All Chapters of Pregnant By My Ex-Boyfriend's Father: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

154 Chapters

CHAPTER 121: Collision

January. Week eight back at work.Henderson trial was three weeks away.Pre-trial motions filed. Discovery complete. Witness prep starting.David had me handling half the witnesses. Four depositions scheduled.This week alone.It was exactly what I'd wanted. Real work. Trial work. Partnership-track work.It was also impossible.---Monday morning. 6 AM.Evie woke up screaming. Not hungry-crying. Pain-crying.I ran to her room. Picked her up.She was burning up."Marcus!" I yelled.He appeared. Groggy. "What's wrong?""She has a fever. Feel her."He touched her forehead. "That's high. Get the thermometer."I grabbed it. Under her arm. Digital reading.101.8°F."Shit," Marcus said. "That's too high for daycare.""What's the cutoff?""100.4. Anything over, they send kids home.""So she can't go today?""No."We stared at ea

CHAPTER 122: Breaking Point

Monday morning. Week nine back at work.I sat in my car outside the office.Couldn't go in. Couldn't move.Just sat there. Staring at the building.Henderson trial was two weeks away.I wasn't ready. Not mentally. Not emotionally.My phone rang. David.I let it go to voicemail.Rang again. Walter this time.I answered. "Hello.""Luna. Where are you? We have the witness prep meeting at 9.""I'm... in the parking garage.""Are you coming up?""I don't know."Silence."Stay there. I'm coming down."---Five minutes later, Walter appeared.Got in my passenger seat.Didn't speak. Just sat.Finally: "Talk to me.""I can't do this anymore.""The trial?""All of it. Work. Evie. Pretending I can do both. I'm failing at everything.""Last week was hard—""Last week was a disaster. And it'll happen again. And again.

CHAPTER 123: New Rhythm

February. Two months into the new schedule.It was working.Not perfectly. But working.I left the office at 5:30 PM every day. Home by 6:30. Dinner with Evie and Marcus.Bedtime routine. Adult time. Sleep by 10 PM.Repeat.Boring. Predictable. Sustainable.---Evie was seven months old now. Five months adjusted.Thirteen pounds, eight ounces. Growing steadily.Sitting unassisted. Babbling constantly. Eating solid foods.Well, attempting solid foods. Mostly wearing them."Mama," she said regularly now. Her favorite word.Still no "dada." Marcus pretended not to care.But he definitely cared."Say dada," he'd encourage every night. "Da-da. Come on."She'd smile. Say "mama."He'd sigh dramatically. "Your daughter hates me.""She doesn't hate you. She just loves me more.""Not helpful."---Thursday evening. Dinner time.Evie in her h

CHAPTER 124: Eight Months

March. Eight months old.Evie was everywhere.Crawling. Fast. Into everything.We couldn't turn our backs for a second."Where is she?" I asked Marcus one evening."I thought you had her.""I was in the bathroom for thirty seconds!"We found her. Under the dining table. Eating the dog's water bowl.Well, trying to. Water everywhere."Evie, no!" I said, pulling her out.She looked at me. Smiled."Ma-ma!"Then tried to crawl back."We need eyes everywhere," Marcus said."We need a cage.""Pretty sure that's illegal.""Worth it."---At daycare, Sarah reported similar chaos."She's our fastest crawler. Gets into everything. We have to watch her constantly.""Is that normal?""For her adjusted age? She's advanced. Most five-month adjusted babies aren't this mobile.""Should I be worried?""About her being ahead developmentally?

CHAPTER 125: Trial Week

Week three. Morrison trial started Monday.I was ready. Prepared. Terrified.David had drilled me relentlessly. Opening statement. Witness order. Objections. Strategy."You good?" he asked Sunday night. Final prep call."I'm good.""You sound nervous.""I am nervous. First trial in six months.""You'll be fine. Just remember: we control the narrative. They react to us.""Got it.""See you at 7 AM. Courthouse. Don't be late."He hung up.I sat in the nursery. Watching Evie sleep.Eight months old. Peacefully unaware her mother was about to spend a week in court.Marcus appeared in the doorway."You should sleep.""Can't. Too wired.""Come to bed anyway. Lying down counts."I kissed Evie's forehead. Whispered, "Mama's got a big week. Be good for Daddy."She didn't stir.---Monday. 6 AM.I was dressed. Suit. Heels. Hair perfect. Makeup prof

CHAPTER 126: Aftermath

Wednesday morning. Day after the verdict.I woke up at 7 AM. Late by my standards.No trial. No prep. No alarm at 5 AM.Just... nothing.Marcus was already up. Evie's babbling came from her room.I should get up. Help. Be present.Instead, I stayed in bed.Staring at the ceiling.We'd won the trial.I felt nothing.---Eventually, I got up. Went to Evie's room.Marcus was changing her diaper."Morning," I said."Morning. You slept late.""I was exhausted.""I know."Evie saw me. Smiled. "Ma-ma!"I picked her up. Held her. She felt heavier. Had she grown in a week?Probably. Babies grew fast. I'd just been too busy to notice."I'll take her today," I said. "You go to work. I'll stay home.""You have work too.""I'll call in. Take a personal day.""Can you do that?""I just won a major trial. I think I've earned a day."

CHAPTER 127: Adjusting

April. Three weeks into appellate work.I was adjusting. Slowly.The work was different. Entirely different.No courtroom. No juries. No cross-examinations.Just research. Writing. Deadlines measured in weeks not hours.Boring. Predictable. Sustainable.Exactly what I'd asked for.So why did I feel so... empty?---Monday morning. 8 AM.I sat at my desk. Reading a circuit court opinion.Dense. Technical. Important for the brief I was writing.Also mind-numbingly dull.My phone buzzed. Text from Marcus."Evie took three steps this morning. WALKING!"Video attached. Evie standing. Wobbling. Three tiny steps. Then sitting down hard.My heart stopped.Her first steps.And I'd missed them.Because I was reading a circuit court opinion on administrative procedure.I watched the video five times.She was walking. My eight-month-old daug

CHAPTER 128: Nine Months

May. Six weeks into appellate work.Evie was nine and a half months old. Seven months adjusted.Walking everywhere. Into everything. Nonstop motion."She's a terror," Marcus said one evening.We'd baby-proofed months ago. Apparently not enough.Evie had figured out how to open cabinets. Climb onto furniture. Reach things we thought were safe."We need to re-baby-proof," I said."We need a cage.""Still illegal.""Worth checking."---At work, I'd settled into appellate rhythm.Six weeks. Four briefs completed. All filed on time.Competent. Efficient. Boring.Friday afternoon, Walter stopped by."Luna. Quick word?""Sure."He sat. Serious expression."Partnership reviews are in three months. August."My stomach dropped. "Already?""Time flies. You've been back almost six months."Six months. December to May. Gone in a blur."How am

CHAPTER 129: Waiting

June. Two months into partnership limbo.The committee hadn't decided yet.Walter said they were "deliberating." Considering the precedent. Discussing implications.Translation: debating whether a part-time partner was worth the trouble.I tried not to think about it.Mostly failed.---Evie was ten months old. Eight months adjusted.Walking everywhere. Running, really. Toddling at speed.She'd discovered climbing. Everything. Couch. Chairs. Coffee table."We need to bolt the furniture to the walls," Marcus said one Saturday."Already ordered the straps.""When did you become the safety-conscious parent?""When our daughter became a mountaineer."Evie climbed onto the couch. Stood up. Proud."Look, Mama! Look!"Well, not actual words. But the intent was clear."I see you, baby girl. Please don't fall."She jumped. Landed on the cushion. Laughed maniacally.

CHAPTER 130: First Month

August. First month as partner.Everything changed. And nothing changed.Same work. Appellate briefs. Research. Writing.But now: my name on the door. My cases. My responsibility.Partner.It felt surreal.---Marcus started chief resident the same week.Ninety-hour weeks. Sometimes more.He left at 5 AM. Came home at midnight. If at all.Two nights that first week, he slept at the hospital."I'm sorry," he said Thursday morning. Exhausted. Guilty."Don't apologize. This is your job.""But Evie—""Evie is fine. I've got her.""You're working too. Thirty hours is still a lot.""It's manageable. We knew this would be hard.""I didn't know it would be this hard."Neither did I.But we were committed now.---I hired a nanny. Maria. Fifty-five. Experienced. References impeccable.She started Monday. 7 AM to 6 PM. Five days a week.

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