He sees. His pen stills.
"I'm keeping the baby," I say.
He stops. Looks at me like I've lost my mind.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm keeping it. I'm not giving it up, I'm not—" My voice breaks. "I'm keeping my baby."
For a long moment, he just stares. Then he laughs. It's not a happy sound.
"Fine. Keep it. Raise a bastard child alone, no husband, no future. See how far that gets you in this world." He turns back to his phone. "But you're doing it at the countryside estate where no one can see our family's shame."
He makes the call. Arranges everything. Doesn't look at me once.
I stand there, hand on my stomach, and realize I'm alone.
More alone than I've ever been.
Axel.
I wish I could call him. Wish I could tell him about the baby, see if he'd—what? Care? Want it? Want me?
He let you walk away.
He did. We agreed this was temporary.
So why does it hurt so much?
I leave for the countryside the next morning.
The estate's two hours away, isolated, surrounded by woods and farmland. It's beautiful in a lonely kind of way.
I'm staying in the guest house. It has three bedrooms, a full kitchen, and a staff of two who only speak to me when needed.
It’s a prison with better furniture.
I unpack my things, set up my laptop, and try not to think about how much I’ve fucked my life over.
I guess I still have to be grateful to my father, because he could have disowned me, thrown me out, or worse still, forced me to terminate this pregnancy.
But here I am, still enjoying little mercies from him.
My phone buzzes.
Chloe: Girl where are you?? You've been MIA.
Tiana: Everything okay? We're worried.
I stare at the messages. Think about telling them. But what would I say?
Hey, remember that silver-haired guy from the club? Yeah, I'm pregnant with his baby, and my dad banished me to the countryside.
No.
Me: Sorry, family stuff. I'm okay. Just settling back in.
Chloe: Bullshit. What's going on?
