Five years
1076 Words
The voices around her gradually faded into the distance.
Isabella could barely make out what was happening around her.
She felt as though her body no longer belonged to her. The pain, the exhaustion, and every emotion she had carried over the past month had finally pushed her beyond her limit.
First came her father’s death, then the image of Alexander covered in blood, followed by the trial, the evidence, the verdict, and finally watching him walk away in handcuffs while swearing he was innocent.
“Isabella!”
Victoria’s voice was the last thing she heard before she completely lost consciousness.
When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she noticed was the smell of medicine.
She blinked slowly, trying to adjust to the sunlight streaming through the window.
For a few seconds, she couldn’t remember where she was.
Then the memories came rushing back—the courtroom and the sentence.
“Isabella?”
A gentle voice caught her attention. She slowly turned her head and saw a woman in a white coat standing beside her. The doctor smiled kindly at her.
“How are you feeling?”
Isabella tried to sit up, but the movement made the room spin all over again.
“I’m still a little dizzy, but I’m sure it’ll pass little by little.”
The doctor reviewed a few details on the monitor and nodded.
“That’s perfectly normal in your condition,” she replied naturally.
Isabella closed her eyes for a few seconds, as if that would make the dizziness disappear.
“I suppose so… It’s been a very stressful few days. Honestly, it’s no surprise I ended up feeling this dizzy.”
The doctor watched her in silence before setting the documents down on the table.
“That’s not what I meant. I wasn’t referring to that kind of condition.”
Isabella opened her eyes and looked at her in confusion as she tried to sit up in bed.
“What do you mean, Doctor? Am I sick? Is that it?”
The doctor picked up a small folder and walked over to the bed.
Her expression remained calm, but the words she was about to say would change Isabella’s life forever.
“Isabella… you’re pregnant.”
She blinked several times, as though she hadn’t heard correctly. The words left her completely stunned.
“What? That’s impossible.”
The doctor smiled kindly and looked over the test results again before confirming it once more.
“You’re pregnant. The results clearly show it.”
“No… that can’t be right. There has to be some mistake. Please check again.”
The doctor smiled and slowly shook her head.
“There isn’t any mistake. You’re approximately two months pregnant.”
Isabella froze completely.
Two months pregnant.
Her hand slowly moved to her abdomen.
Without understanding why, tears began to fill her eyes. She thought about the countless nights when this baby could have been conceived.
Now she was carrying the child of the man who was sitting in prison.
A deep ache mingled with an emotion she couldn’t even begin to explain.
“This can’t be… I’m going to be a mother.”
The doctor gently took her hand and helped her lie back against the bed.
“I know it’s a lot to process.”
Isabella didn’t answer.
She couldn’t.
Her mind was overflowing with questions.
What was she supposed to do now? How could she raise a child when she barely felt capable of standing on her own? How would she one day explain that the child’s father was in prison for murdering his grandfather?
The hospital room door slowly opened, and Victoria walked in, worry written all over her face. The moment she saw Isabella awake, she let out a relieved sigh.
“Oh my God, Isabella. Thank goodness you’re okay.”
She hurried over and carefully hugged her.
“You scared me so much. You’ve been through so much, my dear friend, that I was afraid of the worst.”
Isabella remained silent in her embrace until tears finally began streaming down her cheeks.
“Victoria… I’m pregnant. I’m about two months along.”
Her friend froze in surprise. For a few seconds, she didn’t know what to say. Then she hugged Isabella even tighter.
“Everything will be okay. I’ll be with you.”
But Isabella shook her head as she cried. This news had completely changed her life.
“I don’t know how to do this. It’s too much for me.”
“You don’t have to figure your whole life out today. Besides, we’ll face every problem together.”
“My father is dead… The man I love is in prison… And now I’m going to have a baby with the man I’ve come to hate so much.”
A painful knot formed in Victoria’s throat as she listened. She knew her friend had endured more than anyone should have to.
“But you also have a reason to keep moving forward. That baby is important.”
Isabella lowered her gaze to her stomach and gently rested her hand over it once again.
In that moment, the only thought in her mind was that perhaps this baby might someday heal all the pain she carried.
Five years later, time had passed, but some wounds never truly disappeared.
Isabella had tried to rebuild her life. She worked for an architecture firm, where she managed small but ambitious projects.
“Come on, Isabella. Let’s grab a coffee,” Victoria suggested one afternoon, hoping to distract her from work for a while.
Isabella smiled, glanced at the computer on her office desk, and shut it down.
“I could use a coffee too,” she replied with a smile.
Isabella Romano was no longer the same woman who had run through the halls of the Romano mansion wearing a wedding dress.
The young woman who had believed she had a perfect life was gone.
Now she was a strong woman.
A woman who had learned how to survive.
For five years, she had kept a secret that had the power to change many lives.
A secret she had never dared reveal, because there was one person who had never learned the truth.
Alexander Lancaster.
The man who had been convicted of Eduardo Romano’s murder.
The man who had sworn he was innocent until the very last second.
The man who had no idea he had a son.
- Writer
