RILEY’S POVThe bathroom was quiet, the hum of the fan the only sound as I stood in front of the mirror. My fingers traced the curve of my belly almost automatically, as if acknowledging a presence I hadn’t yet fully accepted myself.It was subtle, still manageable under loose shirts and high-waisted pants, but I knew I could feel it, that the bump was growing more obvious by the day.Almost six months.The number repeated in my mind like a warning. Six months. Half a year. And yet it felt like yesterday when I’d first felt the flutter, the little reminder that I was not entirely alone in the world. That tiny life was mine, and for a brief, fragile moment, it gave me something to hold onto, a reason to breathe when the weight of everything else threatened to crush me.But the more my body changed, the more visible it became, the less safe I felt. I tilted my head, examining myself from different angles. The bump couldn’t be hidden forever, not if someone was paying attention, not i
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