Ronald had never used to think like this. Back then, it didn''t matter who he was up against—if someone dared challenge him, he''d put them down t, no questions asked.


    But now? He was saying things like, "Don''t underestimate the enemy." Xander could hardly believe it. He''d never heard anything remotely like that from Ronald before.


    Was it because Ronald had finally found a soft spot? Once a man had a weakness... But hadn''t Ste always been his? Or was it that now-with Ste pregnant with triplets-he had even more to lose? Was impending fatherhood making him more cautious than ever?


    "The situation in Litamark is a mess. Just... be extra careful. It can''t hurt." Ronald''s voice was firm and final.


    Xander decided not to argue. "Got it," he replied, barely masking his impatience.


    Ronald grunted, signaling he was about to hang up.


    "Wait, I''m not done," Xander interrupted before Ronald could disconnect.


    "What else?" Ronald asked.


    "It''s Yvonne. She''s been feeling awful the past few days—can''t keep any food down, even water makes her sick. I took her to see a doctor and guess what? She bolted before the appointment."


    Ronald was silent.


    "For God''s sake, is an endoscopy so terrifying that you have to run away?" Xander vented.


    Ronald frowned. "Endoscopy?"


    "Yeah, she''s been vomiting so much, I figured we should see what''s wrong. But as soon as it was mentioned, she just up and ran for it."


    Xander let out a heavy sigh. "Last time was a disaster, too—but that was Shawn''s fault. I told him to find a therapist for Yvonne and he brought over an actual psychiatric patient. Now she''s freaked out about seeing any doctor at all. But today, I was with her! We were at gastroenterology, not some psych clinic. What the hell was she so scared of?"


    Talking about it, Xander could only shake his head. Watching Yvonne vomit that much had him seriously worried-what if she was really sick, something like stomach cancer? But what could he do? He finally got her to the hospital, only for her to make a run for it before she was even seen.


    Ronald listened to Xander''s barrage ofints, but his mind snagged on the words "psychiatrist" and "gastroenterologist."


    Xander kept going: "Maybe you can call her, too. Tell her to quit being stubborn and at least see a doctor cooperate for once. Right now, ↓ honestly have no idea what else to do. Thest couple days, can''t even mention a checkup without her flying off the handle. Today, I finally got her into the hospital-I thought, finally, we can get to the bottom of this. But no. She ran."


    Xander sounded exasperated. "I''ve never met anyone so deathly afraid of doctors."


    Ronald''s tone was measured. "She''s... vomited?"


    "All the time!" Xander assured him.


    "And you tried taking her to a psychiatrist and a gastroenterologist?"


    "Well, we didn''t book a psych visit per se. I had a therapiste to see her, but―


    long story short-the wrong person showed up. Completely useless."


    Ronald fell silent.


    Vomiting. Psych evaluation. Gastro consult...


    "Hey, you remember I asked that therapist for her before, right?" Xander prompted.


    Ronald did remember. At the time,


    Yvonne was a wreck—she''d


    convinced herself Susanna was


    trapped in ck Gate terrified


    something would happen and She wouldn''t be able to exin herself to Hoff. The stress had been overwhelming.


    But the way Xander wasying things out now, something didn''t add up.


    "Her symptoms have gotten worsetely," Xander pressed on. "She keeps saying she''s not stressed. anymore, but she''s vomiting like crazy. Now, she can''t even keep water down."


    How bad could a stomach problem get? Every time Xander pictured Yvonne doubling over, he worried it was something dire—stomach cancer haunted his thoughts.


    Ronald paused, then asked quietly, "Have you considered that she might be pregnant?"


    Xander''s mind came to a screeching halt. "What?!”