?”

“What do you mean what am I gonna do? The same thing that I did with Malachi.”

“You cannot take custody of this child, Micaiah.”

“I don’t mean that way. I’m simply saying that I will be in her life, take care of her, and help raise her. I’ll be and do everything she needs me to be and do.”

“I think it’s ironic she hasn’t had a child in all this time, and now she miraculously gets pregnant when you come into her life. Did you know that she was going to a fertility specialist? I’m not so sure that she doesn’t know who you are, Micaiah.”

“How the fuck do you know that?”

I wasn’t surprised that she got pregnant when I came around, because she had been a virgin. I was surprised that despite me using protection, she got pregnant, but I knew she hadn’t touched my condoms either.

“I had an investigation done⁠—”