MasukLydia “I definitely will.” Anna raised an eyebrow. I adjusted the pillows behind me, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. “There’s no way I’m letting go of the chance to stress you out, and I’m certainly not letting those businesses get away with my money.” She burst out laughing. “Your money?” “Yes, my money.” “Lydia, last time I checked, Dave was the one paying.” “Well, technically, it’s Dave’s money, but it’s our money. What’s his is mine.” Anna placed a hand over her chest dramatically. “Ouuuu! I love it. I love the confidence. I can’t wait!” “Neither can I.” “I’m definitely charging Dave for all this, though. Every phone call, every meeting, every little adjustment. I’m sending him an invoice.” “Please do. I’ll approve it.” She laughed, then leaned forward with a mischievous expression. “So, how many babies does Lydia think are in there?” I stared at her. “Anna, I just found out I’m pregnant. I haven’t even wrapped my head around one baby.” “Wel
Lydia“Anna, please.”“No, ma’am. We have a situation.”“We have several situations.”“Well, let’s start with the biggest one. You’re pregnant.”I stared at her.She looked at me expectantly.“And?”“And you don’t have to cancel the wedding because you’re pregnant.”I exhaled.“Anna, you don’t understand. I have so much going on already. The children, work, the wedding, my health. Now there’s a baby. Another baby, Anna. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to manage all of it.”“First of all, breathe.”“I am breathing.”“You’re arguing with me. That’s different.”I rolled my eyes.She continued. “Listen to me. We can figure this out together. It’s not just you. You have Dave, you have me, and you have people who are willing to help. You don’t have to carry every single responsibility on your head.”I looked down at my hands.“But the wedding…”“Can still happen.”“Anna.”“What? Are pregnant women banned from getting married?”I gave her a look.“Of course not, but—”“No buts. We can adj
LydiaI think I must have fallen asleep because the next time I opened my eyes, about thirty minutes had passed.My head was still hurting.Not the sharp, unbearable kind of headache, but a dull, numbing ache that seemed to sit behind my forehead and make even the simplest movement feel exhausting. I blinked a few times, trying to get my bearings, then sank further into the mattress.I was tired again.Honestly, what was wrong with me?I had barely finished wondering when the bedroom door opened.“Daveeee, get out.”I didn’t even bother looking up. I had already made it clear that I wanted to be left alone, and I wasn’t in the mood to repeat myself.Then I heard a voice.One that made me turn my head immediately.“I can actually leave right now.”Anna.For a moment, I simply stared at her.She stood by the doorway with her arms folded, wearing an expression that was equal parts annoyance and amusement. I hadn’t expected to see her. Especially not after the way I’d spoken to her earlie
DaveHonestly, seeing Lydia that distraught hurt me more than I could explain.I stood outside the bedroom for a moment after she shut the door in my face, staring at the wood as though it might suddenly open again and let me in. I could still hear the faint sound of her moving around inside, but I didn’t try the handle.She needed space. I understood that.What I didn’t understand was how to make any of this easier for her.Lydia had been through enough already. The accident, the memory loss, the headaches, the exhaustion, the effort of putting her life back together. She had worked so hard to find her footing again, to rebuild her relationship with the children, to return to work and make plans for our future. And now, just when she was beginning to feel settled, another major change had landed in her lap.A pregnancy.Our pregnancy.I should have been happy. A part of me was, if I was being honest. The thought of having another child with Lydia wasn’t something I would ever conside
LydiaWithin seconds, I heard footsteps approaching.“Babe?”The bathroom door opened, and Dave appeared. He had been in the study working, and judging by how quickly he arrived, my scream must have sounded considerably more alarming than I intended.He looked at me, then at the strip in my hand.“Babe, what’s wrong?”I lifted the pregnancy test.“I’m pregnant.”He froze.For a second, he simply looked at me.Then his expression changed, and he walked towards me.“Wait. You’re pregnant?”I nodded, my eyes fixed on his face.He took the strip from my hand, looked at it and then immediately pulled me into his arms.“Babe…”He hugged me tightly, rubbing my back.But I couldn’t quite settle.I could feel something happening inside me, and it was happening too quickly for me to keep up.I had been fine a few minutes ago. I had been sitting on the bed, thinking about whether I should check the test. Now I was standing in the bathroom with a positive pregnancy test, and suddenly my entire li
Lydia POVThe moment I left Dr Sana’s office, I decided to stop by the pharmacy close to her building.Honestly, I still didn’t believe I was pregnant.Pregnant? Me?I had too many things going on already, and I wasn’t even sure I was mentally prepared to consider the possibility of another baby. But then, why was I arguing with myself about it? Dr Sana had asked me to take a test, and I needed to rule out pregnancy before assuming my tiredness and other symptoms were connected to something else.Besides, I needed to see my doctors. The accident, the headaches, the unusual fatigue and now this. I couldn’t keep dismissing everything as stress.So, pregnancy test it was.I walked into the pharmacy and asked for a pregnancy test strip. The pharmacist handed me one, and I stared at the little packet for a moment.Should I just do it here?I looked around the pharmacy, then at the packet again.No. Absolutely not.I would rather do it in the comfort of my own bathroom, thank you very much.
Lydia POV“You’re getting married to Dave Ashton tomorrow by eight a.m.”Those were the words that ended my life as I knew it.One sentence.One Tuesday evening.One announcement delivered with the same emotional weight my father would have used to ask someone to pass the salt.For a moment, I hone
Bernard stepped in, hands clasped neatly in front of him.“I apologize for disturbing you, ma’am. I came by earlier, but there was no response.”I rubbed my eyes. “I was asleep.”“Yes, ma’am.”He said it so respectfully that I almost felt bad for sounding irritated.Almost.“Would you like dinner?”
Lydia’s POVThe inside of the house was even worse than the outside.Worse, because now I had to physically stand inside it and accept that this was where I was expected to live.The space swallowed me the second I stepped in.The entrance opened into a massive living area with floors so polished I
Lydia I turned.He was standing a few feet away now, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.There was no softness in his face.Just cool detachment.The kind that made the evening breeze feel warmer by comparison.For the first time since he arrived, he looked directly at me and held the







