I sat by the window with my hand resting lightly on my belly.
The apartment felt too big without Max.
Too quiet without laughter bouncing off the walls.
But the moment I felt the flutter—just a slight shift, like butterfly wings in water—I knew:
I was keeping the baby.
No matter the chaos.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfFMrJjPX7
No matter the questions.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1rGDWVeCk
No matter what anyone thought.
This child didn't ask to be conceived in heartbreak.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIdl3fxJaj
But it was here now. A heartbeat under mine.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡra9hn0UNcS
And it was mine.
EJ came home the same week I made that decision.
He walked into my parents' house unannounced, all sunburnt skin and broader shoulders, now carrying a different kind of weight.
War, maybe. Time. Or maybe guilt.
He was smiling—until he saw me.
Until he saw the swell in my belly.
The light in his eyes dimmed instantly. "Jae..."
I forced a smile, standing awkwardly.
We sat in the garden where we used to study together as teens. He watched the wind dance through the kalachuchi trees before speaking.
"Is it his?" he finally asked, voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded.
"I'll raise it with you."
My breath caught.
"What?"
"I'll raise your child. You don't have to do this alone. I'll marry you if you want. You know I've always—"
I reached across the table, took his hand, and squeezed it gently.
"EJ, you'll always be home to me," I said, tears in my eyes. "But this baby... it's not yours. And I don't want to lie to either of us, just to feel safe."
His jaw tightened.
"I would've taken care of you. Both of you."
"I know," I said softly. "That's why I can't let you."
The next day, Dominic called.
I hadn't heard from him in nearly a year.
"Can we talk?" he asked. "In person."
We met in a quiet café near BGC. He looked different—mature, a little thinner, but still wearing that worn-out leather bracelet he had since college.
"I heard," he said, eyes scanning my figure gently.
"I figured you would," I replied.
"My mom's gone," he said after a beat. "She passed in her sleep last month. And the moment she did, I realized... I spent too much time trying to impress her and not enough time fighting for what I wanted."
"And what do you want now, Dom?"
"You. Even if the baby isn't mine. I don't care. I want you back. We were good, Jae. We just needed more time."
I looked away, heart tightening.
Too many men. Too many timelines. Too many blurred wounds.
"I'm not who I was, Dom."
"Maybe that's the version I've always needed."
And then came the message.
Blocked number.
Unknown sender.
But I knew the tone of that text anywhere.
She's carrying my child. And they're lining up to take her from me.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBwEdqtXaH
—T.
I dropped the phone.
Tedd knew.
Of course he did.
But he was still gone.
And the longer he stayed gone, the more chaos filled in the silence.
Later that night, I lay in bed, phone clutched in one hand, my other resting on my belly.
My mother's voice echoed in my head: "You attract broken men like flame draws moths."
But I wasn't the flame anymore.
I was the one trying to rebuild from the ash.
And somewhere, somehow, the man I loved was fighting demons I couldn't see—while the world around me tried to rewrite our ending before it was over.
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