Moana“I’m sure he’ll visit soon,” I said, quickly blinking away the tears that came to my eyes when Clara asked so innocently about Edrick coming to visit the orphanage.Neither Clara nor Ella seemed to notice my emotional demeanor, and Clara burst out into cheers. I watched with a smile as they ran off to continue playing. Sophia chuckled behind me.“The children really do like him,” she said, taking a sip of her tea. “I honestly thought that he was just another emotionless drone, focused solely on business, but he’s really much more than that. It seems that our cookie baking session might have softened him a bit.”I nodded thoughtfully, thinking back to the day that we all baked cookies in this very kitchen. Edrick had begun that day so coldly and had been so distant from the children, but he eventually warmed up to them as we spent the day together. I realized that day that the Alpha billionaire actually did like children, although I wasn’t certain if he would ever admit it. Secre

MoanaI stood outside Edrick’s study for a few moments, my hand raised to knock, as I bit my lip and wondered if this was the best idea. Would attempting to talk to Edrick even accomplish anything?I almost turned around and left, but as I thought of Ella’s sad face when her father wouldn’t play with her after work simply because of my presence, I mustered up my courage and knocked.“Come in,” Edrick’s muffled voice called after a few moments. I took a deep breath and entered, standing in the doorway. Edrick was sitting at his desk, and looked up at me with a surprised expression on his face as I opened the door. “Oh, Moana. Did you need something?”“I want to talk to you,” I said, doing my best to keep my shoulders back and my chin held high for fear of breaking down right in front of him over such a small thing. I really had been so much more emotional than usual lately, but I didn’t want to let Edrick see me break down over something like this.“Come in, then,” he said, clearing hi

MoanaAfter a visit to the obstetrics and gynecology department, during which they gave me another pregnancy test and performed a comprehensive gynecological exam, the results were in: I was pregnant, and I was five weeks along. That timing lined up perfectly with my one night stand, solidifying the fact that Edrick was the father.I took a cab home, my heart racing the entire way. Thankfully, the doctor’s anti-nausea medication worked, otherwise I would have been retching nonstop from the stress alone.The cab driver pulled up to the curb. I handed him the cash from the back seat, then took a deep breath before getting out and looking up at the tall, looming building where the penthouse sat.As I took the elevator up, my heart started pounding ever faster. I wasn’t certain whether or not I should tell Edrick; what would he say if he found out? Would I lose my job? Was it better to just go to a clinic and have the baby aborted before it was too late? I couldn’t have been more than six

Moana“Wake up, Moana! Wake up!”I awoke the next morning to the sound of Ella’s voice and the feeling of the bed shaking beneath me. The sun was shining blindingly bright through the window, and outside, I could hear the sound of the city bustling below. I could hear the sound of distant music; I had completely forgotten, but there was supposed to be an event in the park across the street today, and Ella was excited to go.“Come on!” Ella exclaimed as she jumped up and down excitedly on my bed. “Wake up! Let’s go outside!”I groaned, feeling my stomach turn from the bed moving beneath me. If Ella continued her jumping, she would make me throw up.“Give me a minute, Ella,” I said, but she wasn’t listening. She was too busy jumping and giggling and chattering about getting ice cream at the park.I didn’t think before I spoke next, and as soon as I did, I realized how my voice sounded. I felt so nauseous from being jostled around that I didn’t consider how I might have come across as be

MoanaAfter I hung up with Ethan, I felt a bit lighter with the prospect of enjoying dinner with a friend. I met Ella out in the foyer after that, and we went over to the farmers’ market.“Come on, Moana!” Ella yelled excitedly, pulling on my hand as we crossed the street to the park that was bustling with people.She looked absolutely adorable in her little blue and white checkered sundress and her big, floppy sun hat with the blue ribbon that wiggled when she moved her head.The stone pathway around the park was lined with various vendor stalls as we entered. Much of it was produce and canned goods, but there were also stalls with soft pretzels, face painting for children, handmade toys and clothing, and more. I had just deposited my first paycheck from Edrick, and had some money put aside after paying off a large chunk of my student loans. I double checked before we left the penthouse this time to make sure that I had my wallet, in order to avoid a repeat of the theme park.As the