66. Chapter Sixty-Six

It takes two days for Dr. White to call me. The second the phone rings, I answer it.

"Do you have results for me?" I lean back in my chair, trying not to get ahead of myself. I'm in my office, but I consider going to get Jordan. Morning sickness has been rough today, and she's slept for most of it. I don't want to disturb her, so I'll tell her when she wakes up. It'll be better coming from me anyway. After I share the news with her, we can tell Rafael.

"I do."

"What took so long?" I grunt.

"I ran them multiple times because they were stumping me."

"Stumping you how? You've been a doctor since the civil war," I say. He's used to me taking a dig at his age. Usually he laughs. This time he doesn't, and that's concerning.

"Vincenzo, I'm not sure how to say this." He sighs.

I sit up, a tight feeling in my chest making it difficult to breathe. A million horrible thoughts run through my head. "Just say it."

The only thing that would stump him is the answer being neither. As in, neither me nor Rafael are the father. Meaning it's someone else.

But how? How the fuck is that possible? The rage rolling through me has me seeing red. She's been here the whole time. Meaning…

One of my men. They'll die. Every last one of those fuckers will burn to the goddamn ground.

"It's called heteropaternal superfecundation, and—"

"Hatta what now?"

Pretty sure that isn't fancy lingo for one of your men fucked your wife behind your back and knocked her up. Is it a technical way of saying there is no father? Like Jordan is the new Virgin Mary or some shit?

"Heteropaternal superfecundation," he says slowly. "It means your wife's twins have different fathers."

The room around me spins. Everything goes dark. Fuzzy. Static is loud in my ears. My mouth is dry.

"Vincenzo, are you there?"

"Yes," I choke out. "I'm here. Can you repeat that?"

He sighs again. This time I don't miss the pity. "It's extremely rare. I did some research and apparently there are only nineteen recorded cases of this. Your wife makes case number twenty. I'm honored to be handling her pregnancy."

"Let me be clear here. You said two different fathers? How is that possible?"

"Again, it's rare, but it is possible. A woman who has intercourse with multiple men within a twenty-four-hour or so period have a chance of sperm from both men fertilizing two different eggs. I mean, it's amazing, if I'm being honest."

"Yeah. Amazing."

I can't fucking believe this.

"Baby A is Rafael's and Baby B is yours. Fitting, right? Baby B is Baby Bramante." He chuckles, but I can't find the humor in it. "Are you okay?" he asks in the fatherly tone he takes too often.

"I don't know. What does this mean? Medically?"

This is unbelievable.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The babies are still twins. Their genetic makeup will be different. Like any other half sibling would be, only they're twins." He laughs again. "This is truly amazing." I'm glad he sounds happy about it. I'm not sure what I think.

"Okay," I say. "When will you need to see her again?"

"As long as there are no issues, I'll see her again in a month. We can play it by ear depending on how she's feeling. I'll get some prenatal vitamins to you. And something for nausea if she needs it. I'll also send a list of foods to avoid."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks."

He ends the call and I stare at my phone.

What the actual fuck is going on?

I wait an hour before I wake Jordan. I don't want to wake her at all because she's sleeping so soundly, but this information is eating me alive, and I need to let it out.

I sit on the edge of the bed and run my hand over her hair. She stirs awake and smiles at me. She's so beautiful. I hope our baby has her eyes. She has gorgeous eyes. And I hope her baby with Rafael has his eyes, because he has beautiful eyes too, and it'll be the best of both worlds.

"Hey," she says, rolling onto her back. "Everything okay?" Her voice is so full of sleep, her eyes half closed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, actually."

"The doctor called."

Her eyes widen, and her body stiffens.

"He got the results?" I nod. She looks around the room, as if looking for something. Or someone. "Does Rafael know?"

"Not yet."

"You should tell us together."

"I think you should hear this for yourself first."

"No." She sits up, wiping her face. "I want us to hear it together. That's what we agreed on."

"Okay. Do you want me to get him?"

"No, I'll get up."

I stand and help her out of bed. She uses the bathroom quickly while I call him to meet us in the study. The three of us reach it at the same time.

"He called?" Rafael asks, stopping in front of the door. Long gone is his cheery demeanor he's had for the last two days. Back are the nerves. Considering the way he's been acting, I think he'll be happy with the results. Jordan, though? I don't think she's going to be happy with living proof she slept with two men at the same time. Of course, I don't give a fuck about that. Rafael won't either. But I know how my wife thinks.

"He did." I enter the study and sit down. Jordan sits beside me, and Rafael across from us.

"I should've grabbed a drink for this," he says, rubbing his hands down his pants.

"You're going to need one," I comment.

"Fuck. They're mine, aren't they?" he asks, looking between the both of us. He doesn't look mad, more scared than anything. "The babies are mine? Twins run in my family. I should have known the moment it was twins. Shit, I did know." He stands and takes a few steps one way, stops, and turns. "Shit…"

"Rafael, calm down," Jordan says. "Come here. Sit down with me."

He hesitates a moment but sits beside her, and I turn my body to face the both of them.

I scrub a hand down my face and say it.

"The babies are… both of ours."

It's silent. So silent I'm going to lose my mind.

"What?" Jordan finally asks, tilting her head to the side.

"How?" Rafael says.

"He said it's rare, but it happens. The twins are both of ours. One is yours. One is mine."

"You're joking," Rafael says with a laugh, shaking his head, his blond hair flopping around. "This is a joke. That's not possible."

"It's very possible, and I'm not lying," I state firmly.

"Both of you?" Jordan says breathily. "You each have a baby in me?"

"Yeah, angel. We do."

I consider making the joke the doctor did, about Baby B, but I don't have it in me. I'm still in shock myself, and it's clear they are too.

"What does this mean?" she asks. "Are they going to be okay?"

"He said they're perfectly fine. It was the first thing I asked. This doesn't affect them in any negative way."

"This is crazy," Rafael says, blowing out a sharp breath. "Both of us?"

I nod absently as I take Jordan's hand.

"You okay?" I ask her.

"I'm just trying to process this."

"This changes nothing, Rafael. You can still leave, if you want to." I need to make sure he knows this because I don't ever want him to feel like we forced him to be here.

He shakes his head, determination filling his eyes. "No. I'm not going anywhere. I don't want to go anywhere. I want to be here for Jordan, for you, and for our babies."

"I'll admit, I like hearing that." I smile at him.

"May I?" He holds his hand out toward her.

She lifts her shirt, and he gently presses his hand against her stomach. He looks up to meet my eyes. His say so much. Shining with fear and excitement. I place my hand over his, and Jordan fits both of hers over ours.

"We're going to make this work," Jordan says, looking between the both of us. "Right?"

"Yeah, angel. We are."

"We are," Rafael says with a grin, meeting my gaze. "We really are."