Tom and I make love several more times after dinner. He’s insatiable but then again, so am I. I want him so much, and I’ve never felt this way before. It’s not just the way he knows exactly what I need, but also the way he talks to me and makes me laugh. The way he runs his hands over my body and tells me how beautiful I am. He makes me feel complete, and like I deserve happiness.I know this is totally bonkers because we just met. Again, he could have an extensive criminal record, and I wouldn’t know. But something in me tells me that it’s not true. Sure, Jonathan can be domineering, especially when he’s throwing me around on the mattress, but he’s also a softie too. Only a man with a sensitive side would cook up omelets and watch with satisfaction as I wolfed them down like a hungry hippo.Now, I watch him sleep, still blown away by how sexy he is. I run my hand over his chest, feeling the muscle there and smiling as his skin erupts into goose bumps at my touch. Contentment runs th

One month later.There’s a knock on my door, which startles me. I wearily drag myself off the couch and trudge to answer it. I never realized how tired depression can make a person because my legs feel like they’re made of concrete, even as a five-hundred-pound gorilla sits on my shoulders. Opening the door, I lean against it as Jeon holds up a pizza, a worried expression on her face.“Hey girlfriend. You look bad. Have you been eating?”“Yes,” I say shortly, standing back to let her in.“Sure you are,” she responds, waltzing in. Her brown eyes scan my apartment.“You bought a TV,” she asks incredulously.I shrug. “So what?”“You hate TV, Eva. You’re so anti-technology that you wouldn’t even watch the TV at my place. But what do you have on?”She walks over to my couch, pushing my pillow and blanket out of the way, and grabs my remote before pushing the green “Info” button.“Friends and Lovers. Interesting. I had no idea you were into stuff like this.”I sigh and sit down heavily next

Eva“Eva, I’m at the store. Do you think yellow is a good neutral color for a baby?”I sigh into the phone and smile.“Ma, stop buying clothes! You’ve already clothed my baby for the next two years. I’m running out of storage space.”“Oh, it’s okay honey! Just one more item for my new grandchild.”I can just picture my mom in a high-end baby boutique, holding clothes and gossiping into the phone in her Cuban accent.“No Ma, if you want to help, please buy diapers.”“Eva, your father is hoarding all the diapers in the city. You don’t have to worry about that,” my mom scolds.I hold the phone to my ear with my shoulder and finish smearing cream cheese on my bagel. Now that I’m about two months into my pregnancy, I can’t stop eating and devour everything in sight.“Then buy me maternity clothes, extra-large, Ma. I’m ballooning,” I say with a wry smile. My mom merely coos.“No, my love. You are beautiful. You are growing my grandchild. Eat. Eat!” I take a bite of my bagel to oblige. “I lo

Like a madman, I tear through the exit of the garage and into traffic, causing several cars to slam on their brakes. Soon, I’m on the freeway cruising. Thank god. There are no cars following me and I make an executive decision to head to my parents’ neighborhood to hide out for a while. The paparazzi wouldn’t know where Ana and Ronald live, would they?The drive is a speedy fifteen minutes and as I exit the highway, I’m feeling a little bit calmer. Stopping at a red light, I quickly pull out my phone and scroll through fifteen text messages from Jeon and thirteen missed phone calls from my mom. God, what is going on? Is the world losing its head? The light turns green and I ease forward into the intersection but then a large blue sedan, coming from the opposite direction, blows through their red light and before I can react, T-bones my side of the car.There isn’t much after that. It’s a mixture of fear, pain and adrenalin. There’s silence for a little bit, and the sound of a hissing

“I’m Eva’s father, Ron.”“Sir, I…”He holds up a hand.“Don’t. We’ll talk later. Right now, Eva wants you.”He turns without another word and heads towards the elevators. I follow humbly behind him. We wait for an older couple to exit before entering the elevator, and I chance a glance at Ron’s profile.“How is she?” I venture.He frowns.“For a collision like that, she’s alright.”I feel like I can’t catch my breath and my voice cracks as it comes out.“Mr. Hale, please I never wanted this for her. I love…”“Don’t.”He exhales heavily, refusing to meet my eyes.“Look son, Eva hasn’t told us anything but the briefest details. I used my powers of deduction to figure out what you are to my daughter. I don’t understand your decision and frankly, I don’t care. All I care about is my daughter and my grandchild.”“I care about her too,” I say. “I was giving her space and also I didn’t know how to find her. Sir, your daughter…” I have to stop and take a deep breath as emotions course through