Chapter 37

The room was quiet. Still. The kind of stillness that made you aware of your own heartbeat. My voice hung in the air, suspended in disbelief, like it had no business being there.

"Mom, I’m pregnant."

It was the first time I had said it aloud to someone who truly mattered. Not Max. Not Drew. Not even Miriam. Just my mom, the one person who had known me since I first existed.

She didn’t respond immediately.

Her fingers, still gently wrapped around mine, twitched slightly, and I could see the storm gathering in her eyes. But she didn’t yell. She didn’t flinch. She just blinked, long and slow, as though she was waiting for the weight of what I said to land properly.

“Pregnant?” she repeated quietly, as though the word had betrayed her.

I nodded.

Her eyes moved slowly over me, down to the oversized shirt I was wearing, as though she was seeing me for the first time since arriving. As though now, the pieces were starting to make sense.

“How far along are you?”

I hesitated. “About three months.”

Her brows lifted slightly. “Three months?”

I bit my lip. “Yes.”

“Three months Lila and you kept it away from me.” I could see the disappointment in her face but it wasn't because of the fact that I was pregnant. It was because I had kept it away from her.

My mom was literally my best friend, the first person I would confide in about any issue, but I kept something as important as this away from her. I would understand if she wanted to yell at me or got angry.

She pulled her hands back and leaned against the couch. The silence that followed felt heavier than anything I’d ever known. My heart thundered in my chest as I waited, bracing myself for anger, for questions I wasn’t ready to answer.

But none of that came.

Instead, she let out a long, exhausted sigh and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Lila…”

That broke me.

Tears sprang to my eyes again, uninvited, hot and thick. “I didn’t mean for it to happen,” I said softly. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

She looked at me then. And her eyes… they weren’t angry. They were sad. Concerned. She reached for my hand again, her grip firmer this time. “Who’s the father?”

My head snapped up. “What?”

“The father. Is it someone I know?”

I shook my head immediately. “No. No, you don't know him.”

Her brows furrowed. “Then who?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Saying his name still tasted like fear. Like regret.

“It’s… complicated.”

“Lila,” her voice was calm, but firm. “You’re my daughter. And you’re telling me you’re carrying a child. I deserve to know at least who the father is.”

I swallowed. Hard. Then whispered, “Drew Sinclair. My boss.”

Her hand stiffened slightly in mine.

“Your boss?” she asked in a half whisper.

“Yes.”

She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly again. Then rubbed her temples like she was trying to process the impossibility of it all.

I felt like a child again. A reckless, foolish little girl who had gotten herself in trouble and came running home. Except I wasn’t a child. I was an adult woman with a baby growing inside her and an entire world spinning out of control around her.

She was quiet for another long moment. Then she spoke.

“Does he know?”

I shook my head. “No. The only person that knows asides you is Max, my friend from college, I don't know if you remember him. And he’s… offered to take responsibility.”

The shock on her face deepened. “But he’s not the father?”

“No.”

“And you’re letting him…?”

I looked down at our joined hands. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Mom. I really don’t.”

Her thumb brushed gently across my knuckles. “Then tell me everything.”

And so, I did.

Every detail.

From the moment I started working at the company to the unexpected connection with Drew. The night at his house. The morning after. The test. The fear. Max finding out. His sudden interest. My decision to let Max in before finding out he was hiding something. Everything.

She didn’t interrupt once.

Just listened. Her face shifted with every new revelation, shock, concern, confusion, pain. But she never pulled away.

When I finished, I felt emptied. Like I’d just poured my soul out and left it bare on the table between us.

And still, she held my hand.

“I don’t know who to trust anymore,” I said quietly. “Max is hiding something. Drew is distant and hurting. And I’m just… stuck.”

My mom reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Sweetheart, this is a lot. For anyone. But you’re not alone.”

“I feel alone,” I whispered.

“Well, you’re not. Not as long as I’m alive.” She smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re my child. And now, you have a child growing in you. That makes you stronger than you think.”

I looked down at my stomach, still mostly flat but no longer completely hidden. “What do I do?”

She squeezed my hand. “First, you breathe. Then, you stop blaming yourself. You didn’t do anything unforgivable. You’re not broken. You’re human.”

“But how do I move forward?”

Her expression turned serious. “That depends. Do you love either of them?”

The question slapped me harder than I expected.

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t know.

Not fully.

Not yet.

“I just want peace,” I said finally.

“And you’ll find it,” she replied softly. “Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But it will come. And when it does, you’ll know what to do.”

We sat like that for a while longer, the silence now comforting instead of crushing.

Eventually, she leaned back and wiped her eyes. “Now, I understand why you’ve been acting strange all day. I knew something was off. And thank God you were wearing this oversized shirt, or else I might have fainted at the door.”

We both laughed, soft, fragile laughter, but laughter nonetheless.

“Will you stay with me for a while?” I asked.

She nodded. “Of course. As long as you need me.”

The relief that rushed through me was overwhelming. I felt like I could breathe again.

“I’m going to take a quick nap,” she said, stretching. “You drained me with all that emotion.”

“Sorry,” I said with a small smile.

She kissed my forehead. “Don’t be. I’m proud of you, even now. And yes, we will have to inform your father about this development, it won't be nice to keep him in the dark any longer. I know you probably feel like you've disappointed us and maybe that's why you didn’t say anything but I want you to know that your father and I love you so much and will never cast you away no matter what.”

And just like that, she disappeared into the guest room.

I couldn't be more grateful for my parents, the storm I was so scared of dissolved into oblivion. I knew this was going to hurt them but at least I'm sure of their support and love and this little child growing inside me was going to be raised with so much love from my parents.

The weight of our conversation was still settling into my bones. I was still scared. Still uncertain.

But I wasn’t alone anymore.

And that, for now, was enough.

I glanced at my phone. Missed calls from Max. A message from Miriam asking if I was okay because I didn't turn up at work. Nothing from Drew.

And yet, somehow, his silence screamed the loudest.

I turned the phone face down.

I wasn’t ready to face any of them yet.

My mother knew and we are going to tell my dad about it together. Everything, the whole chaos now felt a little less consuming

I didn't feel like I was going to drown.

Not anymore.