CHAPTER 01

           "CONGRATULATIONS! You are six weeks pregnant."

           Rome's hands tightened on the armrests after hearing the doctor's announcement. She felt like her stomach turned upside down; she shivered as if her body was submerged in a drum of water full of ice. Her eyes blurred up in a mixture of panic and anxiety.

           Oh, God. Why did her life turn this way? 

           "Are you alright?" 

           She blinked and swallowed the lump in her throat as she stared straight into the doctor’s curious eyes.

         "Why?" she asked in a shaky voice.

         "Why?" the doctor repeated. 

           "Why did this happen to me?" She looked down and ran her fingers through her long, wavy hair. "This shouldn't have happened..."

           She had already suspected the possibility of pregnancy the past few days. She had been waking up in the morning with an upset stomach and was throwing up at midday. Not to mention the lightheadedness that would occur mostly in the afternoons. At first, she thought it was only because of her migraine. But when the symptoms worsened, she decided to schedule an appointment with a doctor. 

         And it was confirmed. She was pregnant. And that was something she did not prepare herself. She remembered taking a pill or two for her migraine— and now she was worried about what she did. 

           What if those pills would affect the development of the baby inside her womb?

           What if...

           Ahhh, shit. That wasn't what she should be worried about now. 

           She should be worried about her parents' reactions; about the whole family's reactions to the news.

           She cupped her head with her hands as she tried her best to stop the tears from streaming down her face. She was too worried she couldn't help but cry. 

           Not only was she worried, but she was also scared of how things would turn out when her whole family learned about the news. 

           Oh, for sure they would disown her! 

           Doctor Hernandez, the doctor who examined her, was about to write down her prescriptions when she noticed that look on her face. 

           "Are you married?" the doctor asked again. 

           She slowly shook her head. 

           "In a relationship, then?"

           Again, she shook her head.

           Doctor Hernandez let out a sigh as she put down the pen on her table. She rested her back on the seat and gazed at her worried face. "How old are you again?"

           "T-Twenty three..."

           "At your age, you should already know about responsible sexual intercourse. If you engaged in unprotected sex, you could either get a disease or conceive a child. You are lucky enough that it wasn't the former.”

           She felt like she was sweating all over. She looked down at the tiled floor as she imagined how her clothes would fly out of the window when her parents learned about her pregnancy. She could already imagine how her mother would yell to the top of her lungs, and how her father would stare at her with disgust in his eyes. Plus the disappointed look on her aunties and older sister's faces.

           Everybody would be very disappointed and hurt once they found out that she was pregnant out of wedlock. The whole family would surely disown her, and that was something she didn’t want to happen.

           She had already caused her family humiliation back when she was still studying. Many times in the past, she gave her parents unimaginable trouble due to her recklessness and immature behavior. They forwent all her mistakes and gave her a chance. Since then, she promised she would fix herself and make them proud. 

         But now, she’s in big trouble. 

           Her parents— her whole family, were all conservative people who took their morality on top of everything. None of them would surely be happy with her pregnancy out of wedlock. 

           But there was nothing she could do anymore. She was having a child, and there was no turning back. Her tummy would eventually pop up in the next two months— and people would start noticing it. And if they did, the whole town would start talking about her and her whole family.

           What would happen to her? What would happen to her whole family?

           Her family had a name and a reputation to protect. They fought for it for years! What right did she have to ruin it? 

         “Here are the vitamins you need for the baby.”

           She raised her head, and her eyes landed on the paper Doctor Hernandez handed to her. She stared at it for a while before taking it from the doctor. The writings on that paper were comprehensive, yet her attention wasn't really there. 

           

           She was thinking about how to resolve her problem without her family disowning her.  

           “You need to start taking care of yourself now that you are carrying a child,” Doctor Hernandez said after a while. “Eat healthily, drink a lot of water, and stay away from stress. Come visit me every first week of the month for a prenatal check-up.”

         She could only nod. 

           Again, the doctor released a deep sigh and asked, "Will you be alright?"

           Would she?

           She didn't know. But she knew she had to be alright for the sake of her baby. 

           "I will... do my best, Doc." She folded the prescription paper and took a long deep breath. “T—Thank you, Doc, I'll go ahead now.” 

           She stood up and turned her back on the doctor. Her knees felt like jelly, her eyes still blurred. S

           he had no idea how she was able to reach the door when her whole body was shivering from many negative emotions and thoughts. 

           Outside of the doctor's office was the reception and waiting area. She walked toward the reception desk and paid the fee. The lady assistant's mouth opened, and she swore she said something to her. But she could not hear any word that came to her mouth; she just stared at the lady blankly with her eyes filled with tears. 

           “Ma’am?” 

         She leaped when the assistant softly touched her hand. She then stared at her face and blinked twice.

       “W—What?”  

           "Are you alright? You look pale, and your forehead is sweating." She gestured her to the sitting area. "Please have a seat for a while, Ma'am. You don't look well and I'm worried you might fall on the floor."

           "I'm... I'm okay," she answered weakly before looking down. "I can carry myself." She then turn her back on the lady and walked toward the door. 

           But before she could even reach the exit door, she stopped on her track when suddenly, the ground she was standing on seemed to shake. 

           Her vision was vague, and it seemed like little stars circulated above her head. 

           She tried to shake her head with the hope of regaining her strength, but she could no longer take it, and she just fell to the floor.

         And before she blacked out, she heard the lady assistant scream for help.

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