Chapter: Chapter 15“Do you think I’m crazy for keeping this baby?” I whispered to my reflection in the mirror, my palms pressing gently against the small curve of my stomach. My voice trembled, carried away by the faint hum of the bathroom fan. The fluorescent bulb above flickered, casting uncertain light across my tired face.“Everyone keeps saying there’s still time to… to get rid of it.” My throat tightened around the words. “But I can’t. I won’t.”The woman staring back at me didn’t look like the version of me I remembered. Her hair was slightly messy, her eyes ringed with exhaustion, but behind that weariness was something stronger—something fierce and new. Determination.For a moment, I just stared, searching for traces of the girl who once cried herself to sleep, the one who felt abandoned, unwanted, and broken. But she was fading now. In her place was someone braver, someone who refused to let pain dictate her story anymore.I let out a shaky breath. “No,” I whispered. “This child is my strength
Last Updated: 2025-10-19
Chapter: Chapter 14“I don’t care what anyone says,” I whispered into the empty room, hugging my knees to my chest. “Nobody should blame me for what I’m going through.”The silence answered me back, cold and still. I wasn’t talking to anyone, but saying it aloud made it feel like someone might finally understand.“I had sex with a man I met for the first time,” I said again, louder this time. “And I don’t regret it.”I paused, letting the weight of my own confession settle in the air.“Do you even know what it means to be married for two whole years and never enjoy sex? Two years!” I stood up suddenly, pacing the room barefoot, my voice rising with each step. “I was supposed to be a wife, not a statue. I felt nothing. Just cold sheets and fake moans. Nothing real.”I stopped by the window, staring out at the dark sky. A soft wind blew against the glass, like the world outside was listening to me.“But that one night… that one moment with someone I barely knew… it felt different,” I whispered, voice crack
Last Updated: 2025-08-02
Chapter: Chapter 13“I Think I Know Who the Father Is…”“I’m sorry, what did you say?” My boss's voice snapped me back to reality.I blinked, realizing I must’ve said something out loud without knowing. “It’s nothing,” I said quickly, forcing a weak smile. It didn’t even touch my lips, let alone my heart. “I’ve just been… tired.”He leaned forward across his desk, his brows creased with concern. “You’ve missed two deadlines this week, and the last proposal you submitted ended on page two. That’s not you, Melinda,”I looked down at my hands resting in my lap, fingers nervously twisting the ring I no longer wore. “It won’t happen again,” I muttered.There was a pause.Then a soft sigh. “Look, if you need a few days—take them. Seriously. I’d rather have you back focused than burnt out and struggling.”I nodded once, barely hearing the words. “Thanks,” I murmured, standing up like a puppet being pulled by strings. “I’ll be fine.”“Just remember, you don’t have to carry everything alone,” he said as I turned
Last Updated: 2025-07-27
Chapter: Chapter 12My eyes stared blankly at the ceiling as the dim light from the hallway flickered across the wall—like a ghost creeping in and out of my thoughts. My heart beat in uneven rhythms, like it was trying to keep pace with my fears. The air in the room felt heavy, thick, and cruel. I pulled the blanket tighter around my body, hoping to find comfort, but nothing—absolutely nothing—could warm the coldness inside me.How do you even breathe again when you’re trying to run from your painful past, but life isn’t done with you yet?I didn’t mean to cry again.But the moment I looked at the test result, the tears broke loose—like water crashing through a dam.Pregnant.Just one word. Eight letters. But it cracked something deep inside me.I sat at the edge of the bed, gripping the paper so tightly that my knuckles turned white. My body felt distant, like it didn’t belong to me anymore—numb, trembling, and cold, even though the fan was off and every window was shut.“No,” I whispered. “This can’t b
Last Updated: 2025-07-22
Chapter: Chapter 11The doctor’s lips pressed together, and somehow, I found myself holding my breath too. His eyes stayed fixed on the result in his hand, and his expression didn’t help the tight knot forming in my chest.My heart was pounding, but I sat still, trying not to panic.He looked up slowly, his face unreadable.“The result is out,” he said.I gave him a nervous nod. My fingers curled tightly around my handbag resting on my lap.He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Miss Melinda… according to the test result, you’re pregnant.”I blinked at him.“Pregnant?” I repeated, like I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly.“Yes,” he replied gently.I just stared at him. My lips parted, but no words came out. I didn’t even know what I was feeling. My chest felt heavy, like someone had just dropped a rock inside it.The doctor tilted his head. “Miss, are you alright?”I nodded too quickly. “Yes, I’m… I’m fine.” I paused, then asked in a small voice, “Please… how long?”He glanced at the paper again. “You’re
Last Updated: 2025-07-19
Chapter: Chapter 10I didn’t sleep a wink.My eyes were open the whole night, staring into the darkness, praying that Google had lied to me.Every time I blinked, I saw the search results again.“Can stress course fatigue. Dizziness. Sore breasts. Nausea.”The words danced in my brain like neon signs, refusing to fade. I shut my eyes tight, wishing I could shut my mind too.“It’s just stress,” I whispered for the hundredth time, hugging my pillow like it could save me. “It has to be.”I could still hear the faint humming of the fridge in the kitchen, the ticking wall clock above the wardrobe, and the restless sighs I released every five minutes. Time didn’t move. Neither did I.The weeks had been brutal—late nights, tight deadlines, no rest. That had to be the reason I felt like this. Not… not what Google suggested.No, it couldn't be that.By morning, my head was heavy, my stomach twisted, but I got up anyway. The alarm buzzed half-heartedly beside me, but I was already sitting up. I had been up all nig
Last Updated: 2025-07-18
Chapter: Chapter 50The evening sky over the city bled into shades of bruised purple as if the world itself mirrored Derrick’s turmoil. From the thirty-second floor of his sleek glass tower, Derrick sat behind his mahogany desk, alone, the skyline stretching endlessly behind him, glittering as if nothing had changed.But everything had.The office lights were dimmed, casting long shadows on the floor. His fingers tapped the armrest of his leather chair, steady but tense. In his other hand, he clutched a whiskey tumbler, the amber liquid untouched. It had gone warm hours ago—just like the trust that once warmed his heart.The door opened quietly with a soft click.Jerome stepped in, his expression tight, a file tucked under his arm. His suit jacket was wrinkled, his tie pulled loose. "They took the bait, sir."Derrick didn’t move. “When?”“Less than an hour ago. Surveillance caught Jackson and Olivia entering the perimeter of Celine’s neighborhood. They parked three houses down and walked the rest of the
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
Chapter: Chapter 49The sky outside was gray, heavy with the promise of rain. It matched the heaviness in my chest. I sat in the living room, gently rocking Elora in my arms. She had finally dozed off after a long, fussy afternoon. Her tiny breaths were warm against my neck, her fingers curled tightly around the edge of my shirt like she never wanted to let go. I didn’t blame her. Some days, I didn’t want to let go either.Dr. Maya had left a few hours ago to attend to an emergency at the hospital. She promised to return before nightfall. I had smiled and waved her off, thinking the solitude would do me some good.Or at least I thought I didn’t mind being alone.But now, the silence in the house felt too loud.I had just laid Elora in her crib, pulling a soft blanket up to her chest, when a knock echoed through the quiet house.Three slow knocks.Firm.Not like Maya.I froze, my hands instinctively going to my chest as if I could steady the sudden pounding of my heart. My eyes darted to the clock on the
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
Chapter: Chapter 48 The early afternoon light filtered through the blinds in Derrick’s office, casting striped shadows across the floor. He didn’t notice the sun. His eyes were fixed on the files spread across his desk, each page a whisper of betrayal, each photo a piece of the puzzle slowly taking shape.“Sir,” Jerome said as he walked in, shutting the door behind him. He held a tablet in one hand and a small folder in the other. “We found something.”Derrick looked up. “Go ahead.”Jerome placed the tablet on the table and swiped through a few images. “Do you remember Evis James ? Former board member. Forced to retire three months ago after that audit flagged him for mismanagement?”“Yes,” Derrick said slowly. “He claimed it was a health issue, but something didn’t sit right.”Jerome nodded. “We looked into his financials again. His personal accounts were clean. But he started receiving regular deposits into a separate offshore account last year. The payments stopped one week after he was removed.”“Whe
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
Chapter: Chapter 47The sky was still dark when Derrick stepped into the boardroom again. Outside, the city was asleep, its lights scattered like dying stars in the distance. Inside, the room buzzed with quiet urgency.A few of his top executives were already there—Vivian from Finance, Linda from PR, Jerome, and two IT specialists huddled over laptops and printouts. No one spoke more than necessary. They had worked through the night, driven not just by fear of collapse, but by something deeper—loyalty. Loyalty to a man who had built the company from the ground up. Loyalty to the storm he was now standing in alone.Jerome walked in, balancing a tray of steaming coffee cups. His eyes looked heavier than usual, his shirt wrinkled at the collar.“Sir,” he said, placing a cup near Derrick. “The forensics team found something.”Derrick didn’t sit. His eyes scanned the tired faces around the table. “Talk to me.”Vivian looked up, fingers still resting on the trackpad of her laptop. She turned the screen around
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
Chapter: Chapter 46The elevator doors opened with a sharp ding, and Derrick stepped into the top floor of his company’s headquarters. His polished black shoes echoed against the cold marble floor as he walked past the empty reception desk. The air smelled faintly of fresh paint and old decisions. Something felt different—colder. As if the building itself sensed betrayal.His sharp eyes narrowed.Where was everyone?“Sir!” Jerome’s voice cut through the silence. He appeared from the hallway, slightly breathless, holding a tablet and a sheaf of printed reports. His face looked paler than usual, beads of sweat forming around his collar.“They’re all waiting in the boardroom.”Derrick didn’t stop walking. “Who?”“Everyone—Finance, Legal, PR, Operations. They’ve been calling nonstop.”Derrick gave a small nod and pushed open the large glass doors of the boardroom.Every head in the room turned at once. The room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.Tense faces. Stiff postures. Eyes full of fear and uncerta
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
Chapter: Chapter 45The room was still.The soft hum of the air conditioner and the rhythmic beeping from Elora’s monitor were the only sounds filling the heavy silence. I sat hunched over the edge of the crib, brushing her fragile hand with my thumb, while Derrick sat a few feet away by the window, motionless, like a shadow carved into the chair.We hadn’t spoken since he came in.I could feel his presence in the room—strong and cold, like a storm waiting behind closed doors—but I didn’t dare look at him. I didn’t trust my voice not to break. And I didn’t know which of us would shatter first if we tried to speak.I should have hated him. After everything. After how he’d turned away. After how he left me to carry this alone.But right now, I couldn’t afford to feel anything except hope.Hope for Elora.Hope that her little heart would keep fighting.Minutes passed. Or maybe hours. It was hard to tell anymore. My body was stiff, my eyes heavy, but I refused to move. I couldn’t—not while she looked like th
Last Updated: 2025-10-21
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