Elara sat on the edge of the bed, the small plastic test clutched in her hand. She had stared at it for what felt like hours, heart hammering, fingers trembling slightly. The little plus sign was impossible to ignore. She blinked, leaned forward, and looked again, willing it to change, to be wrong. But it wasn’t. She was pregnant.
Her mind raced. Memories of years spent trying to conceive, the endless appointments, the blame she had carried from Selene, all of it came flooding back. For so long, she had been told it was her fault, that something was wrong with her, that she was lacking. And now, the truth revealed itself in a simple, undeniable line. It had never been her.
Tears threatened to spill, but they were not tears of despair. They were of relief, of vindication, of pure, overwhe
