Pregnant with the Senator's Son

. Anna sat cross-legged on her bed, the pregnancy test unopened in her trembling hands. The soft glow of her b

dy. The nausea in the mornings. The fatigue that hit like a wall in the afternoons. The subtle changes

tightened ar

e muttered aloud.

onting a reality that c

ents and her afternoon lecture. He had kissed her goodbye with a smile that didn't reach h

need for spotless optics intensified. They had not yet discovered their son's relationsh

enator's wife looked her up and down with polite disdain. The barely veiled warnings from campaign advisor

n blemish on an otherw

now

ed. Inconvenient. Po

bathroom. With mechanical precision, she opened

s had never

in hand, her face blank in the mirror. Her life had officially split into two

. She needed time to think. To breathe. To make decisio

day, she agre

rom his father's shadow. Nathan looked tired. His eyes scanned hers the mo

y?" he asked

the steaming coffee

pregn

o dramatic buildup. Just the

an f

café faded as t

're

. "I took

around the cup. "An

f guard. For a second, she almost forgot

d. "Terrified. Alone. Angry.

er hand. His eyes were clear now. Grounde

ve him. But reality

d quietly. "He'll spin this as a scandal. Say

. "He can try. But I w

her hand a

about image. Power. Appearances. I'm not part of that world, Nath

frustration bloomi

But you're still tied to them. And I'm

glistened from last night's rain. She passed mothers with strollers, couples holding hands, students rushing to class wit

ght her eye. She stared at a cover featuring a smiling baby and a g

she do

orm of political sche

a secret? Or paraded as a mistake th

about h

the underrepresented. Not hide from photographers or att

to her apartment to find

ed. No address

as a pri

al no

and

epresenting the Elri

ds twice, her th

empting to manipulate a political figure. If she did not "c

yes, but she refuse

had

ing Nathan, and already his

ulled out her p

p, her voice trembling with fury. "

sharply. "Anna,

is is real. I'm not some gossip they can pa

oming

ht. I need to

na.

ll you t

hung

ounce of resolve, she

sor once mentioned. A woman known for help

il that would mark the

g, Nathan appea

t didn't

ace-ashen, angry, asha

could speak. "I swear to you, Anna

nd mine don't change the fact that your father i

barely changed. "It's not a

side you're on, Nathan. Because if you stay in tha

ft last night. I told my mother. Told my f

widened.

riend from college. A

ent, neit

ered, "This cha

took her hands. "Let it

t with the lawyer she ha

gal notice, scoffed, and said, "This is intimidation, pu

time in days

just surviv

reparing

just for

he child

efused to let be t

the

reedom to

ter 5 – "An

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