My hands were still shaking when I stepped outside not from fear but from release like something had been untied inside me, a knot I didn’t even know I’d been carrying since the day I signed that contract. Since the first test came back positive, I realized my life wasn’t going to look anything like I’d planned.
Noah stood by the car, he didn’t say anything. He opened the door for me like always, like we hadn’t just peeled back every layer of our lives for the world to see.
I slid into the seat, exhaled.
And then…
A sharp, hot pain gripped my lower abdomen.
I froze. It came again, stronger and deeper this time. My breath caught in my throat.
“Noah,” I whispered.
He was already at my side, crouching, reading my face.
“What is it?”
“I think…” I couldn’t finish.
My body did it for m
