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Why hadn’t Amara packed some potpourri or at least some kind of air freshener? She dis of so so silly and inconsequential at such a time as this

Amara’s mother, Raneesha, sat forward in her chair and laid her hand lightly over Amara’s “Baby, do you want me to close those curtains? Terrible, terrible out there”

When there was no response, Raneesha stood, turned toward theand reached for the curtain pull

Aht I like the rain”

She spoke halfheartedly, crossing her hands over her sto her best to keep her composure Her emotions were as tumultuous and turbulent as the stormy weather, whipped in too many directions at once

At least she was happy with the birthing It had gone well, and she’d delivered a healthy baby boy without complications

Well, unless having to give that baby boy aasn’t considered a complication

She stared at a dark, roiling cloud and told herself to stop thinking about losing her child She should be thinking about hoas all over now, that all the deception and sneaking around would be at an end

Quint would co And that would be that

There’d be noto her mother and others, even if some of them were only lies of omission, failures to explain She’d told herafter her breakup with Frederik, A She said she didn’t know the father well, that he wasn’t interested in pursuing anything with her and vice versa She planned to give the baby up for adoption to a fahly vetted Beyond that, she’d said little

She hadn’t told a living soul that she’d ain with Quint Forbes In fact, she hadn’t answered any questions her colleagues and casual friends had dared to ask She’d simply let them believe what they wanted to believe

And what they wanted to believe was that Arow under her feet after her breakup with Frederik Amara could see the questions in their eyes: as the father of her child, did they know hi on before Amara and Frederik broke up, was that why they broke up?

No one actually had the nerve to ask any of these questions, though It was a good thing, since Aht have answered

Best of all, everyone disapproved of how Frederik was handling the situation With Quint’s support and backing, Amara’s research had been verified, and she’d been vindicated of all Frederik’s assertions against her scientific integrity Within three ues saw Frederik’s claiainst a former lover

As for A a few carefully-chosen departossip hounds that Frederik had wanted her to sell her sequencing technology for personal profit, and that hy he tried to sabotage her work It was all over the department within an hour