THE SECRET

EVE

I knew I was going to regret my decision, but I had to do it, I needed to proof something to Ian, I wanted to go against his wish, I wanted to let him know that he couldn’t control and manipulate me anymore.

Getting rid of the pregnancy was going to be the end of our relationship, knowing that he was lying the whole time, hurt me so much.

If the incident with Noah hadn’t happened I would have probably still been used by him.

This pregnancy was the only connection I had with Ian, I knew he wasn’t who I thought he was but at the back of my mind, I wished it could change everything, make him realize that he really wanted me.

A girl could only wish…

I was going to take control of my life for once and I wasn’t going to back down.

Days went back, weeks went by and I didn’t hear from Ian after our last conversation, he never called back to explain what I heard over the phone.

He was probably having fun in Paris with the other lady.

The pregnancy symptoms started kicking in faster than I expected, Noah was back and I planned to keep the pregnancy a secret till I couldn’t and it would be too late to get rid of it.

Noah got a new phone for me so I was back online, I tried so hard not to check Ian’s socials. I kept myself busy with searching, “how to hide a pregnancy, foods to avoid while being pregnant.”

I knew I needed to go to the hospital to get a scan and know how the baby was doing, but I’ll get caught sooner than I planned.

I went shopping, got new clothes, free gowns, hoodies, joggers and anything that would help me hide my pregnancy from Noah.

Agatha came around regularly, she was beginning to stay longer than she used to since Noah came back, or maybe I was making assumptions.

At least I was glad I had my best friend with me. She tried to convince me everyday to get rid of the pregnancy or tell Noah. I glared at her and she never brought it up again.

“I think Ian is back in town.” Agatha told me casually while we sat on the sofa watching love island, “hmm,” I replied acting uninterested. Meanwhile a lot of thoughts were running through my head.

He was back after two months, he never reached out to me, or called to ask how I was after the abortion I claimed to have done or even explain what I heard over the phone.

I don’t know why I was still so hung up over these things, I didn’t want to admit it but it hurt like hell.

I was going to confront Ian but when he least expects it. If he finds out right now, he might force me to get rid of the pregnancy and I wasn’t going to do that.

I just had to wait a little longer.

My phone rang as soon as I left the shower, “hello,” I said waiting for a response but the other line was quite and I could only hear the intake of breath from the other person, it sounded like a man. “I think you’ve got a wrong number.” I said and hung up.

Weird.

I just changed my number so no other person has this number except Noah, my parents and Agatha.

I couldn’t shake off the weird feeling, I had to text Agatha.

“Did you give out my number to anyone?”

She replied almost immediately, “why would I? I didn’t. Why do you ask though?”

“I received a call from an unknown number, but the other side of the call was silent except for the person’s intake of breath, I could tell that it was a man.”

“Weird…”

I waited, but she didn’t say anything else.

Maybe I was overthinking.

I tried to shake it off, but the silence on that call gnawed at me.

I felt like it wasn’t just some random number, like someone was watching me, I couldn’t shake off the feeling.

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

Every creak in the house, every gust of wind against the windows made me sit upright. I hated how vulnerable I felt.

If Noah noticed my restlessness, he didn’t say a word. He had been unusually quiet since he came back, buried in calls, and slipping out at odd hours.

The secrecy in this house was suffocating.

Noah’s. Mine. Ian’s.

The next morning, while folding laundry, I noticed something that made my heart stutter my phone screen lit up with a notification: “SIM card changed detected. Some features may be unavailable.”

But I hadn’t touched my SIM. My phone was in my pocket the whole time.

I began to panic, had someone cloned my number? Or worse, hacked into my phone?

I quickly checked my messages, my call log. Everything looked normal. Too normal.

I took a deep breath and placed the phone face-down, maybe I was over reacting, maybe it was the pregnancy symptoms.

I couldn’t let Noah suspect anything. He’d tear my world apart if he found out, and Ian… well, Ian would make sure this pregnancy never saw daylight.

Agatha noticed my unease when she came by later that evening.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said, looking at me as she unwrapped a chocolate bar.

“Maybe I have,” I muttered, pulling my hoodie tighter.

She frowned. “Eve, you’re scaring me. You need to stop bottling things up. Secrets don’t stay secrets forever.”

I shot her a sharp look. “Neither do lies. And everyone around me seems pretty good at those.”

Agatha didn’t press further, but her eyes lingered on me, filled with questions she didn’t dare ask.

That night, when I finally drifted into sleep, I dreamt of Ian. His face, blurred in shadows. In a cold and commanding tone, he said. “You can’t hide from me, Eve. I always find what’s mine.”

I woke up drenched in sweat, clutching my belly.

The line between paranoia and reality was starting to blur, and deep down, I knew one thing for certain this secret wouldn’t stay buried for long.