MasukWhat am I hearing? Were the first questions to leave my head. What am I hearing from my mother?
"He's not at home at the moment," Mom continued into the receiver, "And there's no trace of that woman he's cheating on me with. I have three guesses, three women in his circle who look at him with that hungry gaze but I have chosen to let that go for now. He’s so committed to us now. The news of the baby changed everything. It’s fine. As
I waited around the clock for good twenty hours or more before the evening finally came and I finally left my bed, washed up and dressed to go see Ms. Illya. They were all stunned to finally see me stepping out of my room after two weeks of cutting myself away. And I didn't want to speak with anyone as I headed towards the location I was supposed to meet with Ms. Illya. The bar she had chosen was a dim, subterranean spot where the lighting was designed to hide faces and the music was loud enough to swallow whispers. She was already waiting, tucked into a corner booth with a hoodie pulled over her head. She was already sipping an espresso through a straw, her eyes shielded by dark glasses. Even with half her face covered, I could see the toll the last few days had taken. She looked frayed at the edges; my mother’s public shaming and the loss of her career had clearly been rough on her.I slid into the chair next to her, crossing my legs and leaning back. I couldn't say a word at fir
"And where did you get that from?" Brendan didn't flinch. Instead, he took a step closer, his presence looming over the edge of the bed. "If you made me father the baby, yeah, I fathered the baby," he said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous register that sent a chill racing down my spine. "I've been doing a great job being the father to your child, haven't I? I stepped up. I showed up. So, what is it, Aubrey? What is the problem now?""So you knew..." I started, my voice cracking. "You knew the baby isn't yours this entire time, but you still...""I didn't know it wasn't mine the entire time," he interrupted, his eyes flashing with a cocktail of hurt and defiance. He began to pace the small confines of the room, his shadows stretching long against the sterile white walls. "But I got to know. That day at the gala, seeing you with Drake, the way you looked at him, the way he hovered. Your talking with him made it clear enough. You both slept together."He stopped pacing and looke
The slap sent my mind reeling. It was a sharp, stinging shock that seemed to rattle my very teeth, but in that instant, it felt as if a part of my memory or some dormant senses were slapped back into my head. The world, which had been a blur of grief and confusion for days, suddenly snapped into a terrifyingly clear focus. Drake was at my side in a heartbeat, his hands hovering over me, a barrage of "Are you okay?" questions falling from his lips. I paid him no attention. My eyes were locked on the woman standing over me.Mom stood there like a ghost, her chest heaving, her hand still raised in the air and shaking with a residual tremors of violence."It's the truth anyway, isn't it?" I whispered, my voice tasting the blood from where my tooth had scraped my inner lip. I didn't flinch neither could I cry. I just watched her."Aubrey... I didn't mean to hit you... I just..." She stammered
"Oh My God! Aubrey, how can you say that!""Then what do you want me to say? Deny it! Deny that I'm not your child.""Aubrey, what is all this about? I carried you in my womb for nine months and birth you, what are you saying? I know you have a lot on your plate because of what happened two weeks ago but it's now in the past and the baby won't come back and you don't expect me to lose you too."Of course, she doesn't expect to lose me when I'm one of the persons she needs the most at the moment?"Aubrey... where did you even get such a ridiculous idea? What has been happening in this room while I wasn't looking that made you lose your mind along with your child?""I asked one question, Mother," I said, emphasizing the title until it tasted like copper in my mouth. "Am I truly your child? Am I your blood? Yes or no."
"You don't have to be scared when I'm here, Yuna. I'm here Yuna, you don't have to be alone by yourself anymore. I'm here with you and I will be here with you."I sobbed uncontrollably, in ways I’d never done in my entire life, the kind of weeping that leaves your chest feeling like it’s been hollowed out with a rough knife. He didn't flinch. He placed me back into bed and tucked the covers around me as if I were made of glass.For the next several days, he didn't leave my side. He didn't let anyone in to see me, not Mom, not Drake, not the endless stream of concerned gestures from them either. When I woke, he’d feed me himself, the spoon clicking softly against my teeth. He would lay next to me, pulling me into the crook of his arm, not asking questions, not demanding explanations. He was just t
"What..." Were the first words that left my lips, "What did you just say." I said before my head could process anything else. "I'm sorry..." She mouthed and my hands flew to my stomach immediately, desperately searching for the curve that had been there only hours or was it days ago. My palms met a terrifying, hollow flatness. Oh God! For the love of God, my baby is gone! The realization hit me like a physical blow to the chest, stealing the very air from my lungs. I hate myself. I hate myself so much. God, please no.What have I done? What just happened? Why do I feel like my whole life is in a terminal spiral, spinning toward a ground I can’t see? I couldn't tell if I was crying because I couldn't feel that tiny, fluttering life anymore, or because a dark, shameful part of me felt a flicker of relief that the burden was gone. Or was it the guilt of failing to protect something so vulnerable? Or, god forbid, was it because I had finally fulfilled everyone's unspoken wish by losing t







