Chapter 5: A Call From The Past

Bella's POV

Cole had left for the office, and I had lied to him that I would be returning to mine when he asked. But instead, after he left, I ran to the bathroom, sitting there longer than I realized, perched on the closed lid of the toilet seat, staring at the floor. My fingers twisted together in my lap. I was restless.

I still couldn't believe that I was pregnant. I wanted to deny it. For years, I'd carried the shame of being barren on my shoulders. Eric's family had blamed me, and I had judged myself. And now, suddenly, as if fate decided to mock me, I was carrying a life inside me, but it wasn't for Cole. And that was what made this worse.

I closed my eyes, inhaling slowly, but the air was suffocating. I pressed my hand against my stomach, fingers trembling. For seven months, I had carried a child I hadn't known existed until days ago. A secret that could destroy the one shred of happiness I had managed to build.

Cole didn't want children. He had told me that himself. Months ago, when I confessed to him that I could never conceive, that I was broken, he had smiled and kissed my forehead.

'Good," he said softly. "Because I don't want kids anyway. I just want you."

It was Cole's acceptance that had healed me and made me believe I was enough. But now? I carried the one thing he had never wanted. The child of another man.

I was going to cry, but I swallowed them down. I couldn't afford to cry because crying wouldn't change anything. Then, a soft knock pulled me away from my thoughts.

"Mrs. Warren?" Martha called. Her voice came in gently through the door.

I inhaled, wiped quickly at my eyes, and stood. When I opened the door, Martha's kind face appeared. Her hair was pulled neatly into a bun.

"Are you all right, dear?" she asked. Her voice was that soothing maternal edge I had always longed for. "I didn't see you at breakfast. Shall I have something brought up to your room?"

I shook my head quickly. "No thanks, Martha. But I'm not hungry."

Her brow furrowed, and she set her tray aside on a nearby table. "That doesn't sound like you. You've barely eaten since you fainted and were taken to the hospital."

"I just..." I trailed off, my throat suddenly too tight for me to explain.

Martha stepped closer. She studied me with her eyes. Looking at me more than I wanted her to. "Something's wrong. I can see it all over your face, dear."

I laughed bitterly. "Something's wrong, all right." I turned my gaze to the floor, unable to look her in the eyes. "I'm thinking of... aborting this baby."

Martha froze, as if I'd slapped her. The silence felt so thick I wanted to take my words back, swallow them, pretend I hadn't said them. But it was too late.

Her voice broke softly. Her voice trembled. "You... you can't mean that, dear."

I looked up then, meeting her horrified gaze. "What other choice do I have, Martha? My husband doesn't want children. I told him I couldn't have any, and he was happy about it. He married me, knowing that I couldn't bear children. And now—" My voice cracked. "Now, Martha, I'm pregnant with another man's child. How am I supposed to explain that?"

She clasped her hands over her chest, shaking her head. "Bella, listen to yourself. That's still your child. A living piece of you. A miracle you never thought you'd have. How can you even think of... ending it?"

My lips quivered. "Because it will ruin everything. Martha, I've just started over. I've built this life, my company, this marriage with Cole. He trusts me, he believes in me. If he finds out about this, about this baby being my ex-husband's, he will hate me. He'll leave."

'He loves you," Martha said as she stepped closer. "And love, true love, doesn't shatter that easily. He deserved the truth, Bella. He deserves to know what's happening."

I wrapped my arms around myself, rocking slightly. "The truth must never see the daylight, Martha. That truth will destroy us. I know it. I feel it. I can't..." I let out a strangled laugh. "I can't lose everything again. I don't know if I will survive it this time."

Martha's eyes softened. "Do you really think this child is here by accident? You called yourself barren for years, and you believed you could never conceive. And yet here this little one is, fighting to live inside you. Maybe, just maybe, this is God's way of telling you that you were never broken. That it was never your fault, and that you were always capable of life."

I shook my head violently. "Don't say that. Please don't say that. You don't know what you're asking of me. You don't know the risk."

"I know enough," Martha whispered. "And I know that if you throw this child away, you will regret it for the rest of your life. More than you ever regretted your marriage to Eric. More than anything."

My heart thundered in my chest.

"Please, Bella," she reached out for me. "Just think about it. Regardless of everything I've just said. You alone know what's best for you."

My lips opened to speak, but before I could say anything, just then, my phone buzzed on the table, interrupting me. I froze, staring at the screen. It was an unsaved number.

Martha glanced at it too. "Are you going to answer? Or would you let me take that for you?"

"No... no. I will," I shook my head. My throat tightened as I slowly picked it up and pressed it to my ear.

"Hello?" I said in a cautious and uncertain tone.

The person on the other end was silent for a while, and then...

"Bella."

My entire body froze. I recognized that voice.

"Eric?" My breath caught.

'Yes. It's me," he answered. "I'm so happy you remembered my voice."

My grip on the phone trembled. "Why are you calling me? How did you get this number?"

He chuckled softly. "I have my ways. You should know that by now."

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't.

Then he spoke again. "I know, Bella. I know about the baby. Our baby."

My eyes darted to Martha, who was watching me with wide, worried eyes. I pressed my free hand against my stomach as if he could see through the phone.

"You're wrong," I whispered. 'You don't know anything."

"Oh, I know enough," Eric said. "Seven months, isn't it? Seven months pregnant. And we both know what that means."

My knees weakened, and I leaned against the wall. "Eric, you better..."

"I'll be coming for you, Bella," he interrupted. "And for my baby."

The line went dead. I stood frozen, phone still pressed to my ear.

Martha's voice broke through faintly. "Bella... what did he say?"

But I couldn't answer. Was my world already shattering again?