This is the end.
I know the results before I even take the test and Kon's going to find my body in the trash bins right next to Calvin's. There's no way they'll let him walk out of here.
Taking the tests, I hide them in my jacket and hurry off to the bathroom, which is thankfully empty when I arrive. It's rather nice, given the homely feel of the bistro, and the tests look alarmingly out of place on the warm oak counter next to the baby blue sink.
This is it.
Maybe I should call Kon and tell him the truth so he hears it from me before he finds my body. Maybe some small part of him would rush over here to try and save me.
Doubtful.
After everything he's done, including his groveling apology, there's no way he'll look at me the same when he finds out my entire time with him has been built on a lie and a trap.
The memory of his lips on my skin, his whispers in my ear, and the warmth of his embrace linger in my mind as I take the firsttest on autopilot. I set it aside and take another one on autopilot, then busy myself with washing my hands.
I want to go back to when we were in the bath. Everything there was warm and safe, and Kon was so tender as he washed my hair and made me feel like I was something so incredibly precious to him. I want to hear him tell me he's obsessed with me just one last time, want to feel his lips on mine just once more before?—
Pregnant.
The words on the first test glare up at me from the tiny screen, derailing my wandering train of thought, and my heart lurches so violently that I jolt where I stand.
Pregnant?
No.
No, there has to be some kind of mistake. I'm not pregnant. I'm not.
But the second test says the exact same.
Oh no.
No, no, no!
I can't be pregnant. I can't be! Not now. Not after everything.
My trembling hands rise and cover my mouth as fear collides with excitement in my chest and a sharp, trembling ache swarms my body.
I'm pregnant.
No fucking way.
Kon's infertile, so this can't be real, can it?
There must be something wrong with the tests.
Then again, Kon told me that it was possible, it was just extremely rare for natural conception.
Somehow, against all the odds, it's worked.
One hand drops to press over my abdomen and I turn to look at myself in the mirror.
My skin is flushed despite not feeling any heat, and tears swim in my eyes that I didn't even notice until I blink.
They roll down my cheeks and my breath catches in my throat.
This is it.
This is what we were working toward. With this, I can save my family, rescue my mother and my sister, and free my father from his debt.
