A'S

nd I was grateful for it. I spent most days working quietly on a business I'd started with the money I had gotten from that night-the night I wanted so desperately to forget. The investment I made

the naus

feeling sick to my stomach, unable to keep anything down. I dismissed it for weeks, chalking it up to anxiety or the toll of running a business on my own. But

decided to vis

fection, or a stomach bug. Something easy to fix, I hoped. The doctor, a cheerful older man with kind eyes, ran a few tests and told me to wait w

beaming as he handed me a sm

ations?" I repeated, thinking he must have been mist

l smiling. "No, you don't have a

fr

at first. Pregnant? I stared at him, my brain refusing to make sense of it. It

,

. The man I could barely remember, the one I had spent a single, reckless night with after watching Nathan betray me with

. I was

. I was carrying the child of a man whose name I didn't even know, a man I could hardly remember beyond his cold, detache

gently placed a hand on my shoulder, his voice soft and reassuring. "It's okay to feel scared. A pregnancy

t the thought of ending the pregnancy-it felt wrong. I couldn't bring myself to even consider it, but at the same time, I did

barely able to meet his eyes, and left the hospital in a daze. The sunlight outside felt harsh, too bright for

t. With a str

all, trying to figure out what I was going to do. I couldn't raise this child on my own. I didn't even know where to

investments and ways to grow the money I had. I couldn't depend on that one payment from the stranger forever, so I poured myself into work, trying to secure a stable future for myself and my unborn child. Slowly, t

xhaustion and the creeping sense of dread that followed me. My belly grew rounder, more obvious with each passing

would make it feel more real, more manageable. The doctor spread the cold gel across my stomach, and the ultrasound machine hum

ny form on the screen. I could see it-the unmistakable image o

as feeling-fear, joy, sadness, all mixed together in a

ble to secure a comfortable life for myself and my baby. But despite the success, there were still dark moments when I felt overwhelmed by everythin

inside of me, and somehow, everything felt a little bit better. I hadn't planned for this, bu

er wasn't in the picture? Would I have to tell him the truth, that he was the result of a one-night stand with a stranger I could barely reme

or him to hear than the truth-that his mother had been betrayed by the man she thought would marry

would find a way to tell him. And maybe, just maybe, by t

hts, when I heard a