Chanels Interlude – LB Gaines

The doctor smiled softly. “Everything looks good,” she said. “Strong heartbeat. Development is right where it should be.” Everything looks good, and typically, I would make a patient wait before pointing out the sex of a baby, but your baby boy has his legs wide open. She gestured to the screen where Xander’s silly self was exposed. I exhaled slowly, my body sinking into the table. This was the first positive emotion I had felt since Xavier was taken from me in sirens and bullets.

I didn’t feel like something was being taken from me. I felt like something had finally been given to me. “Do you want baby boy’s picture?” she asked. I nodded too quickly. “Yes.” She printed it out and handed it to me carefully, like it was something fragile. I took it with both hands. I stared at it like I might forget what I saw if I looked away too long.

I traced the outline lightly with my finger. Memorizing it. Holding onto it. Because Xander was mine. * * * Back in my dorm, I sat on my bed with the picture in my lap. The room was quiet again. But it didn’t feel the same. The emptiness that used to plague this room was gone. I no longer resented Janessa never being in our room. I rested my hand against my stomach and leaned back against the wall.

“You hear me?” I whispered softly. “I heard you today.” My voice cracked slightly. I swallowed, blinking down at the picture. “You got a strong little heartbeat too.” A small, shaky smile pulled at my lips. “I like that.” I adjusted my position, curling slightly around myself without thinking. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. The words came out before I could stop them. “For not knowing you were there and for not taking better care of myself before.”

My hand pressed gently against my stomach. “I got you now, though.” And I meant it. In a way, I hadn’t meant anything in months. I looked back down at the picture and studied it again. “Your name is Xander King.” My chest tightened. “It means protector of humankind,” I said quietly, remembering.

My thumb brushed over the edge of the photo. “You gon’ protect me and I’ma protect you.” That night, I slept differently. It was the deepest sleep I’ve had since before I met Xavier King. I slept as if my body finally had something to rest for. I wasn’t just surviving anymore.

I was carrying something that made me want to live. I tried to hold onto that feeling. 1kitap1.com/en December 2006 kept the ultrasound picture tucked inside my notebook, between pages of notes I wasn’t really paying attention to.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Editor: Toni Cook Formatting: Cheshta Minocha Cover Designer: Author L’Amour / COVERS ‘AMOUR 1kitap1.com/en CONTENTS About the Author Acknowledgments About the Book The Playlist Trigger Warning Series Warning Chapter 1 July 2006 Chapter 2 September 2006 Chapter 3 October 2006 Chapter 4 December 2006 Chapter 5 2007 Chapter 6 2010 Chapter 7 2017 Chapter 8 2026 Keep Going Also by L.B.

Gaines 1kitap1.com/en ABOUT THE AUTHOR I’m L.B. Gaines, an author of emotionally messy love stories. Romance that hits like 90s R&B. I am dedicated to telling emotionally honest, character-driven love stories rooted in real life where passion meets pain, and healing is hard-won. My work is deeply influenced by Black literature, urban culture, and the enduring power of love. I write with one goal in mind: to remind readers that love, even when scarred, is never beyond saving.

Connect With the Author Instagram:@lbgainestheauthor TikTok: @lbgainestheauthor Email: [email protected] 1kitap1.com/en DEDICATION To the women who learned how to survive before they ever learned how to heal. To the ones who built entire lives out of what was left of them. To the women who chose safety when love felt too dangerous to trust. And to the parts of ourselves we had to lose, just to find our way back home. 1kitap1.com/en ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This interlude was written from a place of truth, reflection, and deep emotional exploration.

Chanel’s journey is not just about love lost, but about identity, survival, and the quiet ways we rebuild ourselves when life doesn’t go as planned. To anyone who has ever had to keep going without closure, who has had to make decisions from a place of pain instead of peace, and who has questioned whether the life they built truly belongs to them, this story is for you.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 079ce352ab0a5528
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,342,552 bytes (2.234 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 71
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 85.48 minutes
• Total Words: 17,097
• Total Characters: 92,583
• Average Words per Page: 240.8
• Average Characters per Page: 1303.99

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