Mrs. Pandora Preston hadn’t had a moment to herself in almost a month. She had pulled a twelve-hour shift at work already and when she got home, she would have to clean the house, do shopping, make dinner, and take care of all the bills. By the end of the month, Pandora didn’t know how much longer she could hold on.A jerk at work didn’t think a petite five-foot-one and twenty-eight-year-old woman should be the creative director. Being the nice ‘gentleman’ that he was, he had decided to let his opinion known… in front of all her coworkers and clients. His ideas were from the middle ages, but what bothered her was that nobody stood up for her in front of the smelly, balding man.To add on top of that, when she stood outside the restaurant for their weekly ‘date’, she found that her husband had not arrived, and he wasn’t even picking up his phone like he was supposed to.Pandora sighed, remembering that he had also not mowed the lawn like she had asked him to and the Karens in the neigh

Pandora shook her head in amusement and checked herself one last time before walking out. All the way down the lobby, men turned their heads and ogled her.It didn’t take her long to find the club Milton had recommended to her. She entered the club and looked around, hoping she would see him. When she didn’t see him, she headed to the bar and ordered again.After a few minutes, a guy approached her and smiled. “Would you like to dance?” he said.“Sorry, I’m not up for that.” The guy left, leaving her to her alcohol. Still, she was not drunk enough to bust out moves. “I need a shot,” she told the bartender.“Out for a good time?” the bartender asked.“I think so…” The bartender cocked his head and recommended a drink. “Ask for Royce if you want a drink. I’ll take care of you.”“Thank you, Royce. Keep the drinks coming,” she said, tapping the bar.As Royce placed down Pandora’s drink, she felt someone come up behind her.“Royce, can I have some Jack?” the guy said and Pandora found her

“Spill,” Kiera said, wriggling her brows at Pandora the moment she sat down.“What?” she asked, looking between Keira and Sia, her friends from high school and college respectively.“Don’t act coy. You had sex. It’s written all over your face,” Sia said smugly and Kiera nodded rapidly.Pandora’s mouth dropped open in shock. Was it really written on her forehead? How tense had she looked before? “No, I didn’t,” she answered stubbornly.“Yes, you did. I swear we will torture it out of you if you don’t start speaking.”Pandora frowned at the two and motioned at the server. “I need some coffee before my lips open,” she announced. In no time, the coffee was in front of them and Pandora had taken her first sip.“You've had your coffee now. What did he look like?”She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t remember.” When she opened them, she saw the look of worry on her friends’ faces. “Did someone hurt you?” Sia asked urgently.“No.” She shook her head before placing her hand over Sia’s. “We we

Keira helped her sit on her couch and walked away. Pandora knew she was still in the house because she could hear the other move around the house. She was speaking to someone, but Pandora had no idea who it was.“Here, have some tea,” she said, placing a cup in Pandora’s hand. Her hands lingered. “You got it?” she asked and Pandora looked down before tightening her grip on the cup.“I’m going to have a baby?” she questioned, still thinking that the universe was playing a cruel joke on her.“You are,” Keira confirmed. “This is real, right? It’s not a joke.”“No, it’s not a joke.” Keira rubbed her shoulder.“I’m going to be a mom?”Keira squinted, reevaluating Pandora’s sanity.“Derrik and I tried for years and nothing happened. I didn’t even mistake myself to be pregnant. But I sleep with a random guy and I am immediately pregnant?”A stranger whom she didn’t remember, whose face she had forgotten, let alone what his name was.“What’s wrong, honey?” Keira asked, worried.“I don’t know

“Have you lost a baby before?”She shook her head. “After the diagnosis and surgery, I was told that the chances were slim that I would get pregnant.”Dr. Parks sighed before nodding. “I take it that you have been trying for a while, then?”“Yes, we tried for years, starting as soon as we got married. But nothing and now—” she said but stopped herself from blurting out her dirty secret. She felt his hand touch hers and she opened her eyes to see a silver wedding band on his finger. The image of him being so happy in his wedding photo hit her again and only made her cry harder. Again, she asked herself why she had to choose and marry an asshole.“I can’t promise that everything will be okay, but I will watch over you. I would like to see you every week until you give birth. According to the scan, you look about eight weeks along. That means you have another seven months to go.”Pandora agreed, feeling a little better that he was willing to watch over her so carefully.“Do you work?” h