Chapter 1
770 Words
The Choice
The baby wouldn’t stop crying.
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Soft at first.
Then louder.
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Until it filled the entire room.
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She sat frozen on the hospital bed, staring down at the tiny body in her arms as if it didn’t belong to her.
“This…" this isn’t real,” she whispered, her voice shaking.
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A nurse walked in, adjusting her gloves.
“You need to hold her properly,” she said gently. “She can feel your tension.”
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“I—I don’t know how,” she replied quickly, panic rising in her chest. “I’ve never done this before.”
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The nurse softened.
“It’s okay. Just support her head… like this.”
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She hesitated, then slowly adjusted her grip.
The baby’s cries reduced slightly.
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“There you go,” the nurse said with a small smile. “She just needs her mother.”
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Mother.
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The word hit her like a slap.
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“I’m not…” she stopped herself, shaking her head. “I can’t be a mother.”
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The nurse looked at her carefully.
“You just gave birth,” she said quietly. “Whether you’re ready or not… you are one now.”
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Silence.
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The nurse left.
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And the room felt heavier than before.
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She looked down again.
The baby’s tiny fingers moved slightly, brushing against her skin.
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Her chest tightened.
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“What am I supposed to do with you?” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
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Her mind drifted.
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To her parents.
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Her mother’s voice.
«“That boy will ruin your life.”»
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Her father’s disappointment.
«“As long as you choose him, don’t expect anything from us.”»
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She had chosen him anyway.
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And they had kept their word.
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No support.
No care.
No home.
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Until she finally came back.
Broken.
Apologetic.
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“I’m sorry…” she had cried back then.
“I made a mistake.”
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And slowly…
They had forgiven her.
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They bought her university forms.
They spoke to her again.
They believed in her again.
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“Don’t waste this second chance,” her mother had warned.
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“I won’t,” she had promised.
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But now—
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She looked down at the baby again.
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“I already have…” she whispered.
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Her breathing became uneven.
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“No… there has to be another way,” she said to herself.
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Her thoughts began to race.
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Tell your parents.
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She imagined it.
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Her mother’s shocked face.
Her father turning away.
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“After everything we did for you?” her mother would say.
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“Get out,” her father would add.
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Her chest tightened.
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“No… I can’t go back to that,” she muttered.
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Another thought came.
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Take the baby to him.
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She froze.
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The boy.
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The one she once loved.
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The one she left.
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The one who didn’t beg her to stay—
But instead looked at her with anger.
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“If you walk away now,” he had said coldly,
“don’t ever come back.”
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They didn’t end as lovers.
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They ended as enemies.
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And now—
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She was holding his child.
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Her grip tightened slightly.
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“If I take her to him…” she whispered,
“then she’ll at least be with her father…”
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But another voice in her head spoke.
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And what about you?
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She closed her eyes.
Tears fell freely now.
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“I just got my life back…” she cried softly.
“I just fixed everything…”
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The baby stirred again.
Letting out a small cry.
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She looked down.
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The tiny face.
The fragile body.
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So innocent.
So unaware.
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“You didn’t ask for this…” she whispered.
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Her voice broke.
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“Neither did I.”
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Silence filled the room again.
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Then slowly—
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She pulled the baby closer to her chest.
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Tightly.
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As if afraid to let go.
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“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.
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And for the first time—
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She truly meant it.
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Because this wasn’t just a mistake anymore.
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It was a choice.
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A choice between her future—
And her child.
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And no matter what, she decided—
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She would lose something forever.
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- Writer
