Chapter 2
2209 Words
ONE MONTH AFTER...
Edra Reine hadn't left her apartment in three days.
The first week after the wedding, she'd tried. Answered concerned calls from her mother. Let Chloe drag her to coffee. Pretended she was okay. But the weight of it crushed her. The stares. The whispers. The pity that followed her everywhere. So she'd stopped trying. Stopped leaving. Stopped pretending.
The boxes were still there. Wedding gifts she'd never opened. Clothes that were supposed to be moved to Michael's place. Kitchen appliances wrapped in tissue paper and hope. All of it sealed. Waiting. Like she was.
She'd been living off her savings for a month now. No income. No job. Just the money she'd carefully set aside during college, watching it drain away with every week that passed.
"Edra, you need to eat something."
Chloe stood in the doorway holding a deli bag. She looked tired. The kind of tired that came from worrying about someone you loved. Dark circles under her eyes. Hair pulled back in a messy bun. She'd probably come straight from work.
"I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten in days." Chloe set the bag down and pulled out a sandwich. "Just try. Please."
Edra took it because arguing took energy she didn't have. She unwrapped it. The smell of turkey and cheese hit her nose.
Her stomach lurched.
She dropped the sandwich and ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before she threw up. Nothing came out but bile. She hadn't eaten enough to actually vomit.
Chloe appeared in the doorway. "Edra?"
"I'm fine." Edra sat back against the wall, wiping her mouth with shaking hands. "Just my stomach acting up."
"This is the third time this week."
"It's stress."
"Or it's something else." Chloe's voice was careful now.
Edra looked up at her. "What are you saying?"
"When was your last period?"
The question hit Edra like a slap. Her mind went blank. When was her last period? She tried to think back but the last month was a fog.
"I don't know."
"Edra—"
"I don't know, Chloe. I've been busy falling apart."
"You need to take a test." Chloe stepped closer.
Edra stood up, gripping the sink for balance. "No. It's just stress. There's no way I'm pregnant."
But even as she said it, pieces started clicking into place. The exhaustion that never went away. The nausea that hit her at random times. The way her body felt different, wrong, not hers anymore.
No. No no no.
"I'll go get a test," Chloe said quietly. "Just to be sure."
"Chloe, please—"
"I'll be back in ten minutes."
She left before Edra could argue.
Edra sank to the bathroom floor and pulled her knees to her chest. Her heart pounded too fast. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
She couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't be.
Her phone buzzed. A text from James: ‘Hey cousin. Checking in. You okay?’
She typed back with shaking hands. ‘Chloe thinks I'm pregnant.’
The three dots appeared immediately. Then: ‘Oh God. Do you want me to fly back? I can get off work by Friday.’
‘No. Stay in London.’
‘Edra, you're not alone. I'm here. Whatever you need.’
She stared at the message until it blurred. Whatever you need. But the only thing she needed was Michael, and he was gone.
And now she might be carrying his child.
The front door opened and closed. Footsteps in the hallway.
"I got three different kinds," Chloe said, appearing in the bathroom doorway with a plastic bag. "Just to be sure."
Edra took the bag with numb hands. Pulled out the first box. Read the instructions even though she already knew how they worked.
"Do you want me to stay or go?" Chloe asked gently.
"Stay. Please."
Chloe nodded and stepped outside, pulling the door mostly closed.
Edra took the test. Then the second one. Then the third.
Three minutes felt like three hours.
She sat on the edge of the tub and stared at the first test sitting on the counter. Watched the window where the results would appear. Willed it to be negative. Begged whatever god was listening to make it negative.
One line appeared.
Then a second.
Positive.
Edra grabbed the other two tests. Both positive.
All three positive.
The bathroom tilted. Edra's vision tunnelled. She gripped the edge of the sink, her knuckles going white. Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her throat. The walls pressed in. She tried to breathe but her lungs wouldn't work.
This can't be real. This can't be happening.
"Edra?" Chloe's voice came from outside the door. "What does it say?"
Edra opened her mouth but no sound came out. Her legs gave out. She slid down the wall to the floor, still clutching one of the tests in her shaking hand.
The door opened slowly. Chloe stepped inside and looked at the tests lined up on the counter.
"Oh honey," she whispered.
Edra started laughing. It came out high and wrong and broken. "I'm pregnant. He left me at the altar and I'm pregnant with his baby."
Chloe wrapped her arms around her and Edra collapsed into the embrace. The laughter turned to sobs. Deep wrenching sounds that hurt coming out.
The sobs came harder now. Her whole body shook with them. She'd cried at the altar. Cried herself to sleep every night for a month. But this was different. This was grief mixed with terror mixed with a rage so deep it felt like it would consume her.
How could he do this? How could he leave her carrying his child and not even know it?
And worse—how could she still love him after everything?
Because she did. God help her, she still loved him. Even now. Even after he'd destroyed her. The realization made her cry harder.
"What am I going to do?" Edra gasped against Chloe's shoulder. "What am I supposed to do?"
"We'll figure it out. I promise. We'll figure it out."
But there was nothing to figure out. Michael was gone. He'd made his choice. And now Edra was pregnant and alone and completely destroyed.
Her phone buzzed again. James, calling.
Edra stared at his name on the screen. She didn't want to answer. Didn't want to say the words out loud. But her hand moved anyway.
"Edra?" James's voice came through, warm and worried. "Well? What did the tests say?"
She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Just a choked sound that might have been a word.
"Edra?"
"Positive." The word broke coming out. "All three tests. I'm pregnant, James. I'm pregnant."
Silence on the other end. Then a soft exhale. "Oh Edra. I'm so sorry."
She pressed a hand over her mouth, trying to hold back the sobs, but they came anyway. Harder now. Her whole body shaking with them.
"I'm booking a flight," James said immediately. "I can be there by Friday—"
"No." She gasped the word out between sobs. "No, stay in London. I need to figure this out on my own."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Okay. But Edra, listen to me." His voice went firm. Steady. The way it always did when she was falling apart. "You're going to be okay. You hear me? You're strong. You've always been strong. And whatever you decide, I'm here. Always."
Edra closed her eyes. Let his words wash over her even though she didn't believe them.
"I have to go," she whispered. Then hung up before he could say anything else.
Edra pulled away from Chloe. Her voice came out mechanical. Detached. "I need to think about what I'm going to do."
Chloe's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Edra stood up and walked to the sink, splashing cold water on her face. "He abandoned me. He's gone. I'm twenty-three years old living off my savings with no income and a degree I haven't used and a wedding dress I'll never wear. How am I supposed to bring a baby into this?"
"Your mom would help. I would help. James would—"
"Help me what? Help me be that girl?" Edra's voice came out sharper than she intended. "The one who got left at the altar and then had to raise his baby alone while everyone whispers about how pathetic I am?"
Chloe's eyes filled with tears. "You're not pathetic. He's the one who—"
"Don't." Edra's voice cracked. "Everyone thinks I'm pathetic, Chloe. I see the way they look at me. Poor Edra. Poor stupid Edra who didn't see it coming. The pity. The curiosity. The questions no one asks out loud." She turned to face her friend. "What did you do to make him leave? Did you know he was going to run? Did he find someone else?"
"That's not true—"
"It is true." Edra wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't have answers. I just have the humiliation and the pain and now a baby growing inside me that I never asked for."
Chloe reached for her hand. "Just... don't make any decisions right now. You're in shock. Sleep on it. Wait a few days. Make sure you know what you really want before you do anything."
Edra wanted to argue but she was too tired. Too broken. "Okay. A few days."
"Thank you."
Chloe stayed for another hour, making sure Edra drank water and ate a few crackers. She washed the dishes Edra had left in the sink. Folded the blanket on the couch. Small acts of care that made Edra's chest ache. When she finally left, she hugged Edra tight at the door.
"Call me if you need anything. I mean it. Even if it's three in the morning."
"I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Then she left.
Edra locked the door behind her and stood in the middle of her apartment surrounded by boxes and broken dreams.
She walked to her desk. Opened the drawer.
Inside was the honeymoon itinerary. Two weeks in Santorini. The villa Michael had booked overlooking the Aegean Sea. The restaurants he'd circled in red pen. The sunset cruise he'd surprised her with as a wedding gift.
All paid for. All waiting.
All useless now.
Edra picked up the papers and stared at them. She'd been so excited. Had spent hours researching things to do, places to eat, hidden beaches only locals knew about.
She'd imagined waking up next to Michael with Mediterranean sun pouring through the windows. Lazy mornings in bed. Swimming in crystal blue water so clear you could see the bottom. Evening walks through white-washed villages. Dancing under the stars to music only they could hear.
Michael had planned every detail. Had wanted it to be perfect.
None of it happened.
She crumpled the itinerary in her fist and threw it across the room.
Then she pressed her hand to her stomach. Flat still. No sign yet of the life growing inside.
Michael's baby.
The baby he'd never know about because he'd chosen to disappear.
She was supposed to be married right now. Supposed to be on her honeymoon. Supposed to be starting her life.
Instead, she was pregnant and alone in an apartment full of boxes she couldn't bring herself to unpack.
Her phone buzzed.
She hesitated, then reluctantly grabbed it off the nightstand.
An email notification glowed on the screen.
Subject: Offer Letter - Junior AI Systems Analyst Position
Her heart stopped.
The job. The one she'd applied for two months ago, right after graduation. A position at NeuralEdge Labs, one of the most innovative AI research companies in California. The interview had gone perfectly. They'd been impressed and told her she'd hear back within a month.
She'd forgotten all about it.
Edra opened the email with shaking hands. Her vision blurred. She blinked hard and read it again, making sure it was real.
It was real.
"Dear Ms. Reine, we are pleased to offer you the position of Junior AI Systems Analyst at NeuralEdge Labs. Your start date would be in two weeks..."
Two weeks.
The job she'd spent four years preparing for.
The career she'd planned so carefully.
It was the same passion that brought her and Michael together in the first place. They both loved technology—the ideas, the building, the endless possibilities.
And she was pregnant.
Edra stared at the email until her vision blurred again.
She could take the job. Start her career. Build the life she'd always wanted. Dive into the world of neural networks and AI systems she'd spent years studying.
Or she could have this baby and watch everything she'd worked for disappear.
Her hand moved to her stomach.
If she kept the baby, she'd lose this job. Lose her career. Lose everything she'd worked for.
If she didn't keep the baby...
The choice felt impossible.
She had two weeks to decide.
Two weeks to choose between the future she'd planned and the future growing inside her.
Two weeks to figure out who she was going to be.
Edra threw the phone across the room and buried her face in her pillow.
And for the first time since the wedding, she let herself scream.
- Writer
