The café smelled like cinnamon, espresso, and sage.
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Poetry Night always had that vibe—intimate, dim, magic swirling between open mics and crooked smiles. The lights were low, candles flickering on every table, and the mic on stage crackled with static between poems.
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I sipped on my chamomile, hand resting gently on my belly. Three months in, and the baby already had me emotional at everything. But tonight felt… heavy. Like a storm was rolling in slow.
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The host cleared her throat. “Next up, we’ve got someone new to our mic… Nas.”
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I blinked.
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Nas?
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And there he was, stepping onto the stage like he belonged to the shadows.
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Black hoodie, gold chain glinting under the light, and those eyes… full of something I couldn’t read.
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He didn’t look at me. Not directly. But I felt it—he knew I was watching.
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The room hushed, the kind of silence that makes breath feel loud.
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Then he spoke.
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No intro, no preface. Just words. Deep, raw, steady.
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“She had stars in her scars.
A heart stitched back with fire.
Walked like poetry written in pain.
Loved like the world was ending.”
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“I saw her.
Broken but still standing.
Pregnant with the pieces of a man
who wore two faces and one ring.”
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My breath caught. My fingers tightened around the mug.
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“I wanted to hate her.
Wanted to hurt her.
But her laugh sounded like home,
and I got lost.”
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He paused, swallowing, eyes scanning the crowd like he wasn’t sure he wanted us to hear any of it.
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“Some women shine even while grieving.
Some love like they’ve already buried too much.
She was both.”
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“And me?
I came to take.
Now I don’t know how to leave.”
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The room went still. No claps. No snaps. Just a silence that pulsed between every person.
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Then he stepped down, eyes grazing mine for a split second.
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It felt like he saw everything.
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And I didn’t know whether to run, cry… or follow Here’s a warm but emotionally complex Amina “Mina” Bellamy POV the next day at her first doctor’s appointment. She’s carrying all the weight of her grief, confusion from last night, and the bittersweet reality of growing new life inside her.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiV2Aze1wD
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The walls of the OB office were soft pink, like they were trying too hard to comfort women who’d already been through hell.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9j4Y6m9iv0
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I sat on the exam table, fingers fidgeting with the hem of my dress, the paper sheet crinkling under me every time I shifted. My stomach wasn’t showing yet—just a slight curve—but I felt pregnant in every inch of my body. Tired. Emotional. On edge.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtb199M3yAZ
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Davon should’ve been here.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPU5w2QEwu
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I closed my eyes as the thought hit me hard, like it had every day since I found out. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. No one tells you that you can grieve someone and grow a part of them at the same time. That you can hate them for the secrets they took to the grave while still loving the baby they left behind.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZE1keTa8pW
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A knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DfxOGwxjX
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Dr. Wells walked in with her usual calm smile. “Good morning, Amina. Ready to see your little one?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhdqtfhE5Z
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I nodded, swallowing the knot in my throat. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCiwPAg9HO
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The ultrasound gel was cold, and the wand pressed gently against my belly.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMY0GDUwhnH
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Then—there it was.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3iq7Oh6Un
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A tiny flicker on the screen. A heartbeat. A blur that looked like nothing… and everything all at once.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AY1n6AZpK
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“There’s your baby,” Dr. Wells said softly. “Measuring perfectly at thirteen weeks. Strong heartbeat.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1Km6Ovyh5
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I stared at the screen, tears spilling silently down my cheeks. That tiny flicker was all I had left of Davon. All that was real. All that was mine.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMp1HYlpQ6
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But in the corner of my mind, Nas’s voice echoed from last night.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GXzQ2ULiO
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“Some women shine even while grieving. Some love like they’ve already buried too much.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43i1yetSY0
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I didn’t know what he wanted from me. Why he came into my world when I wasn’t ready. But that poem? It shook something loose.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSGo8Grqss
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I wiped my tears and nodded. “Thank you, Doc.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMm0X4w3Mvl
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She handed me a little black-and-white printout. I stared down at it like it was the most fragile thing in the world.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFttbcQojR
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My baby.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujhrZo69yZ
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Alive. Growing. Real.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsl2yrky9Y
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Even if the love that made them was already buried six feet deep.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1Wq6hwQGv
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