Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella) novel Chapter 1152

And in their minds, tumors were round too, weren't they? That lingering paranoia had blurred the line between expecting a child and anticipating a fatal diagnosis.

"Are you still scared?" Hull asked softly.

Susanna shook her head. "No, I'm not scared anymore."

Why would anyone be afraid of a baby? A baby... She was actually going to be a mother.

A surreal, overwhelming feeling washed over Susanna. It felt like only yesterday she was still a student. The memories of wearing her school uniform and walking to class were still so vivid, yet here she was, about to bring a life into the world. It was nothing short of miraculous.

She wore a silly, radiant grin all the way back to the car.

"Are you that happy?" Hull asked.

She wrapped her arms securely around his bicep. "I'm thrilled. Aren't you?"

Hull remained silent for a moment.

Was he happy? A child... the very concept of a family was something men in his world never even dared to dream about.

Before he met Susanna, Hull had never imagined he would fall for a woman, let alone father her child. But now, sitting beside her, the reality of it felt incredibly profound.

Noticing his silence, Susanna looked up at him. "Why aren't you saying anything? Do you not want the baby?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I want it," Hull replied.

He wanted the child more than anything. But they were woefully unprepared for this, and an unfamiliar sense of panic was setting in. Panic... it was an emotion that had never existed in Hull's ruthless world.

Yet here he was, questioning every violent choice he had ever made, terrified that his dark past would somehow drag down the sweet girl sitting beside him and the child she was carrying for him.

"Then why don't you look happy at all?" Susanna pouted. "Were you actually hoping I had a tumor?"

"Don't say things like that," he scolded gently.

But that was when they didn't know. Now that they did, everything had to change.

Hull, with one hand lingering in her hair and the other resting on her waist, sensed her hesitation and pulled back. His voice was husky, thick with restraint. "Relax. I'm not going to take things further." He knew how to control his desires.

Susanna let out a sudden giggle.

"What's so funny?" Hull asked.

"I'm laughing at how clueless you are. I'm pregnant, and you convinced me I had a tumor! You're unbelievable."

Hull fell silent. He couldn't even defend himself—he had been an absolute idiot about the whole situation. When he had first felt that solid lump on her stomach, stark terror had gripped him. He had genuinely thought she was fatally ill.

The thought of her suffering while under his protection had unraveled him. The panic had been blinding... He hadn't even considered pregnancy as an option.

Then again, for a man who knew nothing about expecting mothers, suddenly feeling a hard mass on his partner's stomach was understandably alarming. That was exactly why he hadn't wasted a single second, demanding Percy examine her before they even boarded the flight.