NoahI couldn't believe this woman. How dare she keep ruining my life at every turn? Standing there, Clara looked so composed, so smug. It took every ounce of willpower not to scream in her face.But I couldn't afford to make a scene. Especially on my first day at my new job. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grace sitting at her desk, glancing toward the office. She was probably aware that something wasn’t right.I had to handle this with control. Keep my cool.“How dare you?” I hissed quietly through clenched teeth. “You’ve got some nerve, sending me that video and then showing up here—at my new job, no less. What exactly are you trying to achieve, Clara? What's your endgame?”She tilted her head slightly, a fake look of concern washing over her face. Her eyes glimmered with something dark and calculating beneath the surface. “Noah,” she said, her voice soft and sugar-coated, “we women need to look out for each other.” She took a step into the room and gently shut the door behind
NoahBy the time I stepped into the penthouse, I felt awful. A deep, gnawing nausea churned in my stomach, growing more intense with each passing minute. I couldn’t tell if my body was reacting to the thought of facing Raymond again, or if it was something more tangible. The seafood I had for lunch replayed in my mind—had it been off? I stumbled to the couch. My head was spinning, my breath shaky.I forced myself to nibble on some light snacks, hoping it would settle my stomach. To my relief, the nausea eased up slightly. Exhaustion was weighing me down. I crawled into bed early, desperate for rest.But the night was far from peaceful.The next morning, I woke up with a jolt. A violent wave of nausea hit me like a truck. I barely made it to the bathroom before throwing up. My body shuddered as I leaned over the sink, groaning. This can’t be happening right now. Food poisoning? The timing couldn’t be worse. I had work to do, and I couldn’t afford to be out sick.I splashed cold water
Noah“No, that can’t be… I can’t be pregnant.”But even as I said the words, something inside me shifted. The constant nausea, the exhaustion, the strange emotions I had been feeling—it all started to make sense.Grace smiled knowingly. “You’ll know soon enough, miss Noah. I’ve seen it happen enough times to recognize the signs.”I shook my head, trying to keep the panic from rising in my chest. This can’t be happening. Not now. Not like this. My mind raced, frantically trying to calculate the possibilities. But deep down, I knew. Grace was right.I wasn’t ready for this. Not with everything that had been happening. My shaky marriage to Raymond, the looming question of whether we even had a future together—how could I bring a child into this chaos?Grace must have sensed my panic. “Can I get you a test from the store?” she offered. I knew she was trying to be helpful, but the weight of her words felt suffocating.I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “N-no thank you, Grace. I, uh… I just ne
NoahI placed a hesitant hand on Clara’s shoulder. My touch was awkward, uncertain. “I miss Owen too… your brother was a good man.”The words felt strange coming out of my mouth. Comforting the woman who had played such a large role in wrecking my marriage? The irony wasn’t lost on me. But as I looked into her tearful eyes, that looked so much like her brother’s, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy. She had no family left. And despite everything, I knew what that kind of loneliness felt like.Clara turned to me with a trembling smile, tears clinging to her lashes. “Thank you for coming with me, Noah. It means more than you know.”I nodded, managing a small smile in return. There were no words that felt right in that moment. She had caused me so much pain. But standing here in the graveyard, with Owen’s memory between us, the bitterness faded just a little.As we walked back toward the car, the silence between us stretched. We passed a weathered bench, perched on the cliffside with a bre
NoahI sat there, on the cold bathroom floor, staring at the test. The seconds felt like hours as I waited for the result to appear. My heart was thudding so loudly it drowned out everything else. Slowly, tantalizingly, two lines materialized.Two lines.Pregnant.My hand dropped limply to my side. The test slipped from my fingers and clattered to the tiled floor. This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be happening. But there it was, clear as day. No denying it now.I reached for another test, and then another, frantically hoping that maybe it had been a mistake, a false positive. Anything but the truth staring back at me. But they were all the same—each confirming what I was too terrified to accept.“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” I whispered, my voice barely audible as my breathing quickened. The walls of the bathroom felt like they were closing in on me. My chest was tightening with the weight of this new reality.I tried to steady my breath. But panic continued to rise, threatening to pull m
NoahA week passed, but it felt like I was drifting through time in a haze. I hadn’t told anyone about the appointment. Not Cassandra, not even my mother. The weight of the decision loomed over me like a dark cloud I couldn’t escape.By the time I arrived at the clinic, my hands were shaking. The sound of my own heartbeat was thunderous in my ears. The waiting room was quiet. The walls were a pale, clinical white. A few women sat scattered around. Their faces were downcast, their eyes fixed on magazines they weren’t really reading. I took a seat, wrapping my coat tighter around me as if it could shield me from everything that was about to happen.“Noah?” a soft voice called my name.I looked up to see a kind-looking gynecologist standing in the doorway. A young woman with warm brown eyes and a gentle smile. Her presence should’ve been comforting. But it only made me more aware of the gravity of what I was about to do.“Let’s have a look, shall we?” she said once we were inside the ex
NoahShould I answer? My thumb hovered over the screen, indecision swirling through me like a storm. Raymond had respected my wish for space. He hadn’t tried to contact me for weeks. So why now? My heart pounded, and my mind immediately jumped to Neil. What if something had happened to him?I swallowed hard and finally pressed the button, raising the phone to my ear. "H-hello?" My voice came out shaky, betraying the emotions I tried to suppress.“Noah, hi.” His voice was calm, but there was an underlying tension I couldn’t place.There was a long pause, filled only with the distant sound of traffic and my heartbeat thudding in my ears. I clenched my free hand, waiting for him to speak, my pulse racing with dread.“Is everything okay?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.“Yeah, uh... I just opened the mail and saw Simon and Cassandra’s wedding invitation.”I blinked, surprised by the turn in the conversation. That was what this was about? “Oh,” I said, not sure what to make of it.
NoahI sprinted up the stairs. My heart was pounding in my chest, dread curling in my stomach. “Neil, are you okay?!” My voice echoed off the walls, sharp with panic. “Who’s there?”A dozen scenarios raced through my mind. Could it be my mother again, making one of her surprise visits? She had a habit of appearing unannounced. But something in my gut told me this wasn’t her. The air was thick with a tension that chilled me to the bone.Almost at the top of the stairs, I heard it—a voice, familiar yet unexpected.“Hey, Neil!”It was soft, sugary. The kind of voice that felt out of place here, in my sanctuary.“Auntie Clara! You gave me such a fright!” Neil’s excited voice cut through the tension.Clara.My pulse quickened. My hands curled into fists at my sides as I reached the landing. What the hell was she doing here, showing up at my home uninvited?I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before turning the corner. When I finally stepped into the hallway, I saw her standing by th